Pardoned Indiana-raised turkeys now at new Purdue home

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - The two Indiana-raised turkeys given Thanksgiving pardons by President Joe Biden are now at their new Purdue University home.

The turkeys arrived this past week at Purdue and were welcomed by visitors on the West Lafayette campus' Memorial Mall. The turkeys named Peanut Butter and Jelly will live at Purdue's Animal Sciences Research and Education Center, where the school says they'll spend their days in an enclosed setting with access to a shaded grassy area.

Animal sciences professor Marisa Erasmus told WLFI-TV that having the turkeys on campus will provide a chance to explain more about the birds.

Indiana ranks fourth in the country in turkey production, according to Purdue.

The two turkeys were raised by Jasper, Indiana-based Farbest Farms, which says it oversees the raising of about 15 million turkeys each year with growers in Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.

The birds were featured in a Nov. 19 ceremony at the White House during which Biden continued the annual tradition of sparing them from the fate met by millions of turkeys on Thanksgiving Day.