‘God bless all the ones that are perishing right now. It’s heartbreaking and horrific’
An animal sanctuary which rescued 31 turkeys this festive season has said the ‘deep and emotional’ animals are ‘like puppies’, urging Brits to ditch the turkey from their Christmas dinner.
Jacqui Ahmed, who runs The Base Vegan Retreat Animal Sanctuary in Bristol with her partner Fiaz, said the lucky turkeys were rescued from a nearby farm where thousands of others are being killed for Christmas dinner. Nine million turkeys are slaughtered every year in the UK – the majority of them at Christmas time, according to Viva!, a leading UK vegan charity.
Jacqui, who rescued the five-months-old turkeys, said: “All our babies are lucky to be with us this Christmas. Thank god we got them out and god bless all the ones that are perishing right now. It’s heartbreaking and horrific.”
The team of activists transported the turkeys in their cars. Each was named by a three-year-old ‘vegan warrior’ who they say has been coming to the sanctuary since she was born.
Names of the turkeys at the sanctuary include Leela, Junilessa, Nincy, Fro-fro, Stella, Linda, Stocking and Pudding.
Jacqui said: “Turkeys are amazing: they are like puppies. They love humans and are very affectionate – they love being stroked all day long, and in the summer they just want to be sat in the sunshine.
“They have a big vocabulary and I’ve learnt what different sounds mean. They are very deep and emotional and it’s so sad what happens to all the others we aren’t able to save.
“These turkeys are just babies – they aren’t even fully grown. Consider leaving them off your plate and going vegan today.”
