Ahh, America. Land of freedom. It’s Thanksgiving over in the States pretty soon, and to get the celebrations in full swing, PETA US has come up with this awesome (get what I did there? Awesome…) new video and automated greeting for people dialling it’s 1-888-VEG-FOOD number. Whilst we Brits have a while to go yet until the Christmas turkey slaying is upon us, the Americans like to eat turkey for Thanksgiving. Well, not for long if this “President Bush” veggie message is anything to go by! Gobble-gobble…

It’s not every day you see a bunch of nearly-naked blue people (no, not Smurfs) standing around the in middle of Strasbourg. But for UK student, Amy Gackowska, who is interning at PETA Germany, it was a surreal dream come true. In true PETA style, she stood scantily clad and painted head to foot in the blue and gold stars of the EU flag, accompanied by other inspired PETA Germany peeps to protest against the horrific abuse that homeless dogs suffer in Turkey.

Gathered outside the Council of Europe, Amy stood proud holding a sign which read “EU is watching you Turkey. Stop torturing dogs.” Go Amy! The demonstration highlighted the immense cruelty that homeless dogs are routinely subjected to in Turkey; starved in animal ’shelters’ (oh the irony!), dumped in remote areas and even massacred in large-scale poisonings. Yes, it’s clear, Turkey need to revise their definition of ’shelter’. Hmm…

Turkey, who is seeking membership to the EU, has a less than glowing record when it comes to animal welfare. As Amy suggested, “Turkey’s reputation within the European community would benefit if the country cracked down on animal abuse.”

It goes without saying that Amy has valuable assets (no pun intended) to offer the PETA Germany intern programme and you could have too! Just think, that could be you naked and standing up to animal cruelty, painted like a flag in the middle of France. I mean, who could resist that?! This blogger has been painted head to foot and paraded around Texas in America to protest Burberry’s sale of fur, and you know what? I loved every single minute of it. Find out more about interning at PETA US here or contact any of the other affiliates for information on their own intern programmes. Oh, and it’s not all about the nakedness…

None of us like the idea of chickens and turkeys being killed for food, and you can bet the chickens and turkeys like it even less! But while animals are being killed for food, we owe it to them to at least try and make their deaths as gentle as possible.

Now, following months of working with PETA, supermarket giant ASDA is pushing its poultry suppliers toward a less-cruel slaughter method.

ASDA, the second largest supermarket chain in the UK, has announced that it will give purchasing preference to chicken and turkey suppliers using controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK), the least-cruel form of slaughter ever developed.

In a letter sent to all ASDA poultry suppliers, David Mainon, ASDA’s senior technical manager for meat and poultry, recently wrote: “Following a review of slaughtering methods employed within the poultry industry, we have now decided to recommend that all our poultry suppliers switch to Controlled Atmosphere Killing… We expect those suppliers who do not currently have controlled atmosphere killing to instigate plans to convert their current system.”

When ASDA’s suppliers switch, it will mean a world of difference for birds. Currently, most birds killed for the UK poultry industry are dumped onto conveyor belts and hung upside-down by their legs in metal shackles, which often results in broken bones. Some may have their throats cut open while still conscious, and some may be scalded to death in tanks of hot water. But with CAK – which works by replacing the oxygen birds breathe with inert gasses (like argon and nitrogen) to gently put them “to sleep” – those abuses are eliminated. Sure, it still sucks that the birds die (and trust me we’re working on that too) but this is a much better way to go.

Bravo, ASDA! Now let’s see the other supermarkets follow your lead…

Image: UConn / CC