‘Hell on Wheels’ Is Coming—Pig Truck to Blast Dying Animals’ Cries Outside Pop’s BBQ

For Immediate Release:
September 17, 2024

Contact:
Reed Bolonyi 202-483-7382

Diners on their way into Pop’s BBQ on N. Dubuque Street are in for an earful on Thursday, when “Hell on Wheels”—PETA’s life-size, hyperrealistic pig transport truck covered with images of real pigs crammed into crates on their way to slaughter—will bombard them with actual recorded sounds of the animals’ panicked screams along with a subliminal message every 10 seconds suggesting that people go vegan.

“Behind every rack of ribs or piece of pulled pork 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 pigs to remember that the meat industry is cruel to them and that the only kind meal is a vegan one.”

Where: Pop’s BBQ, 130 N. Dubuque St., Iowa City

When: Thursday, September 19, 12 noon

Why: In the meat industry, workers chop off piglets’ tails, clip their teeth with pliers, and castrate the males—all without pain relief. When the time comes for slaughter, they’re crammed onto trucks and transported hundreds of miles through all weather extremes without food, water, or rest. Every year, more than 1 million pigs die and at least 40,000 others sustain injuries during transport to slaughterhouses. It’s common for pigs on the way to slaughter to suffer from heat exhaustion or even become frozen to the sides of trucks.

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.