‘Hell on Wheels’ Turkey Truck to Confront Shameful White House Turkey Pardon
For Immediate Release:
November 22, 2024
Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382
To call out the White House Turkey Pardon for being nothing more than a presidential endorsement of the cruel, destructive meat lobby, PETA is dispatching “Hell on Wheels”—its new life-size, hyperrealistic turkey transport truck covered with images of the birds crammed into crates on their way to slaughter—to the district. The vexatious vehicle will cause a ruckus outside the Willard Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue—where the birds will be held on Sunday evening—and then it will hit the White House on Monday during the egregious “pardoning” fiasco.
In addition to the visceral visuals, the truck will bombard everyone within earshot with actual recorded sounds of birds’ cries, along with a subliminal message every 10 seconds suggesting that people go vegan. The stop is part of the “Hell on Wheels” tour across 30 states, aiming to stoke compassion for the 46 million turkeys killed every year for Thanksgiving and pull back the curtain on the reality of the pain and suffering behind each turkey roast.
Where: Willard Hotel, 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington
When: Sunday, November 24, 5 p.m.
Where: Outside the White House (at the intersection of Pennsylvania Ave. and 17th St.), Washington
When: Monday, November 25, 7 a.m.
“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 ‘Hell on Wheels’ truck is sending a strong signal that it’s beneath the Oval Office to shill for the meat industry and appealing to the public to please give birds a break by choosing vegan this Thanksgiving and beyond.”
Why: In nature, turkeys spend their days caring for their young, building nests, foraging for food, taking dust baths, and roosting in trees, and they can live for over 10 years. But in the meat industry, turkeys’ throats are slit within their first six months of life—and tens of millions are killed each year for Thanksgiving and Christmas alone. Birds “pardoned” by former presidents have ended up sorely neglected and confined to barren enclosures, just one of many reasons why PETA has urged President Biden to make this year’s “Turkey Pardon” the White House’s last.
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 PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
