‘Turkeys Feel Pain, Too!’ PETA’s ‘ThanksVegan’ Plea Hits Windsor With Meat-Free Roast Giveaway

For Immediate Release:
October 7, 2024

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

Ahead of Thanksgiving—and because Ontario is a top turkey producer in Canada—a flock of PETA supporters will hand out free Gardein Vegan Turk’y Roasts to passersby downtown on Saturday. The giveaway will take place just a stone’s throw from three sky-high messages erected by the group in the province urging viewers not to have a hand in birds’ suffering by going vegan.

When:             Saturday, October 12, 12 noon

Where:           At the northwest corner of Ouellette Avenue and Wyandotte Street

“Turkeys are thinking, feeling individuals who value their lives and don’t want to be carved up on a serving platter any more than we would,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA encourages everyone to make compassion their centerpiece by choosing a savory vegan feast that keeps turkeys off the table.”

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 at 853 Provincial Rd. (on both sides of the billboard) and 2139 Huron Church Rd. (This version of the ad shows a handprint turkey dripping blood.)

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.