Every year at Thanksgiving, the White House hosts the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation – also attended by National Turkey Federation – where the current president ‘pardons’ a single turkey from being eaten for lunch.
The tradition seems to stem from John F. Kennedy, who was sent a turkey wearing a sign that read “good eating Mr. President”. But he returned the turkey to the farm, saying “we’ll let this one grow”. (Although, it is reported that he sent it back because it was too small, not because of a profound moment of empathy.)
George H. W. Bush, was the first to institutionalise “the turkey pardon” as a permanent part of the presentation in 1989. Since then, every turkey has been taken to a special farm, after the pardon, where it will live out the rest of its natural life.
Here are some presidents pardoning some poultry.
[Source : The Daily Beast]
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