Turkeys found loose in Key Largo

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KEY LARGO, Fla., Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Animal rescuers in Florida said a pair of turkeys found wandering in traffic in Key Largo may have escaped a fate as Thanksgiving dinner.

Marsha Garrettson, manager of the Key Largo Animal Shelter, said the two turkeys -- recovered from the southbound lanes of U.S. 1 only a few days before Thanksgiving -- were the first turkeys found wandering in her two decades on the job, The Miami Herald reported Friday.

"We've gotten calls about goats and even a kangaroo," Garrettson said. "These are the first turkeys."

She said the turkeys may have been intended as someone's food.

"Maybe they escaped," Garrettson said. "Happily escaped."

Garrettson said authorities were not trying to find the owner, because keeping live turkeys is illegal in the county.

"Live turkeys are considered livestock," she said. "And it's basically illegal to have livestock in Monroe County."

She said the turkeys are being given a new home at a petting zoo in Broward County.