‘No One Needs to Kill to Eat’—but Shore Transit Doesn’t Want You to Know It

Does Shore Transit have a problem with PETA’s freedom of expression in our effort to save the lives of animals, slaughterhouse workers, and workers’ families? Judging by the way the Maryland agency recently stomped on our right to free speech, we’d say so.

Today, our legal counsel sent a letter formally objecting to Shore Transit’s refusal to run our ads—including the ones above and below—which proclaim, “Close the Slaughterhouses: Save the Workers, Their Families, and the Animals.”

These ads were designed in response to President Trump’s nonbinding order for slaughterhouses nationwide to remain open despite widespread coronavirus infections, including in Maryland, where hundreds of local Perdue and Amick Farms slaughterhouse workers have tested positive for the virus. The number of infections among slaughterhouse workers is still rising.

The meat industry is killing vast numbers of animals, 86 slaughterhouse workers have died from COVID-19, and many more as well as their families are sick.

So we’re asking Shore Transit to do the right thing by allowing us to inform the public that preventing the next pandemic can be as simple as not supporting the slaughter industry and going vegan.

The novel coronavirus originated in a Chinese “wet market,” where live and dead animals are sold for human consumption; swine flu began on a U.S. factory farm; and other influenza viruses have been traced to chickens (who love their families and value their own lives, just as we do). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that approximately 75% of recently emerged infectious diseases affecting humans originated in other animals.

Don’t let suppressed freedom of expression stop you from saving the lives of animals such as chickens, who have been known to complete complex mental tasks, learn from watching each other, demonstrate self-control, and worry about the future.

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Shore Transit may not want you to learn more about going vegan or that slaughterhouses are the least safe workplaces in the world, but that doesn’t mean you can’t. Click on the links below to learn more about both subjects and discover how you can save nearly 200 lives per year (including maybe your own) just by making the switch:

Note: PETA supports animal rights, opposes all forms of animal exploitation, and provides the public with information on those issues. We do not directly or indirectly participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office or any political party.