SeeCalifornia.com

Turkeys aren’t considered one of the brightest creatures on the block. In terms of intelligence, they  are not necessarily dumb — instead they’re described as very social, interacting with each other and with humans.

Being pardoned from ending up on someone’s meal plate at Thanksgiving is an annual tradition that began with President Truman in 1947. It’s unlikely the two birds, one “official” and one “back-up” actor, who are shipped to the White House each year from the leader of the National Turkey Federation’s home state, have any idea they have been saved from impending doom. However, it makes us humans feel good.

Note: Presidential birds are toms, while whole birds cooked for Thanksgiving dinner are usually hens. Toms are typically processed for sandwich meat and other products.

2018 Presidential Turkey Pardon

• Scheduled for Tuesday, November 20 at the White House Rose Garden.
• In 2017 President Trump made light of the tradition when he joked that he had been informed by the White House that he could not overturn President Obama’s pardons.
• This is the first year South Dakota was chosen to present a gobbler.
• Farmer Ruben Waldner, who raised a flock of 50 plump candidates, helped escort the turkeys in an SUV for a 1,400-mile drive to the nation’s capital.
• Waldner played a radio in their shed to get them used to noise and brought a dog by to visit so they’re not spooked when guard dogs sniff them as part of White House security measures.
• The selected pair of Huron, South Dakota turkeys were paraded around the city as part of a formal send-off for 2018.
• The birds are booked in the five-star Willard InterContinental Hotel before the ceremony.
• After the pardoning ceremony the 18-week-old turkeys head for Gobbler’s Rest at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia. (Several previously pardoned turkeys lived at Disneyland in Anaheim.)