National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation

Common card · No. 310402

The National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation is a ceremony that takes place at the White House every year shortly before Thanksgiving. The president of the United States is presented with a live domestic turkey by the National Turkey Federation (NTF), usually a male of the Broad Breasted White variety. The early years also included a joint presentation with the Poultry and Egg National Board. The ceremony dates back to the 1940s; these turkeys were usually slaughtered and eaten, with some exceptions, prior to the 1970s, when it became standard practice to spare the turkey. During the presidency of George H. W. Bush, it became a tradition. All presidents since Bush have issued a ceremonial "pardon" to the turkey, which spares the turkey from being served as Thanksgiving dinner and leads to the turkey being sent to live out its natural life at a park or university. It is a tradition that the turkeys be picked from the chairperson of the NTF's home state, occasionally from the chair's own...

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