No fowl play: Pembroke Park to pardon ‘Tom the Turkey’
Bronze turkey in the farm in Belize

Bronze turkey in the farm in Belize
‘We’re thankful to have the chance to bring our town together and give Tom a much-deserved reprieve from being on the table.’

At least one big bird in South Florida will survive Thanksgiving.

On Wednesday, Pembroke Park in Broward County will pardon a turkey — named Tom, apparently — in an afternoon ceremony at Town Hall.

The Town Council is inviting visitors and residents to attend, see Tom off and perhaps raise a gobble-let in the fowl’s honor.

“Thanksgiving is a great day to be an American, but isn’t ideal to be a turkey. In Pembroke Park, we thought it would be fitting to ensure Tom the Turkey gets to enjoy the day as much as the rest of us,” Vice Mayor Erik Morrissette said.

“We’re thankful to have the chance to bring our town together and give Tom a much-deserved reprieve from being on the table.”

While Tom will go on to live his baste life, winging it until the next holiday season when his pluck could run out, the same can’t be said for many of his brethren and sistren. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an estimated 46 million turkeys will be consumed as part of Thanksgiving meals in America — roughly 22.4% of the 205 million turkeys raised this year.

The turkey pardoning in Pembroke Park, a small municipality of fewer than 6,300 residents, comes two days after President Joe Biden granted clemency to two of Tom’s distant cousins.

On Monday, Biden pardoned turkeys Peach and Blossom at the White House in front of a crowd of some 2,500 people.

Biden noted during the ceremony that it would be his last time speaking as President during the Thanksgiving season. He said serving as President has “been the honor of my life” before speaking to the nation broadly.

“May we use this moment to take time from our busy lives and focus on what matters most: our families,” he said. “My dad used to have an expression, family is the beginning, the middle and the end, our friends and our neighbors. The fact that we are blessed to live in America, the greatest country on Earth — and that’s not hyperbole. We are. No matter what, in America we never give up. We keep going, we keep the faith.”

Tom the Turkey’s pardon will take place at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 3150 SW 52nd Ave., Pembroke Pines 33023. The event is open to the public.

Jesse Scheckner

Jesse Scheckner has covered South Florida with a focus on Miami-Dade County since 2012. His work has been recognized by the Hearst Foundation, Society of Professional Journalists, Florida Society of News Editors, Florida MMA Awards and Miami New Times. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @JesseScheckner.


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