PETA's 4-H Parody Booth to Give State Fair Visitors Food for Thought

Group Will Screen Gruesome Video Footage Narrated by Paul McCartney Showing Illegal Cruelty on Iowa Factory Farms

For Immediate Release:
August 8, 2012

Contact:
Kaitlynn Kelly 202-483-7382

Des Moines — PETA has been granted a space at this year's Iowa State Fair (opening August 9) to screen video footage narrated by Paul McCartney in a thought-provoking twist on the traditional 4-H booth. Although 4-H teaches young people positive values in other programs, its support of the cruel meat industry teaches a different moral lesson: betrayal of those who depend on you and adherence to an unhealthy, inhumane, and environmentally destructive diet. So PETA's four H's stand for "hellish for animals," "hazardous to the environment," "linked to heart attacks," and "hypocritical for teaching kids to care about only certain animals and to disrespect others." In the wake of Iowa's controversial new law to thwart the public's right to know exactly what goes on inside factory farms, the booth will screen McCartney's "Glass Walls," including video footage from PETA's 2008 investigation of an Iowa pig farm, which documented that supervisors and workers beat pigs with metal rods, jabbed clothespins into the animals' eyes, and even sexually abused a pig with a cane—all evidence that led to convictions for cruelty to animals.

When:   Beginning Thursday, August 9, 9 a.m.–9 p.m.

Where:  Iowa State Fair, 3000 E. Grand Ave., East Grandstand Exhibit Hall, Space 5, Des Moines

"By trying to prevent people from documenting the criminal abuse of animals on farms, Iowa is protecting criminal behavior," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "Anyone who buys meat from Iowa should have the right to know what animals went through on their way from shed to sandwich so that they can make informed decisions—but Iowa legislators are way too scared to allow that."

The following are just some of the abuses that PETA's investigator documented:

• A supervisor shoved a cane into a sow's vagina, struck her on the back about 17 times, and then struck another sow.
• Multiple pigs were beaten with metal gate rods, and lacerations were found on more than 30 sows.
• A worker hit a young pig in the face four times with the edge of a herding board. The investigator witnessed dozens of similar incidents.
• A supervisor kicked a young pig in the face, abdomen, and genitals to make her move and told PETA's investigator, "You gotta beat on the bitch."

For more information, please visit PETA.org.