Ah, now that’s the life! In this sweet photo, Bubbles turkey brings new meaning to the word “relaxation” as she basks in the warm sunlight that shines on her pasture. Sunbathing, a favorite pastime of lots of birds, is just one of the many natural behaviors that turkeys at Farm Sanctuary get to engage in that those on factory farms do not. Packed by the thousands inside large warehouses and denied even a quiet place to rest, let alone the chance to go outside, these birds lead frustrated lives as their innate desires are thwarted by the unnatural conditions they endure. Had Bubbles not been rescued, she certainly would have never known the contentment she experiences at our New York Shelter today.
I will be eating turkey this Thanksgiving, but I just thought Bubbles looked too sweet not to share. Maybe I'm delusional, but after decades of living with different degrees of vegetarianism and animal activism, and to this day only owning 1 pair of leather shoes, I have come to believe that you can love animals and still eat them. I do try to buy meat from animals who were treated with some modicum of respect during their lives, I make sure the animals directly in my care are treated well, I donate each year to animal welfare organizations, but that's it.
The way I see it, Mother Nature is one cold-hearted bitch. Animals kill each other for a variety of reasons, and it's hardly ever for noble ones, nor do they try to do it with the least amount of pain and suffering. Hell, even the hawk who killed my chicken Dr. Evil killed her by pinning her down with his claws, pulling out her neck feathers, then repeatedly pecking at her neck until her head was severed, then she went off with the head, leaving the most nutritious parts behind. I dare say that was more terrifying, painful, and wasteful than what a humane farmer would do to a chicken.
(Gawd, am I Debbie Downer today or what?)
Did anything memorable happen yesterday? Oh, I sent out the Evite for Isaac's birthday party. I trimmed the guest list down to family and close friends, so we shall see how that goes. I treated myself to an oatmeal white chocolate cranberry cookie and was so inspired by it, I resolved to bake some today. During tae kwon do class, Emi declared she was a baby and said she needed milk, so she kept ramming her face into my boobs. What's weird is that I actually felt the pins-and-needles let-down response. Sigh, I miss babies.
