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the strange truth behind the Thanksgiving turkey pardon tradition : NPR

Explained: the strange truth behind the Thanksgiving turkey pardon tradition : NPR

Behind the yuk-yuk dad jokes of the now-annual presidential turkey pardon is a very strange, sometimes dark and often misunderstood history, even by presidents.

On Monday, President Biden again "pardoned" two turkeys — named Chocolate and Chip — though they did nothing wrong. They are coming from a grower in North Carolina, staying in a hotel room and even have social media accounts.

But why do they do it, you ask? Good question. It's one your author has been asking for 13 years now.

We got some answers for you, but the bottom line is this event is basically the biggest public-relations stunt of the year for the turkey lobby, it has a head-slapping reason for being coined a "pardon" and the birds were never meant to be spared, they were meant to be eaten.

Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease

Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease

In 2020, Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 (RHDV2), a virus that causes the notifiable foreign animal disease, Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease (RHD), was detected for the first time in wild hares and rabbits in the United States. In August 2022, RHDV2 was detected for the first time Pennsylvania in a domestic rabbit facility in Fayette County. RHD poses a threat to the Commonwealth's cottontail rabbit and snowshoe hare populations, and as such, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is taking proactive measures to mitigate that threat.