BELOW PHOTO: Foie gras is the fatty, diseased livers of ducks and geese. Birds are attached to a pressurized pump. Several times daily, liquid feed is shoved 12 inches down their throats via a metal rod (oral gavage). The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals cites documentation from veterinarians that "the birds' livers become so enlarged, [they]... have literally exploded from these forced feedings." Photo: Farm Sanctury
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LEFT & BELOW PHOTOS: Turkeys' upper beaks and toes are partially sliced off with a hot blade to stop the overcrowded birds from pecking and scratching each other to death. PETA
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ABOVE RIGHT PHOTO: Commercial hatcheries and cockfighting breeders dispatch millions of baby birds every year. It is currently legal for the U.S. Postal Service to mail these day-old chicks inside cargo areas designated for luggage. Live baby birds, considered perishables no different than flowers or fruit, fly without food or water. Although precise numbers have never been calculated, a 2005 report from the Bird Shippers of America (BSA) reveals more birds reach their destination dead than alive. In cargo holds without heat or air conditioning, temperature extremes range from subzero to sweltering. Chicks become critically dehydrated at more than 95°F.
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