Jailed Alleged Shooter in Chicken Wings Dispute Should Only Get Vegan Meals, PETA Suggests

For Immediate Release:
November 11, 2021

Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382

PETA has sent a letter to Sheriff Kelly V. Sparks today asking that Davis County Jail inmate Alika Suliafu be served strictly vegan meals while in jail on attempted murder charges after reportedly shooting at his father in a disagreement over an order of chicken wings.

PETA points out that Suliafu should not be enabled to cause any more harm to a sentient being, and serving him vegan meals is a great first step toward that goal. PETA notes that some prison operators have implemented vegan meals as part of successful violence-reduction programs.

“Serving bean burritos rather than burgers can help reduce violence in prisons,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges Davis County Jail to make it clear that no living, feeling beings should be deprived of their lives for a dirty old dietary habit.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Sparks follows.

November 11, 2021

The Honorable Kelly V. Sparks
Sheriff of Davis County

Dear Sheriff Sparks:

Greetings from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). I’m writing to urge you to impose a policy of serving only vegan meals to Alika Unga Suliafu, the man who was recently arrested and is being held at Davis County Jail after allegedly firing a gun at his father because he came home with the wrong order of chicken wings. It’s crucial that Suliafu not cause any more harm, and serving him vegan meals would be a great first step toward promoting compassion.

Some prison operators—including those at Alabama’s highest-security prison, William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility—have implemented vegan meals as part of successful violence-reduction programs. Suliafu could have killed his father over receiving a chicken wing order he didn’t like—vegan foods could diminish that bloodthirst and might even help protect staff and neighboring inmates.

It’s easy to see how eliminating meat, eggs, and dairy promotes compassion. Workers kill pigs for bacon, cows for burgers, and chickens for nuggets by slitting their throats and then often begin cutting them into pieces while they’re still conscious. On egg farms, the ends of chickens’ sensitive beaks are cut off without any painkillers. Mother cows used in milk production endure a constant cycle of pregnancy and childbirth, and their precious babies are torn away from them shortly after birth so that humans can take the milk for themselves. The only violence-free meal is a vegan one.

Serving Suliafu vegan foods would also be good for his health and would save taxpayers money on health-care costs. Vegans have much lower rates of suffering from cancer, heart disease, strokes, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and dementia than meat-eaters do.

We’d be happy to help you develop a cruelty-free meal plan for Suliafu or for all your inmates. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman

Executive Vice President