Birds rescued from meat production, cock fighting rings, and the ritual of Kaporot have, in many cases, gone on to live decent/happy lives (some of them have even reproduced). Profiled here are turkeys Biggie and Autumn Tootsie of Riverside; Pooka, a goose in northeast L.A.; and several chickens. People who rescue them give advice about mistakes to avoid.
"There's nothing more impressive than looking at these turkeys every day and just counting the blessings that they've been given--and they know it," says Jen DeCarlo. "They're very grateful animals, just like we're very grateful humans to have them here. That's two less on someone's Thanksgiving platter, which is better than both of them being gone.
" . . . Our species domesticated them, so now we have to take care of the damage we've done. They can't go out and do it themselves anymore."
Full story and photos: Birds Who Survived the Holidays and Other Tragedies by R. Plesset
Birds Who Survived the Holidays and Other Tragedies