In a publication distributed Friday, the Yellville Area Chamber of Commerce board announced they will no longer sponsor the annual Turkey Trot festival. The festival has been a point of contention among animal rights groups who say the phantom pilot, who would drop turkeys from a plane, is inhumane. The announcement from the chamber’s board of directors reads:
“After much consideration, discussion, and soul-searching, it is with a heavy heart we announce the Yellville Area Chamber of Commerce will no longer be the promoter of the Turkey Trot festival.
For many years, we have enjoyed the days of a family-friendly festival that served as a homecoming; an occasion every fall to gather and enjoy a parade, live music, crafts, festival food, and camaraderie.
We feel we can no longer deliver the same experience we have enjoyed in years passed. Our decision was not entered into lightly. Safety concerns, rising costs, and loss of funding were some of the determining factors in making this decision.
As a chamber of commerce, our goal is to help our local businesses grow and the festival has been more detrimental to them than prosperous. We remain committed to the Yellville area and appreciate the support our community has given us over the years and hope you will continue to support us in our efforts to promote our area.”
The festival gained national attention last year as news organizations from coast to coast reported, what would eventually become, a controversial tradition of throwing turkeys from a low flying plane.
In an article, written by Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette News Reporter Bill Bowden on October 5th, 2017, it was reported Rose Hilliard of Bruno says she went to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to file a complaint about the tossing of the turkeys. Hilliard says, “They are being told a crime is going to be committed, and I would hope they would do the right thing and arrest and prosecute.”
The Fedral Aviation Administration found no violations had occured and told the HuffPost, “FAA regulations do not specifically prohibit dropping live animals from aircraft, possibly because the authors of the regulation never anticipated that an explicit prohibition would be necessary.”
Yellville City Attorney Sam Pasthing said in 2017 there were no local laws concerning the dropping of turkeys. He says the issue never came before the Yellville City Council during his 15 years of service, and if an ordinance to ban dropping turkeys was proposed, the city would look to state law.
The Yellville Chamber of Commerce says it has no part in the release of the turkeys with “no affiliation, jurisdiction or control over what any individual does in his or her private plane in the air.” Pasthing said at the time he believes the majority of Yellville residents shared the chamber’s sentiment- the festival is more than that.
A letter was released by the chamber in 2017 focusing on the history of Turkey Trot. The letter states the festival has been a tradition for nearly 75 years, marks the beginning of fall and is a time for family and friends to get together. It states Turkey Trot is more than just turkeys being released from a plane, however to “outsiders” that’s all the festival is.
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