For Immediate Release:
November 14, 2022
Contact:
Lauren Kent 202-483-7382
Springdale, Ark. – Local parents may be hearing a plea from their kids to leave the turkey off the table this Thanksgiving, thanks to PETA’s can’t-miss message that just went up on U.S. Route 71 near two schools. Appealing to children’s innate compassion for animals, the message urges families to see turkeys as individuals and opt for animal-free holiday feasts.
“Children often guide a family’s buying habits, and with their natural affinity for animals, we hope they’ll persuade families to enjoy a delicious vegan turkey roast and leave gentle birds in peace,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA’s website is packed with recipes and tips to help everyone choose a compassionate holiday meal that celebrates life.”
Bird flu is plaguing turkey farms, and prices are soaring. These are two good reasons to skip the turkey dinner, but another is kindness. Free-roaming turkeys can live up to 10 years, but those factory-farmed for food are normally slaughtered when they’re between 14 and 18 weeks old, and more than 45 million turkeys are killed each year for Thanksgiving alone. Arkansas ranks second in the U.S. for the most turkeys killed. In slaughterhouses, birds are hung upside down before their heads are dragged through an electrified “stunning tank,” which immobilizes but doesn’t kill them. Many dodge the tank and are still completely conscious when their throats are slit. If the blade fails to cut the birds’ throats properly, they’re scalded to death in the tank of boiling water that’s used for feather removal.
PETA’s appeal can be found near 4000 U.S. Rte. 71/S. Thompson St., across from Furniture Row. The billboard is close to the Tyson and Cargill slaughterhouses, John Tyson Elementary, and George Junior High School.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview, and offers a “ThanksVegan” guide on its website. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
