Free Bird: The History Of Presidential Turkey Pardoning

Free Bird: The History Of Presidential Turkey Pardoning

Each year, a few days before Thanksgiving, the President of the United States formally pardons a live turkey presented to him by the National Turkey Federation.

It’s a tradition that’s seemingly been around forever, and while the NTF has been supplying the White House with holiday birds since the 1940s, the pardoning bit is actually a pretty new development.

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