The farmyard gobbler

Press, 19 May 1981, Page 20

The farmyard gobbler

Turkey is: not ■ the rare treat it used to be as a smaller breed is being raised by poultry/farmers. This variety is very different from the strutting farmyard gobblers we see in picture books, but, the two

types are related to the native wild turkeys of the Americas. > , These large colourful birds have a long and interesting history. For 40 million years they lived in forest lands stretching, from the middle

of North America southward through Mexico, and beyond.

For centuries Red Indians had killed turkeys for food, using the feathers for clothing and the bones for jewellery. But the Indian population was not large, and besides, these people had a deep respect for natural laws. They did not hunt them recklessly. Spanish settlers in Mexico introduced turkeys to England during the sixteenth century. The distinctive flavour of turkey meat had an instant appeal and it was not long before the people of Europe and Asia followed the new food fashion. Turkeys have been farmed in .these countries for about 400 years. . Meanwhile wild turkeys continued to prosper in their natural home. Being swift fliers and fast runners they

were able to protect themselves. They were not disturbed - until new settlers founded the United States of America.

The Pilgrim Fathers found their new homeland a paradise of wild turkey, but it was no longer a paradise for the birds. Large numbers were killed by hunters, their forest homes were destroyed, and many died from diseases brought into the country by domestic fowls introduced from Europe. By 1900 the wild turkey had nearly disappeared from its native land — but not quite. Game laws were brought in to protect the remaining birds, and wildlifeexperts advised shifting them to better feeding places. As a result the flocks began to increase and these ancient birds gradually established themselves again.