WEST LIBERTY, Iowa -- An animal-advocacy group planned a "vigil for turkeys" as a way to raise awareness for how many turkeys are killed each year for Thanksgiving.
The group, Des Moines Animal Allies, held the vigil at West Liberty Foods on Wednesday, November 27.
Each year about 46 million turkeys are killed for Thanksgiving. In a Facebook post, the group says this is "an atrocity."
Iowa ranks seventh in U.S. turkey production, turning out more than 12 million turkeys each year across 130 farms. The West Liberty processing location, as well as one in Storm Lake, put Iowa in fifth for turkey processing.