Presidential Pardoned Turkeys Don't Escape 'Life' Sentence . . . For Long

[bigtree]

November 22, 2006, 8:09 am
Kinder and Gentler? For White House Turkey, Maybe Not

President Bush today will pardon the White House Thanksgiving turkey, a ceremony repeated each year since the late 1940s. The reprieve likely will be a brief one. The birds, bred for their meaty breasts, quickly grow too heavy to move themselves around, and usually die before the next Thanksgiving. Last year’s winner and its understudy, also pardoned by Bush, were no exception. Billed as the “Happiest Turkey on Earth” at last year’s Disneyland Thanksgiving Day Parade, where it was honorary grand marshal, both “Marshmallow” and its sidekick “Yam” already have passed away, of natural causes, according to a spokeswoman for Disneyland.

The 2005 turkeys were the first to move to Disneyland following the White House ceremony, in a new arrangement between the amusement park and the National Turkey Federation, which raises and supplies the birds. Prior to last year, the pardoned birds were sent to a suburban Virginia farm museum. An animal rights group complained for the last few years that the birds were being inhumanely treated, but the farm strenuously denied that. The deaths of the Disneyland birds seem to suggest their lifespans weren’t affected by the change.

Although their Disneyland destination is new, the White House birds have received special handling for years prior to the big day. The White House Web site says the birds are “periodically hand fed and given additional interaction with people in an effort to acclimate them.” In fact, handlers dress in dark blue overalls to mimic presidential attire, and make noise to accustom the turkeys to the chattering of the children who attend, all in an effort to keep the excitable 35-pound creatures from going berserk onstage. Visitors to the White House website will choose from among the following names for this year’s pair: Ben and Franklin; Plymouth and Rock; Washington and Lincoln; Corn and Copia; and Flyer and Fryer. – John D. McKinnon

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2006/11/22/kinder-and-gentler-for-white-house-turkey-maybe-not/trackback/



http://journals.democraticunderground.com/bigtree

[Toots]

1. Off with his head....

:shrug:

[Botany]

2. I had a friend's daughter raise some turkeys for a FFA project

By mid october they could not walk and were falling all over ....
bred for a big breast and short legs .... they are designed for
a short life.

BTW they taste good too.

[Ravy]

3. I would love to see them named Rock and Hard Place, to more

accurately portray the position Bush put America in.

[Benhurst]

4. Why not name them after George and Laura?

No, why should the poor creatures have to live out their lives as Dumbass and Fatass.

[JoDog]

5. Maybe they should use heirloom turkeys

The mass-bred white turkeys do end up having shortened lives do to the bodies they've been bred to have. But heirloom or antique turkey breeds, like the bourbon red and bronze don't have that problem. However, they are more expensive and harder to find. Maybe the "slow food" movement could get to work on this for next year. At least to do some PR on the subject.

And who wouldn't enjoy the irony of this president pardoning a "Bourbon Red" bird?