Thursday, October 6, 2011
Arkansas Culture and Characters PETA campaigns against Yellville turkey drop
Posted by Max Brantley on Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 2:00 PM
PETA is right about this one. The turkey drop at the Yellville Turkey Trot (Friday and Saturday) is ghastly. But it persists, as does PETA's criticism.
On October 7 and 8, the city of Yellville is holding its annual Turkey Trot Festival, during which wild turkeys—who typically fly only short distances, rarely reaching 100 feet—are hurled from private planes traveling around 70 miles per hour at altitudes of approximately 1,000 feet as part of the "Turkey Drop" tradition. Disoriented and unable to right themselves, most birds plummet like bricks, fatally crashing onto buildings, cars, and the street. Those with wind under their wings careen at extreme speeds into the landscape. City officials declare that this isn't sanctioned by the festival, yet it continues year after year.
Video of last year's drop at the link.
Arkansas does have a felony animal cruelty law for knowing cruel mistreatment of animals. It didn't do much good for the turkeys last year.
What kind of person thinks this is funny? What kind of city winks at perpetration of it?
CLARIFICATION: The felony portion of the law applies to offenses against dogs, cats and horses. But enhanced penalties are allowed for mistreatment of other animals outside accepted agricultural practices.
Comments (42)
Showing 1-42 of 42
I can't decide which is the critic's award for turkey films, the PETA video or this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j1N3G37_SQ
you decide.
like
dislike
Felony animal cruelty, I believe, applies only to dogs, cats, and horses.
Wild turkeys? I thought they used domestic Butterballs, which have approximately the same glide ratio as a set of car keys.
I think you're right on that Silverback. But, of course, the turkey drop is a big "secret," the perpetrator unknown to all law-abiding Yellvillains.
"As God is my witness...I thought turkeys could fly." -- Les Nessman
Still the funniest line ever uttered on television.
thanks, Nickname, I agree: a great line by a great sportscaster. . .
What would really be entertaining would be if they left the turkeys on the ground and dropped the PETA folks out of the airplane. Would that be a felony?
Maybe a turkey hunter with bad eyesight misses the birds and hits the plane (larger target but with bad eyesight, well you know, accidents happen) and then we will be able to find this "mysterious" person who is obviously known to everyone in power in town.
Guano:
Why not drop the people of Yellville out of airplanes without parachutes?
The citizens of Yellville—who typically fly only short distances, rarely reaching 10 feet—would be hurled from private planes traveling around 70 miles per hour at altitudes of approximately 1,000 feet as part of a new "Redneck Drop" tradition. Disoriented and unable to right themselves, most rednecks would plummet like bricks, fatally crashing onto buildings, cars, and the street.
The "Turkey Drop" tradition would rapidly fade away, replaced by this new tradition.
Ok, maybe the PETA folks go overboard sometimes, but dropping live turkeys out of a plane KNOWING that they will meet their death is cruel. Period. It's a bunch of folks getting their jollies at the expense of another living creature. Sickening.
Dustin McDaniel won't go after these folks--he participated a few years back. Asshole.
What can a normal citizen do since these people may be in violation of the law? This is not an accepted agricultural practice.
I suppose it could be worse. A Florida legislator wants to repeal Florida's 1989 ban on "dwarf tossing" because it took away employment from little people---at long last, a Republican jobs bill.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/06/r…
McDaniel showed up w his lackey Monty Davenport for Turkey Trot just before the animal cruelty bill, ( for horses, cats, and dogs) as a sign to the good people of Arkansas that he really didn't oppose being cruel to animals. wink wink nudge
I sure do hope that $5k is enough to get some of the local inbreeds to turn on their cousins or sisters or whatever they are. With a little organization a person could probably even stake out the nearby airfields.
These people are smug barbarians and really do deserve to be thrown from planes, chased by a mob of ignorant children, and torn apart in shoving matches. There aren't two dozen people in that county worth shooting w a nail gun.
Ok, normally I side with the liberals, but this is a bogus story. I have been to Turkey Trott (in fact grew up in Yellville) and yes, the turkeys can fly, and are normally uninjured when they land. How do I know? I was one of the kids that tried to catch the turkeys after they safely landed.
Ok anybody that eats a Butterball Turkey or a Tyson chicken can't say much (Go visit a Tyson processing plant, I dare you). Yes wild turkeys do fly. I've been to Turkey Trot several times, and all the turkey that I say dropped glided into the Crooked Creek Valley.
