‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’: PETA U.K. Easter Billboards Rise in Rome as Group Urges Pope to Spread Vegan Message

For Immediate Release:
March 31, 2021

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

As Easter Sunday is just around the corner and many Italian families plan to eat lamb, PETA U.K. has placed three billboards in Rome showing Moses grasping a bunch of carrots and reminding everyone that there are no exceptions to the commandment not to kill.

Following Pope Francis’ message of kindness for Lent, PETA U.K. also sent a letter to His Holiness asking him to follow in the footsteps of St. Francis of Paola—who took a vow of nonviolence and refused to eat animals—by encouraging Catholics to extend the message of charity and compassion to all living, feeling beings by leaving animals off their plates this Easter.

“‘Thou shalt not kill’ must extend to all animals, including the lambs who are slaughtered for Easter dinners,” says PETA Vice President Daniel Paden. “PETA is encouraging Christians to celebrate the resurrection with a merciful vegan meal that leaves God’s creatures in peace.”

The Bible clearly states that God’s design for the world is one in which humans and other animals coexist peacefully and humans are caregivers—not killers. In Genesis 1:29, God says that the Earth’s seed-bearing plants and fruit “will be yours for food.” However, many Christians today mark the resurrection of Jesus—the Lamb of God—by eating lambs, who are packed onto trucks, often without food or water, for grueling journeys to the slaughterhouse. Lambs are killed at less than 6 months old, and at the slaughterhouse, some are still conscious and aware as workers cut their throats.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—offers a free vegan starter kit filled with tips, recipes, and more on its website.

For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.