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U.S. is lack of fresh birds for Thanksgiving holiday
美國感恩節火雞供不應求
The US President has many responsibilities, but one of the strangest is the annual pardoning of turkeys, on the eve of Thanksgiving. Around 46 million turkeys will be eaten during the annual American holiday, which gets going on Thursday. But as our correspondent Daniel Ryntjes reports, two lucky birds will escape the oven.
There are two visiting dignitaries who seem to get even better treatment in Washington than a head of state-with massive media exposure and top class hotel rooms. "Caramel" and "Popcorn" have been pardoned by President Barack Obama and his daughters.
"The office of the presidency - the most powerful position in the world - brings with it many awesome and solemn responsibilities. This is not one of them. (Laughter.) But the White House Turkey Pardon is a great tradition. And I know Malia loves it, as does Sasha," said Obama.
These 38-pound turkeys raised in Badger, Minnesota are harder to come by this year, because a top producer, Butterball says it’s struggling to provide fresh turkeys weighing more than 16 pounds to U.S. supermarkets.
"Just on this one farm alone, twenty thousand turkeys are produced each Thanksgiving. The challenge for the farmer is not producing lots of them, but getting them in all shapes and sizes to please the fickle U.S. consumer," said Daniel Ryntjes at Washington.
Farm Manager Chris Bohrer says the birds are almost as tricky as lawmakers.
"To get a hen to weigh 26 pounds finished is very difficult . If it’s too cold, the turkeys may not eat. If it’s too hot,the turkey’s may not eat," said Chris Bohrer, manager of Maple Lawn Farm.
The two pardoned birds will head to the Mount Vernon estate, the former home of America’s first President George Washington and then onto a retirement farm. But not for long, because it turns out that all previously pardoned turkeys die within a few months, because specialized farm breeding to make them plump also shortens their lives.
"The oldest turkeys we have here on the farm were born in June. The youngest ones were born in August. So they have a very short lifespan. And most of the turkeys they pardon, they won’t live any longer, because that’s just their lifespan is no more than six or seven months," said Chris Bohrer, manager of Maple Lawn Farm.
So off you go, "Popcorn" and "Caramel" to a comfortable retirment enjoy it while you can.
