Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1903-12-04
THE CRUELTY OF MAN.
Thousands Of Turkeys Plucked While Alive
and Suffering.

ihouSahuS OF turkeys PluCked While Alive
and Suffering.
Many cf our readers who have en-.
Joyed the gastronomic delight Of
Thanksgiving turkey, will be pleased
at the assurance that the cruelty prac.
ticed in the wilds of Oregon in prepar-
ing that de!ectable fowl for a sacrif.
cial offering, is unknown to our peo-
lie, and that such refinement of cruelty
has probably never been known out
sid the Webfoot State. A correspond.
ent OF the Oreg0niaa, writing under
date of the 25,h ult., states:
The pretty little city of Oakland, in
Douglas county. Oregon, is sort OF
turkey metropolis, and people seem
TO give more attention to the raising
of the National bird than does any
other locality in the State; at least,
Oakland ships more turkeys than any
place in the State of anywhere near its
size. We have shipped from here with
in the last day or two about 1900
birds, and we congratulate ourselves.
And now | want to call attention of
all good people to the exquisite torture
and cruelty of their slaughter. But,
before l proceed, I want to exonerate
the dealers OF any responsibility in the
matter, for they are probably as hu.
name AS the rest of us, but the market
requirements are such that they are
possibly unable to handle fowls other
wise. The bird is "stuck," or bled, in
the mouth, and as soon as this is done
it is handed to the picker, who hangs
it up by the feet, and then goes to
picking, and this seems to be the most
terrible torture. for the bird seems not
to heed the operation Of sticking, or
the very slow loss OF blood, which is
protracted dribble, but protests with q
most piteous shrek as each handful of
feathers is jerked out of his body, and
when tho picker pulls out the wing
feathers, which he does first, he fire.
quently pulls the wings out of joint.
and the frantic struggles of the tor
tured bird you may imagine; but that
plaintive. piteous shrek Of pain you
must hear to appreciate. l was told
by picker tonight that a few days
ago he saw turkey picked clean and
handed over to the boss, who received
it and gave q check for it, and the
bird escaped from him and ran some
distance and was caught and then
killed, and any one who desires can
see live turkeys hanging on the racks.
Talk about the horrors of the In
QUESTION - that was fanaticism. OF
Indian torture-that was vengeance.
OF vivisection-that is necessary, per.
haps. But this turkey torture can
not find justification in anything but
usage and arbitrary market require
ments. As to the remedy: The bird
should be decspitated, and then the
picker could go to work at once and
get the fowl picked while warm. and
we could be sure that the bird was,
from the moment of decapitation, in.
sensible.
l had thought of writing to the Hu.
name Society, or some such organiza-
tion, and imploring their Intervention.
But finally came to this conclusion.
We are sending out from this place
1000 Thanksgiving turkeys, all to be
served up on the Coast, and it does
not strain ones imagination, or his
mathematics, to see this contribution
of Douglas county to our great annual
National feast the crowning glory Of
family feasts and reunions in 10000
homes, and to realize that 10000 faith
ers and mothers will, as they survey
the delicacies which their love and
bounty have provided, feel little
more gratitude to the Giver OF all good
for the objects of their devotion and
their ability to crafty them, and that
10000 children (for race suicide does
not prevail here yeD may call for
more Douglas county turkey and say
it is good. Hereafter. henceforth and
forever, will it be the prayer of your
humble scribe that each one Of these
10000 parents and 10000 children
will never buy Thanksgiving turkey
that has not died of decapitation.
It will be observed that even this
philaathropist seems to consider that
the merciful impulse to appeal TO the
Humane Society for Intervention may
be very properly abandoned when the
benefits from the enormous trade in
volved is considered. He is willing to
weigh the joy in the heart produced by
full stomach and plethoric purse
with the exoruciating pain inflicted to
secure it, and confine his prayer to a
request that will be lost in the dim
future for consumers to never buy
Thanksgiving turkey that has not
been killed before it is picked and
trussed for the fiery furnace.
~o~
GAS A9ToEEA.
s..nsA. H1h' Kind You Have Always s'git