PETA protesting turkey pardon by president
(KTNV) -- It is a long-standing Thanksgiving tradition.
President Obama will pardon two turkeys Wednesday: Cobbler and Gobbler.
After their pardon. the turkeys will be taken by horse-drawn carriage to George Washington's Virginia estate.
Once they are there, they will become part of the Mount Vernon Christmas display.
Not everyone is behind the tradition through.
The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is asking the president to skip the annual tradition.
They say that the tradition makes light of the slaughter of more than 46 million "gentle, intelligent birds" each year.
PETA also said in a letter to the White House that the pardoning "portrays the United States' president as being in some sort of business partnership with the turkey-killing industry."
The origins of the tradition are unclear. Some people credit President Harry Truman while others say that Abraham Lincoln was the first. President John F. Kennedy spared a turkey on Nov. 18, 1963 -- just three days before he was assassinated.
The tradition was made formalized in 1989 by then-President George H.W. Bush.
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