According to the "Irish Examiner" The Irish Farmers Association is warning consumers could be sold a turkey � literally � with Italian turkeys flooding the Irish market.

Last year saw a decline in the number of turkeys being slaughtered in Ireland, from 1.2m birds to 765,000, with imported processed Italian turkeys making up the difference.

A spokesperson for Bord Bia said Irish turkey numbers peaked in 2005, when 3.8m birds were slaughtered.


"In 2000-2005, we processed on average 3.6m turkeys annually, with a peak of 3.8m in 2005. Numbers have declined year-on-year in the interim period, with 976,000 processed last year," said the spokesperson.

"Over the 2000-2005 period, the Christmas kill averaged 1.2m birds. This has fallen to 765,000 in 2011. The principal cause in this has been the influx of Italian turkeys for the Christmas market, which are sold through the wholesale butcher�s sector. Irish people are expected to eat about 700,000 turkeys this Christmas, and imports from Italy will account for about 24% of those."


The Irish Farmers� Association has called on authorities to insure there is clarity on where the turkeys people buy are coming from.
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