Moving Exhibition: PETA’s Subversive ‘Hell on Wheels’ Truck Shows a Turkey’s Plight
For Immediate Release:
November 21, 2024
Contact:
Rachel Hershkovitz 202-483-7382
It’s activism—and art. Ahead of Thanksgiving, PETA has hit the gas on “Hell on Wheels”—a life-size, hyperrealistic turkey transport truck covered with images of the birds crammed into crates on their way to slaughter—to intercept shoppers before they make a food purchase they can’t take back. In addition to being visually stimulating, the vehicle will bombard anyone within earshot with actual recorded sounds of the birds’ cries and a subliminal message every 10 seconds suggesting that people go vegan.
Hell on Wheels is crisscrossing the country, making stops outside grocery stores in 30 states—including top turkey killers California, Iowa, Minnesota, and Virginia—to confront people with the reality of the pain and suffering behind every turkey roast. It’s also set to make an appearance at the “turkey pardon” in Washington, D.C.
Additional photos are available here.
“This mobile multimedia art installation is getting the wheels turning in people’s heads about the hidden horrors of the meat industry,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA values creativity in activism, and this powerful prop moves people, stimulates their senses, and makes our pro-vegan message memorable in a way only visceral art can.”
In nature, turkeys spend their days foraging, caring for their young, building nests, keeping clean by taking dust baths, and roosting in trees out of reach of predators. They can live over 10 years. But the throats of turkeys raised for food are slit within the birds’ first six months of life—and tens of millions are killed each year for Thanksgiving and Christmas alone.
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 PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