Chelydra, your generalizations about the people of Marion County is pretty immature. There is a reason why you and the people of your like will never succeed in America or Marion County.
Hillbilly, I call bullshit. How many turkeys that don't safely land do you find acceptable? Some 'landings' are pretty ugly. If you were part of the herd of uncontrolled idiot youth dogtrained into chasing the survivors you should be ashamed not proud. As for questioning my maturity it may do you better to consider your own brutal behavior.
"people of your like" ? What like is that? Somebody that knows recreation involving the torture and torment of dumb animals is abhorrent? Grow up and kill yourself.
If you are worried about the treatment of poultry you have lots worse things to worry about that the Yellville Turkey Drop.
Wow Chelydra, nice. So I can take it this insult has been received many times. Don't tell me your living in a dirty little apartment with 16 cats:) Do you eat any meat?????? As far as my own behavior, I 've not dropped a turkey out of plane nor have I ever chased one. However, I must confess I do love to eat poultry.
My mistake Chelydra, I see from your earlier posts, that you live either in eastern Boone County or western Marion County. So your living in a trailer house with 8 cats and 5 goats. Probably a 90% chance your living on some sort of SSI pension. lol
It's a brutal, savage, custom regardless of how many turkeys survive, and it is sterling proof of our backwardness in Arkansas.
And both of you insular little noises are probably related through some kind of familial rape or cousins bred between timber thieves and lead miners.
Insulting speculation won't change the fact that a primitive and brutal practice of throwing live animals from airplanes goes on annually defended by the pillars of the community. This shows that not only is the minimum of ethical behavior in the community abysmally low but also that your role models are cretaceous lizards.
Hello? Are you really defending dramatic public cruelty to defenseless animals? Or are you defending the community stupid and compliant enough to make it an institution?
Well if I was a dog, I don't think I'd be so happy being led into the vet and coming out with my balls cut off.
We humans are OK with it because it helps us create more placid animals and facilitate our desire for animal population control.
PETA should promote a big showing of their porn to make everyone forget to drop the turkeys.
With all effort to stay on message the practice, the institution, of throwing turkeys into a mob from a plane is a brutal practice well beyond harvesting and butchering farm raised animals.
'G'night
With respect Nickname, it was Arthur Carlson who uttered the line. Les Nesman's line was... "ON MY GOD, THEY'RE TURKEYS" followed by the best parody of the Hindenberg radio broadcast ever uttered...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST01bZJPuE0
@Chelydra... I don't remember throwing any insults at anyone. I am trying to keep this civilized and not drop to the immature name-calling that pervades these conversations. That being said, in the 26 years I have attended Turkey Trott, I only know of two turkeys that died, and both were from the trip in the plane and not the actual glide. Domestic turkeys don't fly, but wild turkeys do. They actually glide very well. Again, there are a great many more important things happening in this nation right now than worrying about winged creatures being thrown into the open air as part of a fall festival.
From Wikipedia: "Despite their weight, wild turkeys are surprisingly agile fliers and cunning, unlike their domestic counterparts.[citation needed] Turkeys are very cautious birds and will fly or run at the first sign of danger. Their ideal habitat is an open woodland or savanna,[4] where they may fly beneath the canopy top and find perches."
From 20 Fun Facts about wild turkeys: "Wild turkeys have very powerful legs and can run at speeds up to 25 miles per hour. Their top speed in flight is 55 miles per hour. Domestic birds, on the other hand, are bred to be heavier and cannot fly."
In other words, wild turkeys DO FLY and are not harmed by being tossed out of a plane any more than a human parachutist is.
Isn't Marion county now 'WET'? Why don't they just chill out and tie a bunch of little parachutes onto 100ml bottles of Wild Turkey bourbon and toss them out of the plane over the town square. No more problem with PETA.
Shame on everyone involved and also those posting responses sanctioning such a cruel practice. Makes me ashamed to live so close to such ignorance. Hopefully the FAA will be on watch. As a career military pilot and active civil pilot I hope pilots' licenses are revoked!
I came to AR in 1986 and remember my first State Fair. At that time live baby chicks and ducklings were given away as prizes. I witnessed patrons dropping their prizes from atop the Ferris wheel or submersing them into their cups of beer.
That was one of my earliest impressions in the natural state. So, I'm not suprised by this ignorant act at the Turkey Trot Drop.
