‘Screaming Turkey’ Truck to Challenge Thanksgiving Shoppers Outside Hy-Vee
For Immediate Release:
November 5, 2024
Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382
Would grocery shoppers still buy turkeys for Thanksgiving if they saw—and heard—the screaming birds headed for slaughter? That’s exactly what will happen outside the Hy-Vee store on W. Cherry Street on Thursday when PETA launches its first annual “Give Birds a Break” tour, featuring a hyperrealistic turkey transport truck covered with images of birds crammed into crates on their way to slaughter, just as real turkeys are.
The vexatious vehicle is setting out to crisscross the country to intercept shoppers before they make a purchase they can’t take back—bombarding them with actual recorded sounds of the birds’ cries along with a subliminal message every 10 seconds urging people to go vegan. To make the switch as easy as possible, PETA members will give away free vegan roasts to passersby.
Where: Outside Hy-Vee, 525 W. Cherry St., Vermillion
When: Thursday, November 7, 12 noon
In addition to South Dakota, PETA’s truck will make stops in 29 other states—including top turkey killers California, Iowa, Minnesota, and Virginia—as well as making an appearance at the much-criticized presidential “turkey pardon” in Washington, D.C.
“Turkeys are devoted parents who purr to their chicks and whose skin changes color to express their emotions, yet in the meat industry, they’re treated as unfeeling objects, crammed into filthy sheds, and slaughtered, often while they’re still conscious,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA’s turkey transport truck is an appeal to holiday shoppers to give these smart birds a break and stop the annual cycle of cruelty by choosing vegan this Thanksgiving and beyond.”
Why: In nature, turkeys spend their days foraging, caring for their young, building nests, keeping clean by taking dust baths, and roosting in trees out of the reach of predators and can live for over 10 years. But the throats of turkeys raised for food are slit within the birds’ first six months of life—and tens of millions are slaughtered each year in the U.S. for Thanksgiving and Christmas alone. Workers hang the struggling young birds upside down, drag them through an electrified bath, slit their throats, and dump them into scalding-hot defeathering tanks.
PETA notes that with a plethora of delicious vegan roasts—including Field Roast’s Hazelnut & Cranberry Plant-Based Roast, Gardein’s Plant-Based Turk’y Roast, and Tofurky’s Plant-Based Roast & Wild Rice Stuffing—available in stores and online, cruelty and death have no place on holiday tables.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. PETA’s free vegan starter kit and “ThanksVegan” guide are filled with tips to help anyone looking to make the switch.
For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
