For immediate release:
13 August 2024

Contact:
Maddy Missett 202-483-7382

Fort Dodge, Iowa –

Guests heading to Mineral City Mill and Grill on Fifth Avenue S. will hear a lot on Thursday when “Hell on wheels“” – PETA’s life-sized, hyper-realistic pig truck covered in images of real pigs crammed into crates on their way to slaughter – will bombard them with actual recorded sounds of the animals’ panicked screams, along with a subliminal message every 10 seconds encouraging people to go vegan.

“Behind every sausage or ham sandwich lies a once-living, sensitive individual crammed into a truck for a horrific, miserable journey to death,” says PETA’s vice president, Tracy Reiman. “PETA’s ‘Hell on Wheels’ truck is a call to all pork eaters to remember that the meat industry is cruel to them and that the only good meal is a vegan one.”

Where: Outside Mineral City Mill and Grill, 2621 Fifth Ave. S., Fort Dodge

When: Thursday, August 15, 12 noon

Why: In the meat industry, workers cut off piglets’ tails, cut their teeth with pliers, and castrate the males – all without painkillers. When it’s time to slaughter, they are crammed into trucks and transported hundreds of miles in all weather conditions, without food, water, or rest. Each year, more than a million pigs die and at least 40,000 more are injured during transport to the slaughterhouse. It’s common for pigs to suffer from heat exhaustion or even freeze to the sides of trucks on the way to the slaughterhouse.

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.