Billboard Photo: ‘Don’t Pretend!’ Chrissie Hynde Challenges Chicago Meat-Eaters Ahead of Local Show
For Immediate Release:
August 22, 2024
Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382
Ahead of The Pretenders’ performance in the Windy City on Friday—the final stop on the band’s U.S. tour—lead vocalist and longtime PETA patron Chrissie Hynde has delivered a sky-high message of love in behalf of animals. The billboard launches Hynde’s new PETA campaign urging viewers to face reality and accept that every time they consume meat, a vulnerable animal is killed.
“The animal you’re eating wanted his life just as much as you want yours,” says Hynde. “Don’t pretend any different!”
Each year, millions of panicking and petrified cows are trucked to slaughterhouses, where workers shoot them in the head with a captive-bolt gun, hang them up by one leg, and cut their throat—often while they’re still conscious. Each person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals every year, dramatically shrinks their carbon footprint, and reduces their risk of suffering from cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and obesity. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help those looking to make the switch.
PETA’s billboard is located at the intersection of S. Western Avenue and W. 16th Street in Chicago. The group is also planning to run the ad in Hynde’s hometown of Akron, Ohio, and in various cities throughout the band’s European tour.
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. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
