Are pill-popping turkeys a danger?
LA Times | Karen Ravn | November 24, 2008 Turkeys, like any other animal, get sick. And while few would dispute that they should be treated when that happens, many scientists, medical professionals and animal experts are concerned that too much medicine is being given to too many turkeys — and to too many food animals in general.”The use and misuse are rampant,” says Bill Niman, founder of Niman Ranch in Northern California and a member of the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production. Those concerned fear that the practice will have serious consequences for human health care — and that some of those consequences are already starting to show up.Antibiotics are approved in turkeys both for therapeutic use (meaning, to treat sick turkeys) and for disease prevention — which usually means the rest of the flock will also be treated to keep the disease from spreading. Antibiotics are used in this same way in other food animals, and in some cases they’re also used for growth prom
