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Animal Rights

May And Flower, Plumped And Pardoned

Wednesday, November 21st, 2007

turkey3.jpgIt’s a tradition. Every year the leader of this great nation (our homeland, one might even say), with great pomp, grants one lucky turkey a presidential pardon. It’s “turkey squared” now, though, our grace having been extended to favor two, count ‘em, two fortunate fowl, a winner and a runner-up. Just in case, I suppose.

Anyway, this year the 2007 official Thanksgiving turkey and second-place alternate, christened May and Flower respectively, were the two lucky ducks. Names determined by 29,000 online voters. Democracy in action.

Now neither need be concerned about a stranger shoving a fistful of cornbread up their ass this Thursday, and both can rest assured that their giblets will remain intact. Apologies to others of the familial flock for whom things may not bode so well. Mama hen does have some nice breasts, after all.

As George W. Bush said Monday during this most fabulous of White House customs, “May they live the rest of their lives in blissful gobbling. And may all Americans enjoy a holiday full of love and peace. God bless you all.” Yeah, George, and peace to you, too. Get a dictionary. You apparently don’t know the meaning of the word. But I digress …

Anyway, two things that I find perplexing. First and foremost being that in order to be granted pardon, one must have committed some sort of offense. What did these particular turkeys do to run afowl of the law? By either definition, noun or transitive verb, the word “pardon” means forgiveness of wrongdoing. Just exactly how nefarious are May and Flower, I wonder, and were they truly pardon-worthy?

Secondly, why bother with such ceremony? It’s really a waste of time. Sure, the reprieved will get to live the rest of their lives freely gobbling on a farm or in a petting zoo somewhere, but honestly, they’ll most likely be dead before Christmas anyway. The chosen finalists are, after all, selected by the National Turkey Federation, nothing more than a promoter and advocate for the turkey factory farms of America, keeping us all wellfed for the holidays! Those juicy Butterballs and Honeysuckles in your grocer’s freezer have to come from somewhere, and most likely were not snatched running free on the range. In all probability, they’ve been caged, drugged, forcefed, maimed and mutilated before making it to market. Properly plumped for profit, of course.

So, in fact, most of the presidentially-pardoned fail to live long. A year at best. Fast-growing, commercially raised turkeys simply grow too big for their bodies’ structures and are too susceptible to disease. They’re pretty much goners anyway. Hey, at least they can be grateful that they were amongst the luckier of their fellow cellmates, all things considered. They haven’t had their beaks, wings or feet whacked off, and of course never fell victim to the blunt end of the killing stick, all typical treatment in the bird-raising biz! If you really want to know what it takes to make your Norman Rockwell-esque Thanksgiving feast succulently perfect, watch these videos here and here. Yikes.

Tofurky anyone? Yes, please.

Regardless of how you choose to celebrate, I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving. I personally think I’ll pass on the bird this year. There are cruelty-free alternatives available, after all. Although I will miss those leftover turkey sandwiches … Finally, of course, congrats to May and Flower. To concur with Dubya, I hope that they may live the rest of their pardoned, abbreviated lives in blissful gobbling, too.

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