Morrissey is not hesitant to share his thoughts and feelings about animal rights. This time he's addressing President Obama directly about the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Pardon. Since Thanksgiving in 1989 when George H. W. Bush was in office, a "presidential pardon" is given to one bird, allowing it to live. It does seem like a bizarre tradition, but for Morrissey, it's way more than that.
He has written a letter, which he titled "Thankskilling"...subtle. It's directed toward Obama and addresses the "45 million birds" that are "horribly abused" each year.
Morrissey wrote:
"Please ignore the abysmal example set by President Obama who, in the name of Thanksgiving, supports torture as 45 million birds are horrifically abused; dragged through electrified stun baths, and then have their throats slit. And President Obama laughs. Haha, so funny!
As Ingrid Newkirk from PETA points out, turkey 'meat' is one of "our nation's top killers", causing heart-attacks and strokes in humans due to saturated animal fats and cholesterol. And President Obama laughs.
Further, the meat industry is responsible for 51% of human-caused greenhouse-gas emission, therefore the embarrassingly stupid White House 'turkey pardon' is open support for a viciously cruel and environmentally irresponsible industry.
And President Obama laughs."
Well there you go. Morrissey definitely means what he says and is passionate about the issue, but style of the letter is kind of intense. "And President Obama laughs." The letter is featured on the musicians site True To You, A Morrissey Zine, among other things like more information about animal rights and his music.
