Government officials birdnapped a turkey, who was recently rescued and taken to a sanctuary farm in New Jersey, and had him euthanized. Glenny the turkey was taken to the Funny Farm Rescue on Sunday…but USDA officials went to the farm days later and whisked him away from farm volunteers to be killed.
On Thursday, the rescue farm commented on the troubling situation, which is causing widespread outrage to Glenny’s many fans:
By now, you have all heard that the USDA euthanized “Glenny” the Haddon Heights beloved turkey today. It is senseless and beyond comprehension.
And expressed dismay over the officials’ bizarre actions given the prior permission the farm was granted:
The City of Hadden Heights called us along with multiple concerned citizens to beg for help after calling for many agencies over a 4 month period and no one came. We stepped up when no one else would. We called the Southern Region NJ Fish and Wildlife Dept. They gave us permission to take Glenny to the Funny Farm which we did. That would have been the happy ending until some citizens felt Funny Farm acted out of line and contacted the State of NJ.
According to the farm, several wild birds have been rescued and released in the area surrounding their property; that was the intended goal for Glenny as well. Unfortunately, the big bird never got the chance. USDA officials claim that Glenny could have had a disease. But the farm rescue group has stated that this was just an excuse to kill him, writing:
We are a drop-off location for injured wildlife. We help Fish and Wildlife daily. We are governed by the Southern Region and acted legally and with their permission. We are all humans. All we did was try to help an animal and give him a chance for a happy, healthy life. We are so devastated by the inhumane way people with power acted because of a few complainers. They killed an innocent animal just because thousands of people loved him and a few complained.
Adding:
If they were really worried about diseases, they wouldn’t allow turkeys to be hunted or eaten.
The farm has expressed their sadness and asks for others disturbed by Glenny’s killing to reach out to voice their displeasure:
We are so sorry for everyone who loved him. We loved him too. There was absolutely no reason Glenny should have been killed without any way to appeal the decision.
One angry USDA person should not be allowed to kill anything without any appeal process whatsoever. Their job is to prevent cruelty to animals at factory farms yet they waste their resources and tax payer dollars on a turkey that became domesticated just to punish people who fell in love with him.
If you would like to write to the head of the USDA, here is the link:
Sonny Perdue, Secretary of the Dept of Agriculture:
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ARE THEY “STUPID” OR JUST “INSANE”?! PLEASE PLEASE–FLOOD
THAT DEPARTMENT WITH EMAILS AT THE ABOVE LINK!
This makes absolutely no sense to me: WHY send an animal to an animal sanctuary for care on one day and then euthanize the animal on the next day???
It sounds to me like those who ordered the euthanasia were “bullies with badges” throwing their authority around because they could (not that this animal deserved euthanasia, a “last resort” IMHO). Why not quarantine this animal for “x time period” and test for whatever illness is of concern? After the quarantine period is over & no illness is found, he could go to the sanctuary……