Taking care of presidential turkeys

Left to right: Animal science students Peter Bina and Spencer Hackman

Spencer Hackman, undergraduate student in animal science, and Peter Bina, master’s student in animal science, are featured in a video from Jennie-O Turkey Store reflecting on the journey of presidential turkeys Liberty and Bell, who now reside on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota.

“What an honor it was to raise the two Presidential turkeys, Liberty and Bell. We are grateful to our many team members involved in providing care for the turkeys and the National Turkey Federation for their warm welcome of us and the Presidential turkeys. Thank you to President Biden for the formal pardon and to the University of Minnesota for providing their final home,” said Jennie-O Turkey Store in a social media post.

“Working with live animals—right now, with the presidential turkeys—are opportunities I didn’t think I was going to get in my undergraduate career, and it’s guided my professional career into a direction I didn’t imagine. It’s something I’ve become very passionate about and I’m excited to explore more of that in the future,” said Peter Bina, master’s student in animal science.