‘I see a turkey head pop up’ : Moncton’s SPCA catches rogue turkey on Main Street

MONCTON – The Moncton SPCA just may have captured the world’s smartest turkey.

“We have a Thanksgiving survivor,” said Nanette Pearl from the Moncton SPCA.

Moncton resident Cary Rossignol says the daredevil domestic turkey they now call “Herbie” made a harrowing escape out onto Main street in Moncton last Sunday.

“I was driving down Main Street and there is a pickup truck driving in front of me and all of a sudden I see a turkey head pop up,” she said.

She said she did a double-take, but there was a turkey, all cooped up in the back of the truck about to go rogue.

“The turkey jumped up on the side of the truck and all of a sudden it just bolted right for the sidewalk.”

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That’s where the feathered fugitive free-ranged his way throughout the downtown for more than 24 hours.

He was spotted all along Main Street.

Pearl says animal control officers were dispatched to the scene to snag the gobbler.

“My animal control officers pursued the bird and inevitably we brought him back safe and sound,” she said.

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Danny LeBlanc has been an animal control officer for more than a year, he says this was a first for him.

“He was scared at the beginning but once he got in the crate he was pretty good,” he said.

LeBlanc says once they got him back to the shelter, Herbie settled in.

“He is easy to handle. He will eat out of your hand, you can pet him and pick him up,” said Pearl. “The pickup truck owner is a person of interest.”

Herbie weighs in at almost 15 pounds, big enough to feed a large crowd.

“He will never be dinner once he comes through here he will be sent to a home that will actually just let him be “Herbie the turkey” for the rest of his life. Oh yeah, he has a good thing going.”