‘I’m Me, Not MEAT’: Giant Chicken Is Coming Home to Roost Outside Popeyes, Courtesy of PETA

For Immediate Release:
April 15, 2024

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

Popeyes patrons’ eyes may pop when they spot PETA’s striking visual plea towering over the fast-food chain’s location on Flushing Avenue urging everyone to consider that chickens suffer greatly and die in horrible ways for a fleeting craving for flesh and calling on viewers to go vegan. The sky-high appeal follows news that a bird flu outbreak is sweeping the nation and Cal-Maine Foods Inc. has killed almost 2 million chickens at its plant in Texas. More than a million chickens are killed per hour every day in the U.S.—each one a thinking, feeling being who wants to live.

“Every animal is someone, not something, and every hot wing or piece of fried chicken comes from an individual who felt pain and fear and didn’t want to die,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk, a vegan for over 40 years since visiting a chicken slaughterhouse. “PETA urges everyone to leave animals in peace, not in pieces, and we’re ready to help with a downloadable vegan starter kit at PETA.org.”

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.

Each person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals every year, dramatically shrinks their carbon footprint, and reduces their own 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 outside Popeyes at 1052 Flushing Ave.

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.