Glenny South Jersey’s Celebrity Turkey Has Been Euthanized

Today is a sad day here in South Jersey. Glenny has made headlines and won the hearts of many people by standing in the middle of streets in Haddon Heights. Glenny would peck at cars and block traffic with his feathers spread out, owning the roads. Funny Farm Animal Rescue in Mays Landing took the big bird in to protect the people of Haddon Heights and the turkey himself, however, his stay was short lived.

According to a post on Facebook, Funny Farm was given permission by the Southern Region NJ Fish and Wildlife Department to take Glenny in after his 4-month reign on the roads of Haddon Heights. There were plans on releasing the wild turkey, but plans quickly changed.

Funny Farm is no stranger to wild birds, they have brought in many other wild turkeys, geese, etc. which were then released back into the wild. Glenny was brought to the farm on Sunday and the state was contacted on Monday.

The Department of Environment Protection showed up at the animal rescue facility while Laurie Zaleski, founder and owner of Funny Farm Animal Rescue, was not home on Wednesday. They took Glenny off the property and the public was not made aware of where the celebrity bird was taken to.

Thursday night the bad news was made public that Glenny was euthanized by the state.

Tanya Espinosa, a USDA spokeswoman stated, "Based upon protocols...the turkey was humanely euthanized since it has been in contact with domestic birds and presented a disease risk to native wildlife." The state has claimed that Glenny had not been properly quarantined for disease and would pose a risk if released into the wild.

Source: Press of Atlantic City