‘Turkeys Feel Pain, Too!’ Citywide Bench Blitz From PETA Makes Plea for Birds Ahead of Thanksgiving
For Immediate Release:
October 2, 2024
Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382
As some classroom walls are being lined with handprint turkeys in preparation for Thanksgiving, PETA is joining in on the decorating—by plastering city benches with pleas urging everyone not to have a hand in the birds’ suffering. The eye-catching appeals—which are located near schools, grocery stores, and restaurants—remind viewers that turkeys are thinking, feeling individuals who don’t want to die for their holiday feasts.
“Turkeys are intelligent, loyal, and loving animals who value their lives and don’t want to be sliced up on a holiday table any more than we would,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA encourages everyone to make compassion their centerpiece by choosing a delicious vegan feast that gives gentle birds a break.”
PETA notes that turkeys raised for food are slaughtered within their first six months of life—and millions are killed each year for Thanksgiving alone. Workers hang the young birds upside down, drag them through an electrified bath, slit their throats, and dump them into scalding-hot defeathering tanks—often while they’re still conscious.
In addition to sparing nearly 200 animals every year a miserable life and a terrifying death, each person who goes vegan dramatically shrinks their food-related carbon footprint and slashes their risk of developing cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help those looking to make the switch.
PETA’s appeals can be found on 25 benches across the city, including near the Kid City Manitoba indoor amusement park on Archibald Street, Hey Kiddo Daycare on Lindenwood Drive, Bambini Montessori Preschool on St. Mary’s Road, Bernstein’s Deli on Corydon Avenue, Walmart on Vermillion Road, and Safeway on Goulet Street.
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.
