WHITE HOUSE -- President George W. Bush performed a White House tradition Wednesday.

Before he could enjoy his Thanksgiving dinner, the president had some important business to attend to.

In an annual ritual dating back to Abraham Lincoln's time, some lucky turkeys, Flyer and Fryer, were spared turning up as dinner.

Bush gave a presidential pardon to two turkeys Wednesday, sending them to live out the remainder of their lives in a park.

Though the presentation of a live turkey dates back to the Lincoln administration, the current ceremony dates to 1947, when the first National Thanksgiving Turkey was presented to President Harry Truman.

The 2006 National Thanksgiving Turkey and its alternate were from Monett, Mo., and were raised under the direction of National Turkey Federation Chairman Mike Briggs, according to the White House. Briggs delegated the day-to-day responsibilities to Lynn Nutt of Monett.

The birds are commercial turkeys used in normal industry production, and they were raised using the same techniques as other commercial birds. They were fed a regular diet of corn and soybean meal and were provided a continuous supply of fresh water.

A few minor modifications were made to prepare these birds for the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation. About 30 turkeys were removed from the normal commercial production flock and are being raised separately on Nutt's farm. The birds are periodically hand-fed and given additional interaction with people in an effort to acclimate them.

After the presentation, the National Turkey and its alternate will be taken to Disneyland Resort and Theme Park in Anaheim, Calif., to be a part of the holiday display and where they will stay the remainder of their natural lives. Both the turkeys will serve as honorary Grand Marshals for Disneyland's annual Thanksgiving Day Parade.

People who visited the White House's Web site got to help name the 2006 National Thanksgiving Turkey and alternate. Bush announced the winning names at the ceremony.

The options were:

Ben and Franklin
Plymouth and Rock
Washington and Lincoln
Corn and Copia
Flyer and Fryer

The Results:

There were 20,478 votes cast and "Flyer and Fryer" were the winning names of the Thanksgiving Turkey and the alternate.

Ben and Franklin: 18 percent
Plymouth and Rock: 22 percent
Washington and Lincoln: 12 percent
Corn and Copia: 21 percent
Flyer and Fryer: 27 percent

Later Wednesday, the president and first lady Laura Bush will head to Camp David, where they will spend most of the holiday weekend.

PETA Wants Better Care For Turkeys

Animal rights group PETA is urging Bush to see that pardoned turkeys get better care.

The group said that although the chosen birds don't become part of a holiday meal, they never see the next year's Thanksgiving because they die in a few months.

In past years the pardoned turkeys were sent to a petting zoo called Frying Pan Park. This year the White House said the turkeys will be sent to Disneyland, like last year.

But PETA said that the turkeys have been drugged and artificially fattened so their bodies can't handle more than 6 months of life.

PETA is asking the president to send the turkeys to an accredited animal sanctuary just outside Washington where they can receive special care.