Shirley Jones Speaks Out for Turkeys in New Thanksgiving Video

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As Thanksgiving approaches, the much-loved "mom" on The Partridge Family is sticking her neck out for turkeys. Shirley Jones has narrated a brand-new PETA video called "Life and Death for Factory-Farmed Turkeys." In it, Jones describes the extreme suffering of turkeys in factory farms, during transport, and in slaughterhouses as graphic images of injured, maimed, dying, and dead birds flash on the screen.

"I have a special fondness for birds—and not just partridges, by the way—and all birds feel pain and fear," begins Jones, who recommends trying a Tofurky or UnTurkey vegetarian roast instead of a real bird. "Turkeys—gentle animals who are every bit as interesting and worthy of our concern as dogs and cats—are treated especially badly," she says, going on to explain how many of the birds have their throats slit and are scalded to death in defeathering tanks while they're still conscious.

Jones' eye-opening video aims to focus attention on the killing of 300 million turkeys each year—more than 40 million during the holiday season alone—for human consumption. Turkeys on factory farms have their beaks and toes cut off without pain relief. They are crammed by the tens of thousands into dark, stifling warehouses where disease, smothering, and heart attacks are common. Today's turkeys are genetically bred to grow so quickly that their bones and leg muscles often give out under the stress of supporting their huge upper bodies. Millions of turkeys die every year from heat exhaustion, freezing, and accidents during transport.

"Like chickens, turkeys are not included in the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, so they receive no legal protection from abuse," says Jones.

The good news is that you can help. Make your holiday meal and every meal one for which animals can give thanks too. For free vegetarian recipes and information, request a free vegetarian starter kit, and we'll send it right to your door along with a DVD.