MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday exercised the pardoning power of her office to spare two turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving.
In Alabama’s 78th annual turkey pardoning, Ivey issued a full pardon to a pair of 18-week-old turkeys named Pumpkin and Pie, raised by Bates House of Turkey in Greenville. Alabamians weighed in and decided the turkeys’ names through a poll on the governor’s X account. Other name options were Acorn and Squash, Harvest and Gravy and Fluffy and Feathers.
“I’m proud to announce that we have Pumpkin and Pie,” Ivey said. “Now I warn you, given this is my last turkey pardoning as your governor, I have nothing to lose. But after carefully reviewing all the information given to me about this pair of turkeys, I believe I have reached a decision today by the powers vested in me as governor of Alabama. I am hereby granting a full pardon to Pumpkin and Pie, so they too can avoid the Thanksgiving dinner table.”
The ceremony is a longstanding tradition at the Governor’s Mansion in Montgomery. During her remarks, Ivey – the state’s longest continuously serving governor in history – estimated that she holds the record for turkeys officially pardoned. The completion of the annual turkey pardoning marks another last for the Ivey administration as it begins the transition out of power after nearly a decade. Republican Governor-elect Tommy Tuberville will be inaugurated on Jan. 18, 2027.
Before Ivey issued the pardons, students from Montgomery Christian School and Riverchase Day School in Hoover sang songs and recited poems about turkeys squawking, being thankful and celebrating Thanksgiving.
Outgoing Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Rick Pate took the opportunity to highlight the impact of Alabama’s poultry farmers. The poultry industry makes up one-eighth of the state’s economy and has a $15 billion impact in Alabama, according to the Alabama Poultry and Egg Association.
“I know that we don’t appreciate the impact the poultry industry has on the state of Alabama, and so there’s 5.1 million people (who) live in the state of Alabama, but every week, all 52 weeks of the year, we process 23 million chickens every week,” Pate said. “So we obviously are feeding more than just ourselves, we’re actually feeding the rest of the country and the world with the amount of chickens.”
Pate also thanked the Bates family, who have provided the turkeys for the pardoning since 1949.