Two turkeys – Zoe and Spike – are free after Iowa Governor Terry Branstad pardoned them.
As he does every year, Gov. Branstad pardoned one tom and one hen from Thanksgiving, during a special ceremony at Terrace Hill on Monday, November 23, 2015.
“This has been a tough year for turkeys, so we’re going to give a couple of them a special pardon here today,” Gov. Branstad said.
He referred to bird flu, which impacted about one-fourth of all turkey operations in Iowa in 2015. Iowa ranks ninth overall in U.S. turkey production; overall production was expected to be back to normal levels by early 2016.
After the ceremony, Zoe and Spike went to their new home at Living History Farms.