They may have been pardoned — but activists are still crying fowl.
Bread and Butter, who were both spared by President Trump in the annual White House turkey pardoning Tuesday, will have short lives marked by ill-health and obesity, the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says.
“Turkeys which are bred and raised for the meat industry are genetically manipulated through specific breeding to grow so rapidly that they suffer from terrible health complications,” Ashley Byrne, of PETA, told The Post. “So even with the best of care, their physical condition is very poor and they’re just bound to have very serious medical problems.”
While she was happy Bread and Butter were spared the ax, saving just two turkeys isn’t enough for PETA, Byrne said.
Like their recent predecessors, Bread and Butter will live out the rest of their days at the Gobbler’s Rest sanctuary on the campus of the Virginia Tech.
Rami Dalloul, a professor who oversees the spared birds, disputed PETA’s contention that the fowl live in foul conditions — but admitted they don’t have much of a future as compared to their wild counterparts.
“They’re not obese, these are mid-40s to 45 pounds. They’re just big birds” he told The Post. “They are normal weight for the size.”
“They have been bred over generations to produce meat so they’re not bred to live long. These are the commercial ones that you buy in the store,” he said. “Part of it is genetics … Their immune system is not as prepared as much as the immune systems of wild birds.”
Farmed turkeys will be lucky to live past two years, while those in the wild last anywhere from three to five years.
Bread and Butter joined the 2018’s pardoned pair, Peas and Carrots, but Drumstick and Wishbone, pardoned in 2017, and Tater and Tot, given a merciful out in 2016, are all long gone.
Despite the poor genetic prognosis, Bread and Butter can look forward to an otherwise comfortable life at the sanctuary where they will be doted on by faculty and students and met with a regular stream of curious visitors.
“It’s a really plush life so to speak,” said Dalloul, who sees the birds regularly. “They get a nice enclosure. People serve them food and water. They come out. People come and visit them. They are officially retired and they don’t have to worry about room and board or tuition.”
The end is less plush. After their death, Bread and Butter will be unceremoniously disposed of by a university veterinarian.
“They take care of the carcass afterwards,” he said.