Vinyl Cafe cuts lines from Dave Cooks the Turkey in response to animal abuse concerns

CBC Radio's The Vinyl Cafe has removed a line from the annual airing of its story "Dave Cooks the Turkey," after an online campaign says it normalizes animal abuse.

In the story Dave, the protagonist for many of host Stuart McLean's fictional yarns, scrambles to find and cook a turkey on Christmas Day. He finds that only a B-Grade turkey is left at the grocery store, and muses on the poor quality of the bird.

"As the turkey defrosted it became clear what B-Grade meant," says the contentious line. "The skin on the right drumstick was ripped. Dave’s turkey looked like it had made a break from the slaughterhouse and dragged itself a block or two before it was captured and beaten to death."

At another point, a chef tells Dave that the turkey looks like it had been "abused."

"Dave Cooks the Turkey" debuted in 1996, and it has re-aired on The Vinyl Cafe almost every year since.

Yan Roberts, a vegan farmer and activist from Northern Ontario, launched an online campaign called Cut the Cruelty that paired audio from the story with footage of abused animals at farms, and links to stories about animal abuse in Canada.

The Vinyl Cafe posted a response to the campaign on its Facebook page on Friday, saying they have received hundreds of messages requesting the lines be removed.

"Clearly we don't want any part in the abuse of animals, nor in promoting the abuse of animals," the message reads. 

"We have edited out a couple of lines that, after reading some of the thoughtful letters that have come in over the past week, we no longer feel comfortable airing on our show."

Roberts, who has called himself a fan of the show, responded favourably to the changes.

"As well as being wonderful storytellers, they are also good listeners," Roberts's website says.

"We support whatever decision Stuart makes in how he chooses to treat his story that has been beloved for 20 years," Seema Patel, Senior Manager of Network Talk at CBC Radio told CBC News.

"We understand that this is the beginning of a conversation and that Stuart and team will be considering all feedback as a part of their planning for next year."