Christmas is upon us once again. That means the seasonal slaughtering of animals is increased to satisfy the demand for ‘Christmas Fayre.’ Turkeys are the worst-affected, with them being identified as a ‘Christmas treat.’ In general, they are not eaten in the same way as pig, cow and chicken and lamb. Depending on the culture that is. We have to factor in fish, horse, kangaroo, goat, dog, cat; ostrich, pheasant, partridge. In this instance, Western Christians will devour (like ravenous predators) tons of meat with turkey being the archetypal oven favourite.

The big food-outlets are in-on-the-act with the daily bombardment via media of cosy Christmas montages. M&S, Lidl, Morrisons, Tesco, Co-op along with food-producers are capitalising on the seasonal mass murder of sentient beings. KFC is in-the-mix with their animation of a chicken seeing-off a turkey. Oh yes, isn’t that hilarious! A wide-eyed girl looks forlornly out of her window at a snow-scape, her thoughts elsewhere. Suddenly there are people on snowmobiles shooting through the air, children carrying presents, she runs out to join in the celebration and in amongst it all, a turkey roasting in the oven. It’s not subliminal-messaging, it’s plain and simple: a cosy, feel-good Christmassy image.

Other adverts show the family around the table tucking into carved meats (typically turkey) and laughter and music all blend into one to lure us into that cosy world of anticipation of a good time on its way. Of course, for some, Christmas will be a nightmare and no amount of cynical advertising will alter that fact. What you won’t see in Christmas ads are cigar/cigarette puffing. Those adverts are long gone (from media in general) being considered as inappropriate and unhealthy. Maybe one day the same patriarchs that oversee us will take the same view over the adverts containing animal body-parts. Not only is killing animals detrimental to their health, but it’s also detrimental to ours.