Peach and Blossom escape fowl fate in Biden’s last presidential turkey pardon

Two lucky turkeys were spared from being served for Thanksgiving dinner this week, as they received a pardon from President Biden on Monday. The 77th annual White House tradition also marked the last pardoning ceremony of Biden’s presidency.

Peach and Blossom, who clock in at 41 pounds and 40 pounds, respectively, hail from Northfield, Minn.

“The two turkeys are named after the Delaware state flower, the peach blossom,” Biden said of his home state during a formal ceremony on the White House lawn. “The peach blossom flower also symbolizes resilience, which is, quite frankly, fitting for today.” Biden noted the turkeys' resilience after making the 1,100 mile trip from Minnesota to the nation’s capital.

“Well fellas, your prayers are going to be answered today,” Biden told the turkeys. “Based on your temperament and being productive members of society, I hereby pardon Peach and Blossom.”

According to personal biographies provided for the birds by the National Turkey Federation, Peach enjoys cross-country skiing and aspires to become the next prince of pop, while Blossom enjoys cheese curds and hopes to travel to all 10,000 Minnesota lakes.

The birds have been staying in a luxurious suite at the swanky Willard InterContinental hotel near the White House, as is customary in the quirky tradition. Following their trip to Washington, D.C., they’ll continue to ride the gravy train back to Farmamerica, an agricultural interpretive center, in Waseca, Minn., where they’ll live out the rest of their days as agricultural ambassadors.

Both turkeys were hatched in July as part of a presidential flock and are around 18 weeks old, according to John Zimmerman, National Turkey Federation chairman.

"Preparing these presidential birds has taken a lot of special care," Zimmerman said Sunday during a press conference."We've been getting them used to lights, cameras and even introducing them to a wide variety of music — everything from polka to classic rock."

Broad-breasted white domestic turkeys like Peach and Blossom are raised to be plump and flavorful until about 18 weeks, when they are considered grown enough to be prepared for human consumption.

Because domestic turkeys grow so large, they are susceptible to a whole host of health problems, which typically put their lifespan at less than a year. For example, two turkeys former President Barack Obama pardoned in 2012 — Cobbler and Gobbler — died within a year of their poultry pardons. The same fate befell Wishbone and Drumstick, who died just months after being pardoned by former President Donald Trump in 2017.

“[Americans] want a nice big-breasted turkey and so they are fed a high-protein diet and they get quite large,” Dean Norton, the director in charge of livestock at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate, told CNN. “The organs, though, that are in this bird are meant for a smaller bird. They just can’t handle the extra weight, so they end up living not as long [as wild turkeys].”

Naturally brown, wild turkeys typically weigh half as much as their commercially bred counterparts and generally live three to four years.

While Peach and Blossom have beaten the odds this Thanksgiving, it’s unlikely they’ll be around for next year’s festivities.

Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) urged Biden to stop what they called a “wretched” tradition last week.

“As a ‘lame duck,’ you no longer need to heed the interests of factory farmers and, instead, have a joyous opportunity to spare Americans and turkeys this humiliating meat-industry stunt that uses the White House as its public relations backdrop,” Ingrid Newkirk, PETA president, wrote in a letter to Biden last week. “Please end this wretched ritual that doesn’t befit public office.”