‘The Writing Is on the Wall’: Bird Flu Outbreak in Texas Panhandle Prompts Warning From PETA

For Immediate Release:
April 4, 2024

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

Amarillo, Texas –

Following the news that Cal-Maine Foods Inc. killed almost 2 million chickens at an egg factory in Parmer County due to a bird flu outbreak, PETA plans to place a sky-high warning near the plant, reminding everyone that slaughterhouses and filthy, severely crowded sheds where chickens are confined in the egg industry are breeding grounds for a host of deadly pathogens that can easily mutate and spread to humans.

“Eating meat, eggs, and dairy from deplorable operations where thousands or even millions of animals are confined amid their own waste not only is disgusting but also will unquestionably lead to another pandemic,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “The only solution is to go vegan, and PETA stands ready with free vegan starter kits to help everyone make the switch—before it’s too late.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently revealed that highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in cows used for dairy in Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, and Texas; is present in the milk of infected cows; and has been transmitted from a cow to a human at least once in the Texas Panhandle—the region where Cal-Maine Foods’ Parmer County egg factory is located. PETA points out that the majority of diseases that have caused epidemics or pandemics in recent years originated in animals before being transmitted to humans, including AIDS, avian flu, swine flu, SARS, MERS, Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19. Strains of avian flu have already spread, decimating wild bird populations around the globe. Last year alone, at least 58 million birds confined on farms were systematically killed to limit the spread of the virus.

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.