Why are we still pardoning turkeys?

Each year, shortly before Thanksgiving, the president “pardons” two turkeys from slaughter. This ceremony draws the press to the White House for what, traditionally, has been little more than a photo opportunity — and promotion for the multibillion-dollar poultry industry.

Like the 46 million turkeys killed for Thanksgiving each year, the pardoned turkeys are essentially marketing props, even if given a small reprieve. In an era defined by conscientious consumption and consumer distaste for performative acts, it begs the question: Why are we still pardoning turkeys?

With roots tracing back to poultry lobbyists, the pardon remains inextricably linked to animal agriculture. Every year, the chairman of the National Turkey Foundation selects a farm from their state to raise the turkeys to be sent to the nation’s capital. After their pardon, presidential turkeys are typically sent to places where they could be further exploited or harmed, such as petting zoos, farms and research laboratories. Adding insult to injury, the names given to the chosen turkeys are often food-related, such as “Drumstick” or “Wishbone.”

This year, petition signers from across the country have urged President Biden to release the pardoned turkeys into the permanent care of Farm Sanctuary. Here, they would be free and safe — and the impact of their rescue would go beyond changing the lives of two birds.

Sadly, U.S. turkeys are facing more suffering than ever due to the spread of bird flu. Since January 2022, over 100 million birds in the U.S. poultry industry have died or been culled en masse due to outbreaks.

“Culling” is a term used to describe the killing of farmed animals before they would have been slaughtered and sold for human consumption. In our highly industrialized U.S. food system, animals are most often culled in controversial and egregiously cruel methods, including ventilation shutdown, wherein vents are closed, the heat is turned up and sentient beings die slowly of heat stroke. For many turkeys, aqueous film-forming foam (also used to fight fires) is sprayed over the birds inside a barn, and as the water-based foam blocks their airways, they effectively die of suffocation or drowning.

Death and disease are the grim reality of factory farming today. Bird flu is fatal; all birds will be culled if one infection is found in a poultry flock. When tens of thousands or even over a million birds are confined to one farm, the killing of so many animals at once is brutal. There is no “humane” way to do it. Our food system itself (not wild birds, despite animal agriculture’s attempts to blame them) has allowed highly pathogenic influenza to proliferate among its flocks, and millions of birds are paying the price.

Turkeys are living, breathing animals, and they don’t deserve the suffering wrought by animal agribusiness. Each year, the president has a chance to offer two turkeys a true pardon by sending them to a sanctuary — but there is also the chance for each of us to pardon a turkey this holiday season in our own way.

We can all have an impact for turkeys by leaving them off our Thanksgiving tables. With many delicious plant-based foods available, including vegan holiday roasts, a compassionate and festive feast is easier than ever to prepare.

By choosing to enjoy a plant-based Thanksgiving, we are protecting turkeys and laying the foundation for kinder holiday traditions.

Gene Baur is president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary and author of the books “Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food” and “Living the Farm Sanctuary Life.”

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