‘Hell on Wheels’ Chicken Truck to Blast Dying Birds’ Cries Outside Cedar Livestock Market

For Immediate Release:
October 1, 2024

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

Diners on their way into Market Grill at the Cedar Livestock Market are in for an earful on Thursday, when “Hell on Wheels”—PETA’s life-size, hyperrealistic chicken transport truck covered with images of real chickens crammed into crates on their way to slaughter—will bombard them with actual recorded sounds of the birds’ cries along with a subliminal message every 10 seconds suggesting that people go vegan.

The vexatious vehicle’s arrival comes as a bird flu outbreak continues to spread across the U.S. A cluster of bird flu infections in humans has spread to eight people in Missouri in what may be the first examples of person-to-person transmission in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bird flu has also infected more than 230 herds of cows in the dairy industry and resulted in the killing of over 18 million chickens nationwide since the beginning of the year. PETA points out that breeding and raising animals for food creates hotspots for potentially deadly zoonotic diseases.

Where: Outside Market Grill, 2290 W. Hwy. 56, Cedar City

When: Thursday, October 3, 12 noon

“Behind every plate of chicken cordon bleu is a once-living, sensitive individual who was crammed onto a truck for a terrifying, miserable journey to their death,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA’s ‘Hell on Wheels’ truck is an appeal to anyone who eats chicken or eggs to remember that these industries are cruel to birds and hazardous to human health and that the only kind meal is a vegan one.”

Why: In the meat industry, chickens are confined by the tens of thousands to severely crowded, filthy sheds and bred to grow such unnaturally large upper bodies that their legs often become crippled under the weight. Hens used for egg production are crammed together inside wire-floored cages where they don’t even have enough room to spread their wings. At slaughterhouses, workers cut their throats—often while they’re still conscious—and scald many to death in defeathering tanks.

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 is 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.