1 there not wild turkeys, 2 they glid not fall, 3 they live, 4 there fare game, and 5 this stupid, it's a f*cking tradition man
Casey, why does this "tradition" amuse you, or anyone else for that matter.
Also, I find it amazing that anyone with a high enough IQ to qualify for a pilot's license would do such a thing. We out-lawed bear baiting, dog fighting, etc. a long time ago. This is just more of the same.
Hey, Casey.
Proper spelling and punctuation are also nice traditions. Perhaps you could familiarize yourself.
Here's how your post should read....
1. They're not wild turkeys.
2. They glide, not fall.
3. They live.
4. They're fair game.
and
5. This is stupid, it's a fucking tradition, man.
And now here's how I understand your post.
1. Y'all take a bunch of live, dumb, domestic turkeys and throw them out of a plane.
2. Glide/fall? It's a distinction without a difference.
3. How many don't live?
4. Fair game? How is rounding up a bunch of dumb domestic turkeys and throwing them out of a plane fair game? Where is the 'sportsmanship' in that? Are puppies and kittens also fair game?
5. You're absolutely right. It's a STUPID fucking tradition!
And for those of you that just tuned in, the Yellville shopping mall has just been bombed with live turkeys! Film at eleven!
Seriously, people? Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBCpGQcKSBg Wild Turkeys do fly! So many people get up in arms about this 'cruelty', but yet many of those same people will fight for the 'rights' of women to have an abortion! The most intelligent comment that I've read is from one of the local residents there, arkansas hillbilly. Let's all lighten up a little!
Yes, the turkeys "might" be alright because they have wings and can slowly glide down, but it's still not right, and the person who catches the turkey is still going to kill it, so it's still wrong. And just because it'll survive the drop, doesn't mean it enjoys being dropped from 1000 ft going 70mph. The birds easily get disoriented and can be injured during their descent. It's animal cruelty, and should be properly taken care of as so. So PETA is right by shutting the event down, and the people responsible for the event should be facing the felony charges for animal cruelty. plain and simple. You guys thinking PETA is a terrible and unethical organization are right winged whack jobs who listen to everything Fox News tells you. You guys are so gullible it's sickening! And who are you people to talk about ethical? You're wanting to attend an even where they drop turkeys from planes! You all also probably hunt, eat meat with every meal, etc etc. Don't talk about ethical when you yourself are far from it.
And people ask me why I went veg....
The people of Yellville treat the turkeys like the people of Wall Street treat the people of Yellville. And that is the natural order of the universe.
Unless you are on top of the food chain, it is someone's unalienable and God-given right to make a profit from you.
We have dominion over the fowls of the air and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. You can't creep much lower than to call your own fellow human beings inbred hillbillys. May dominion fall upon you and yours
Queen Elizabeth has "dominion" over her subjects, I doubt that the word is supposed to mean "doing whatever the hell you want to something just because you can".
Chelydra obviously lives in the area, as do I, and has probably received the kind of welcome that only you folks can give. No "outsiders" are truly welcomed here, at least not ones who don't think, look and act exactly like you do. Go to the comments section of the Mountain Home newspaper (Yellville doesn't have one of its own) and look for the Turkey Trot articles, see all the lovely comments about outtatowners and Yankees and Left Coasters. You'd think you all would welcome a little diversity, but that might stir up the sludge in your gene pool.
Finally, you nits, capturing or confining wild turkeys is ILLEGAL under Arkansas Fish and Game laws. But I'm sure redneck tradition overrides the law.
You people keep saying that the pilot is a mystery and is only known to the higher powers in Yellville. First, the pilots are not a mystery. Everyone here knows them all. We just don't rat out our friends. And for all you dignified city folks who think this is horrible maybe you could bring us a few of your dope dealers, rapists, theives, murderers, and all the other low life you choose to live with and we'll just toss them.
Animals are sentient beings. You wouldn't throw a retarded child down a slide would you? I didn't think so.
@fedup1945 among others. I am not a city girl. I live on a farm. I have turkeys. They do NOT fly! They don't even really glide that well and when they land it lacks a sort of...finess. And I know full grown turkey get big and their wings don't do them much justice. Especially when you add the physics of freefalling from a thousand feet or so. What you could do is jump out with them and hang on to a leaf bag. Just about the same thing. You all are cruel and disgusting people and have no respect for life other than your miserable selves. You are where the backwoods hillbilly insults comes from. I hope someone gets squashed by one of those big a$$ed turkeys. x_X
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