Honk for Compassion! PETA’s ‘Hell on Wheels’ Pig Truck Urges Everyone to Leave Pigs in Peace

Talk about a road hog! PETA’s back behind the wheel with another “Hell on Wheels” mobile campaign—and this time, we’re honking for compassion for pigs. On a nationwide tour, our pig truck will make pit stops near restaurants, food festivals, and busy downtown areas to urge everyone to go vegan.

PETA’s drive-by campaign confronts passersby with images of pigs bound for slaughter and the sound of their terrified, panicked screams. It’s a harrowing reminder that these sensitive individuals suffer horrifically when the meat industry raises and kills them for their flesh.

Leave Pigs in Peace

Pigs are highly intelligent animals who have complex problem-solving skills and remarkable memories. These curious, social animals love to spend time with their loved ones, play games, bask in the sun, and explore the world around them. Like all our fellow animals, pigs can feel pain and fear—yet the meat industry violently slaughters about 130 million of them every year in the U.S. alone.

On farms—even ones deceptively labeled as “humane” or “organic”—these outgoing, playful individuals spend their entire lives in cramped, filthy warehouses, where they can’t make nests for their babies, meaningfully socialize with others, or roll around in the mud.

From Gestation Crates to Hell’s Gate

Mother pigs (sows) in the meat industry spend most of their lives in gestation and farrowing crates so small that they can’t even turn around. Farmworkers repeatedly forcibly impregnate them until their bodies wear out—then they’re sent to slaughter.

Farms take piglets away from their distressed mothers shortly after birth and subject them to excruciating mutilations—such as tail docking, teeth clipping, and castration—without pain relief. The young pigs then spend their short lives in crowded pens on slabs of cold, slatted concrete amid their own feces and vomit—and sometimes among other pigs’ corpses.

The Highway to Hell

On transport trucks to a slaughterhouse, pigs endure a miserable journey, often over long distances in extreme heat or cold. Every year, more than a million pigs die during transport to slaughterhouses and at least 40,000 others sustain injuries. It’s common for pigs to arrive at a slaughterhouse dead or dying from heat exhaustion or even frozen to the side of a truck.

‘Humane Meat’ Is a Myth

No matter what a misleading label claims, there’s no way to “humanely” exploit and kill someone for food. Drivers transport pigs to slaughterhouses, where workers gas them to death or electrically stun them before slitting their throats and dunking them into scalding-hot water. Some pigs are scalded to death while they’re still able to feel.

Where Is the ‘Hell on Wheels’ Truck Heading Next?

The truck is packed with free leaflets that highlight interesting facts about pigs and how you can help them, and they include a QR code that people can scan to learn more about how pigs suffer for meat. 

Here’s How YOU Can Help Pigs

Every animal is someone with their own interests and needs. By going vegan, you can spare nearly 200 animals per year, help protect the environment, and improve your own health. Making the compassionate switch is easier than ever—and PETA will even help you do it. Check out our favorite vegan bacon and ham brands, and order our free vegan starter kit, which includes delicious vegan recipes, tips for eating out, and more:

Go Vegan!