United Poultry Concerns November 30, 2007

Action Alert: Please Urge Sara Lee to Protect Turkeys in Frigid Weather

United Poultry Concerns, Animals’ Angels “Talk Turkey” in Today’s Des Moines Register

(Contact information follows letter.)

Cold is cold, no matter how you measure it
Des Moines Register, Des Moines, Iowa USA, Nov. 30, 2007http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=Opinion

Regarding “Group: Turkey Deliveries in Cold Make Birds Suffer” (Nov. 21): Celsius or Fahrenheit – it does not matter. What matters is that temperatures on Jan. 25 [when a truckload of turkeys were shipped] were freezing cold.

Animals’ Angels investigators followed an uncovered turkey truck for four hours that afternoon from south of Des Moines to the Sara Lee slaughter plant in Storm Lake. Photos show ice and snow stuck to the metal transport cages in which the turkeys were huddled.

They sat for two more hours in the cold as the truck waited in line to enter the plant. Under such conditions, turkeys are susceptible to painful frostbite, hypothermia, and death.

We presented a joint press release to the Register’s Philip Brasher stating our reasons for urging Sara Lee to cover its trucks with tarpaulins, sideboards and/or other protective devices in cold weather – a simple act of kindness that would reduce much suffering for these birds.

We were disappointed and frankly surprised by the shallowness and flippancy of the coverage that took precedence over substantive reporting on this issue.

Karen Davis, President of United Poultry Concerns (www.upc-online.org)
Sonja Meadows, Executive Director of Animals’ Angels USA (www.animals-angels.com)

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What Can I Do? Urge Sara Lee to Show Mercy to Turkeys

Please urge Sara Lee Foods to cover their trucks taking turkeys to slaughter in cold weather. For more information, please visit http://www.upc-online.org/saralee/112007saralee.html.

Contact:
Brenda C. Barnes, CEO
Sara Lee Corporation
3500 Lacey Road
Downers Grove, Illinois 60515
Phone: 630-598-8661
Fax: 630-598-8653

You can also leave a message for Sara Lee at http://www.saralee.com/ContactUs.aspx.


United Poultry Concerns, Inc.
PO Box 150
Machipongo, VA 23405-0150
757-678-7875
FAX: 757-678-5070
www.upc-online.org

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