Photo: Patrick Semansky/AP/Shutterstock
Two turkeys escaped a Thanksgiving dinner fate on Tuesday when PresidentDonald Trumpcontinued the White House’sannual traditionof “pardoning” them ahead of holiday feasts across the country.
Only one of the birds — in this case Butter, who was voted the national Thanksgiving turkey — was chosen for the White House ceremony. The alternatewas just the “wingman.”
Next, Bread and Butter will join last year’s top turkeys,Peas and Carrots,at Gobblers Rest. They are bred for consumption, meaning they’re purposefully fattened up and have a short lifespan that typically only lasts about one year past their pardon.
Peas and Carrots are the only other living turkeys to have been pardoned and are “doing well,” according to Beth Breeding, spokeswoman for the National Turkey Federation.
Breeding tells PEOPLE the turkeys’ life expectancy is about one to two years.
Though the National Turkey Federation began presenting presidents with a turkey back in 1947, when Harry S. Truman was gifted with one of the gigantic birds, the actual tradition of “pardoning” dates back to the late ’80s. President George H. W. Bush was the first to formally use the word, though other presidents had spared their would-be Thanksgiving meals.
“It’s been a fun way to get the public involved,” Breeding says of the contest.
President Donald Trump (right) with Butter, the national Thanksgiving turkey, at the White House on Tuesday.SAUL LOEB/AFP/GEtty
Non-locals can follow the turkeys along their journey onsocial media.
“Virginia Tech has a long tradition of supporting the turkey industry through research and outreach, so it’s fitting that the Presidential Turkeys becoming part of the Hokie Nation is a new tradition,” Rami Dalloul, a professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said in astatementlast week.
This is the fourth consecutive year the turkeys will head to Blacksburg after D.C. Previously, they went to Disneyland and elsewhere.
source: people.com
