Turkeys from Farbest Farms in Jasper to be pardoned by President Biden

WASHINGTON, DC (WFIE) - Some Hoosier turkeys will be at the White House Rose Garden Friday.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki made the announcement at a press briefing.

She said the 74th anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation will include pardons for a turkey and its alternate from Jasper, Indiana.

According to White House history, it’s often said that President Lincoln’s 1863 clemency to a turkey recorded in an 1865 dispatch by White House reporter Noah Brooks was the origin for the pardoning ceremony.

The official turkey presentation began in 1947.

A press release from Purdue says their Department of Animal Sciences in the College of Agriculture will provide a home and care for the turkeys after the presentation at the White House.

It says the turkeys will live at Purdue’s Animal Science Research and Education Center, where they will live in a separate enclosed indoor setting with access to a shaded grassy area.

The press release says the turkeys were raised under the supervision of Phil Seger, 2021 National Turkey Federation chairman, and by southern Indiana turkey producer Andrea Welp in cooperation with Farbest Farms.

The names of the turkeys are Peanut Butter and Jelly.