President Joe Biden began his 81st birthday celebrations Monday morning by carrying on the White House turkey pardoning tradition. Liberty and Bell, a pair of 4-month-old turkeys, have been spared from the fate of ending up on a Thanksgiving table.
The National Turkey Federation brought Liberty and Bell from their flock in Minnesota to Washington late last week, ABC reported.
On Saturday, fans and the press welcomed the pair at a five-star hotel, the Willard Intercontinental, before they checked into their rooms.
Markus Platzer, the Willard Intercontinental’s general manager, told NBC about the turkeys’ stay in D.C. He said, “They went up to the rooms, they saw the map, what to do in the city. They had a bubble bath, and I’ve heard that they also had something out of the mini bar.”
Steve Lykken, the chairman of the National Turkey Federation, acted as the main escort for the pardoned turkeys. To help the birds keep calm in front of such a big crowd Monday morning, Lykken told NBC he had been playing them lots of music.
“I can confirm they are, in fact, Swifties,” he said.
Why do turkeys get pardoned?
America’s turkey pardoning tradition officially goes back to the late 1980s, but it started to come together as early as the mid-19th century “when Rhode Island poultry dealer Horace Vose began sending well fed birds to the White House,” White House History explained.
Starting around 1947, the tradition took place off and on, with some presidents letting the turkeys live, and others saying they would “come in handy” at Christmas, the article said.
In 1989, President George H. W. Bush cemented the pardoning tradition when he said, “But let me assure you, and this fine tom turkey, that he will not end up on anyone’s dinner table, not this guy — he’s granted a Presidential pardon as of right now — and allow him to live out his days on a children’s farm not far from here,” White House History reported.
What happens to the pardoned turkeys?
Liberty and Bell are to return to their Minnesota homeland and spend the rest of their days at the University of Minnesota in the Food, Agricultural and National Resource Sciences department, according to Fox News.
The National Turkey Federation shared some other plans for Liberty and Bell now that they’ve been pardoned. Minnesotans may find Liberty and Bell “cheering on the University of Minnesota Gophers” and “lounging around Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes.” They will also be able to keep on munching on their favorite snacks, which are Honeycrisp apples and salted nut rolls.