‘Hell on Wheels’ Turkey Truck to Confront Shoppers Outside Quincy Market
For Immediate Release:
December 6, 2024
Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382
Would shoppers still buy turkeys to serve at holiday meals if they saw—and heard—the screaming birds headed for slaughter? That’s exactly what will happen outside Quincy Market on Tuesday, when “Hell on Wheels”—PETA’s new life-size, hyperrealistic turkey transport truck covered with images of the birds crammed into crates on their way to slaughter—will intercept shoppers before they make a purchase they can’t take back. The vexatious vehicle will bombard anyone within earshot with actual recorded sounds of the birds’ cries along with a subliminal message every 10 seconds suggesting that people go vegan. The local stop is part of the “Hell on Wheels” tour across 30 states aiming to stoke compassion for the tens of millions of turkeys killed each year for Thanksgiving and Christmas alone.
Where: Outside Quincy Market, 206 S. Market St., Boston
When: Tuesday, December 10, 1 p.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 an appeal to everyone to give birds a break and stop the annual cycle of cruelty by choosing vegan this holiday season 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. More than 46 million of them are killed each year at Thanksgiving alone, and more than 22 million die at Christmas.
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 Vegan Holiday 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.
