For immediate release:
12 August 2024

Contact:
Reed Bolonyi 202-483-7382

Aberdeen, SD –

Visitors on their way to the Brown County Fair will hear a lot on Wednesday when “Hell on wheels“…” – PETA’s life-sized, hyper-realistic chicken truck covered in images of real chickens crammed into crates on their way to slaughter – will bombard them with recorded bird cries and deliver a subliminal message every 10 seconds encouraging people to go vegan.

The arrival of the troublesome vehicle comes as an outbreak of bird flu continues to spread in the United States, which has infected nearly 190 cow herds in the dairy industry and killed more than 16 million chickens nationwide since the beginning of the year.

“Every fried chicken wing or scrambled egg means misery for delicate birds who endure hell on earth before being crammed into slaughter trucks,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA’s ‘Hell on Wheels’ truck is a call to action for anyone who eats chicken or eggs to remember that the meat and egg industries are cruel to birds and harmful to human health, and that the only good meal is a vegan one.”

Where: Brown County Fair, 400 24^th Ave. NW, Aberdeen

When: Wednesday, August 14, 12 noon

Why: In the meat industry, chickens are kept by the tens of thousands in overcrowded, filthy barns and bred to develop upper bodies so unnaturally large that their legs often become crippled under the weight. Hens used to produce eggs are crammed into wire-bottomed cages with little room to even spread their wings. In slaughterhouses, workers slit their throats – often while they are conscious – and scald many of them to death in plucking tanks.

PETA—whose motto includes, “Animals are not meant to be eaten by us”—points out that every animal is someone, and offers free empathy kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. PETA’s free vegan starter kit is full of tips to help anyone considering making the switch.

For more information, see PETA.org or follow the group on X, on facebook.or Instagram.