<P> The first President on record issuing a `` pardon '' to his turkey was Ronald Reagan . Reagan had been sending the turkeys presented to him to farms and zoos since at least 1982 , and 1987 's turkey , Charlie , was likewise headed to a petting zoo . At the time , Reagan was facing questions over the Iran - Contra affair , on whether or not he would consider pardoning Oliver North ( who had yet to be tried for his involvement in the affair ) ; Reagan conjured the notion of the turkey pardon as a joke to deflect those questions . Reagan did not pardon a turkey in his final year as President in 1988 , but his successor , George H.W. Bush , instituted the turkey pardon as a permanent part of the presentation beginning his first year in office , 1989 , in response to the protests of animal rights activists . </P>
<P> The first President on record issuing a `` pardon '' to his turkey was Ronald Reagan . Reagan had been sending the turkeys presented to him to farms and zoos since at least 1982 , and 1987 's turkey , Charlie , was likewise headed to a petting zoo . At the time , Reagan was facing questions over the Iran - Contra affair , on whether or not he would consider pardoning Oliver North ( who had yet to be tried for his involvement in the affair ) ; Reagan conjured the notion of the turkey pardon as a joke to deflect those questions . Reagan did not pardon a turkey in his final year as President in 1988 , but his successor , George H.W. Bush , instituted the turkey pardon as a permanent part of the presentation beginning his first year in office , 1989 , in response to the protests of animal rights activists . </P>
who was the first president to pardon the turkey
who was the first president to pardon the turkey
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan