PETA to Support Neighborhood Slaughterhouse Permit—on One Condition

For Immediate Release:
April 9, 2021

Contact:
Tapi Mbundure 202-483-7382

Residents are rallying against a chicken slaughterhouse approved for construction on Tranquility Drive in Easton, so in advance of the public hearing scheduled for May 3, PETA sent a letter this morning to John Harris, chair of the Easton Zoning Board of Appeals, expressing its support of the slaughterhouse—if, that is, the facility is built with at least one glass wall so that operations are visible to the public.

“If you put a chicken on your dinner table, you can’t oppose a slaughterhouse down the street,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “A slaughterhouse with a glass wall would at least show the public the fear and torment the birds endure and would likely create some new vegans.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, visit PETA.org.

PETA’s letter to Harris follows.

April 9, 2021

John Harris

Chair

Easton Zoning Board of Appeals

Easton, Connecticut

Dear Mr. Harris:

I’m writing on behalf of PETA and our more than 6.5 million members and supporters worldwide, including many across Connecticut, in response to concerns over a zoning permit that will allow for the construction of a slaughterhouse at 59 Tranquility Dr. and the tabling of the appeal against it this week. We urge you to reject the appeal, but only if the owner agrees to construct the slaughterhouse with at least one glass wall so that members of the public can witness firsthand the fear and torment that chickens endure before they’re killed for food. Please allow me to explain.

Sir Paul McCartney said, “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian.” He knows that it is easy to forget where meat comes from when you see it in neatly wrapped packages at the farmer’s market or supermarket, but the animals don’t go peacefully. Regardless of size and location, all slaughterhouses involve the abuse and violent slaughter of individuals who want to live.

We believe that everyone has the right to consider who animals are, what makes them tick, and how they feel. Chickens are smart, sensitive animals who feel pain, empathy, and love; form complex social structures; and dream at night, as humans do. Studies show that they can anticipate future events, communicate with their chicks while they’re still inside the shell—so that they recognize their mother’s voice when they hatch—and have distinct personalities. Baby chicks, we now know, can count and perform basic addition and subtraction.

We hope you’ll agree that now, while the world continues to battle the current pandemic caused by exploiting animals for food, it’s urgent, if only for selfish reasons, that we humans stop eating animals. For the animals, the matter is also one of life and death. Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid Newkirk

President

cc:        Philip Doremus, Zoning Enforcement Officer