Pray for the poor turkeys

How did turkeys come to be associated with Christmas?    These are large woodland birds, good fliers, used to roosting in trees and living naturally in flocks.  A turkey is a cautious bird and completely non-aggressive.   They flee at any sign of danger.   Turkeys are also companiable with other animals, ours live alongside hens, come to be hand fed and eat out of the same dish as the cats.

Yet many thousands of these intelligent and friendly birds are kept in shocking conditions and farmed intensively in the U.K.   They are cramped together in huge factory sheds and have a short and dreadful life before they are slaughtered for consumption.    Please think about this when you see the plastic packaged bodies in the supermarket freezers and fridges.

Bear in mind that ‘free range’ doesn’t always mean that the turkey has had free access to fields and woodland.  It can mean a barn and a yard.   If you are to have a turkey for your lunch on the 25th, please check out where it has come from and what sort of life the bird has had.    Would any right thinking person want to eat a bird that had suffered throughout its short life?

There are many scrumptious alternatives to eating a dead bird at Christmas.   We have a roast made of seeds, lentils and grains – it’s great with cranberry sauce, roast potatoes, sprouts, stuffing and all the extras.

Prayers can make a difference.   If you are able to, please spend some time in meditation or prayer on the plight of all the poor turkeys and other birds, who will suffer a cruel fate this Christmas.    Our prayers are also for a more enlightened future when humans do not keep turkeys in captivity and these magnificent birds can live a natural life.