Before you indulge in seasonal feast, think how the bird might have died

AS the Christmas season approaches, many Irish people will be getting ready to order their dead birds and cuts of dead flesh for the dinner table.

Millions of turkeys, chickens, cattle, pigs, deer, pheasant and ducks will be slaughtered as part of the traditional festivities.

Many birds in particular will be getting fattened for slaughter now as orders are placed in butcher shops.

In industrial slaughtering plants, large numbers of animals are killed rapidly in an assembly line.

Chickens are lifted by their legs when they are fully conscious. Their heads are immersed in water to make electrical contact, but some flutter and are not stunned. Chickens and pigs are subjected to scalding water to remove their feathers and hair.

When stunning is not done properly, a significant proportion of animals sustain burning before going unconscious.

Animals raised on Irish farms for food have been bludgeoned, shot and buried alive — one farmer killed thousands with a sledgehammer.

It is legal to use electronic rectal probes on newly-calved heifers and calves during the milking process on dairy farms.

If you do not want to be part of this cruelty, do not buy the product.

It is amazing how many people profess to care for animals , yet they see no connection between the lump of meat in the supermarket freezer and the unnecessary suffering that was caused to the animal or bird concerned.

The best thing that you can do to help animals is to stop eating them. The best thing you can do for yourself is to adopt a healthier, compassionate lifestyle.

Let there be peace for all species, not just human beings.

Bernie Wright

Alliance for Animal Rights

PO Box 4734

Dublin 1