Old PETA video of alleged turkey abuse sends Thanksgiving feathers flying

A astir 20-year-old video posted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) alleging turkey maltreatment astatine 1 of the nation’s foremost providers of Thanksgiving birds has triggered an online uproar.

The 2006 footage appears to picture employees of Butterball abusing unrecorded turkeys astatine a works successful Ozark, Arkansas, and drew a slew of comments from outraged turkey-lovers who took PETA astatine its word.

“Do you cognize what happened to your Butterball turkey earlier they were killed?” PETA captioned its Instagram video that went up Nov. 22.

In the video, a silhouetted speaker, his dependable disguised, alleges works employees sexually abused the turkeys and roughed them up earlier the birds were slaughtered and sent to market. One clip appears to amusement a antheral sitting connected a turkey arsenic it struggles. Others amusement radical manhandling them. The talker claims immoderate “bragged” astir the abuse.

The uproar led to both unfounded callback rumors and calls for a boycott. Butterball insisted neither determination is necessary, and confirmed there’s nary callback — corroborating the deficiency of immoderate callback notices connected governmental and nationalist wellness websites.

“We are alert of a video from astir 20 years ago, which is being re-shared crossed societal media,” a spokesperson told the Daily News successful an emailed statement. “This video is not existent and was taken anterior to Butterball becoming a backstage institution and anterior to our engagement and certification done American Humane. Animal attraction and well-being is cardinal to who we are arsenic a company, and we are committed to the ethical and liable attraction of our flocks.”

The institution noted it received American Humane certification 11 years ago.

“We are arrogant of this designation that nary different turkey institution tin assertion and person a zero-tolerance argumentation for carnal mistreatment,” the Butterball spokesperson said.

PETA, however, is determined to face turkey buyers astatine the market store — deploying its Hell connected Wheels “life-size, hyper-realistic turkey transport truck,” implicit with images of crate-crammed gobblers, hoping to “intercept shoppers earlier they marque a acquisition they can’t instrumentality back,” PETA said successful a media release.

The motortruck volition broadcast the birds’ cries, portion each 10 seconds urging successful a “subliminal message” that radical spell vegan.