By Serena Solomon
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — When Murray Hill resident Adrianne Prettyman sits down for Thanksgiving dinner Thursday she will be placing a photo of Bubbles on the table, in place of a real roasted bird.
Bubbles is one of three turkeys that Prettyman has adopted, a growing trend with Manhattanites who would prefer to get through Thanksgiving without the guilt of killing a bird to eat.
"Some people can't imagine Thanksgiving without a turkey," Prettyman said. "They think it will leave a void on the table, but it's a meal that is completely guilt free."
Prettyman adopted Bubbles through a New York organization called Farm Sanctuary, which has rescued more that 1,000 turkeys and placed hundreds in homes since its formation in 1986.
"We offer two kinds of turkey adoptions, one is a financial sponsorship of a turkey that lives at one of our shelters — the Adopt-A-Turkey Project," said Farm Sanctuary spokeperson Meredith Turner.
"The other involves people actually adopting turkeys to live out the rest of their lives at their home — the Turkey Express adoptions."
There are hundreds of Manhattan residents who finance the feeding and care of the rescued birds as part of the Adopt-A-Turkey program, Turner said.
Upper West Side resident and turkey sponsor Vadim Liberman said this Thanksgiving his family will replace a real turkey on the dinner table with a soy-based tofurkey instead.
Liberman, 33, became a vegan two years ago after researching the treatment of animals for food.
"They [turkeys] are treated very similar to chickens — the workers kick them, twist their necks," he said. "They are genetically bred so large they can't support themselves, their legs break, their bones break."
Liberman believes saving the life of a death-row turkey fits into the true spirit of the holiday.
"Its taking that compassion that we all naturally have in us, especially around Thanksgiving, and recognizing that the animals could use some of it too."
