Will Rescued Chickens Named After the Bidens Roll In a Kinder Easter Egg Hunt?

PETA Urges President and First Lady to Adopt Vegan Easter Festivities

For Immediate Release:
March 23, 2022

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

In a bid for the president and first lady to swap the eggs in this year’s White House Easter Egg Roll for bird-friendly ceramic versions, today, PETA sent a letter to the Bidens with good news: The group has sponsored two rescued birds at a sanctuary in time for Easter and named them Joe and Jill. With an offer to fund the switch to vegan eggs, the letter explains that hatching a new way to roll would prevent birds just like Joe and Jill from enduring mutilations, severe crowding, and slaughter.

PETA also points out that because the Bidens’ event alone would include 15,000 hard-boiled eggs and 12,000 rainbow-dyed eggs, PETA’s purchase of reusable vegan eggs could provide years of entertainment and reduce waste.

“While these rescued birds enjoy sunbathing, socializing, and snacking at a sanctuary, chickens in the egg industry suffer mightily,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA asks that the president and first lady choose vegan eggs, because every bird deserves to live as happily as Joe and Jill.”

The U.S. egg industry exploits over 300 million hens every year. Within hours or days of hatching a large portion of each bird’s beak is cut off. Hens spend their entire lives pressed against other birds in industrial warehouses that reek of ammonia, before slaughterhouse workers slit the birds’ throats at about 2 years old.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to the president and first lady follows.

March 23, 2022

The President and Dr. Jill Biden

The White House

Dear Mr. President and Dr. Biden:

I’m writing on behalf of PETA, the world’s largest animal rights organization, and all people who are vegetarian or vegan, whether for humane, environmental, or health reasons, to request that you replace all chicken eggs used for White House Easter Egg Roll events with Earth- and animal-friendly ceramic eggs. We would be delighted to fund the replacement of all the eggs.

We’ve sponsored two chickens in your honor, Joe and Jill, at Animal Place, one of the oldest and largest sanctuaries for farmed animals in the country. Both were born to be used for their eggs and flesh but luckily were spared the suffering that’s the norm in the chicken and egg industries. Chickens are the most routinely abused animals on the planet. Everyone can agree that it would be wrong to confine cats and dogs to cages so small they couldn’t even turn around, to burn off parts of their sensitive faces, or to drop them into scalding-hot water while they were still conscious—yet all this is routinely done to chickens.

Raising chickens to lay eggs also requires massive amounts of land, food, energy, and water. The byproducts of factory farming pollute our air and waterways. Reducing the consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy is one of the most effective ways to help abate the ongoing climate catastrophe. Switching to ceramic eggs that could be reused year after year would be a terrific alternative to the sad spectacle and wastefulness of using thousands of hard-boiled eggs each spring.

It’s not too late to leave a lasting legacy of kindness by starting a new tradition. Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you, and we wish your family a wonderful Easter.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid Newkirk

President