Kids Don’t Want to Eat Pua! PETA Asks Regal Cinemas to Nix Pigs from the Menu Ahead of ‘Moana’

For Immediate Release:
July 9, 2026

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

With kids everywhere falling in love with Moana’s beloved pig sidekick Pua—and with younger generations increasingly choosing vegan options to spare animals’ lives—PETA sent a letter today to Regal Cinemas ahead of the Disney film’s live-action release, urging CEO Eduardo Acuna to chart a more compassionate course by keeping real pigs off the menu. To show how far it’ll go, PETA has even offered to provide the Knoxville-based theater chain—which currently serves bacon hot dogs, bacon-loaded fries, and pepperoni—with tasty vegan bacon, sausage, and other pig-friendly options. PETA Kids is also urging Regal Cinemas to let Pua inspire compassion for real pigs by removing pig flesh from its concession menu.

“Serving bacon at a Moana screening is as absurd as serving puppy pot pie during 101 Dalmatians,” says PETA Manager Jakob Shaw. “PETA is urging Regal Cinemas to honor children’s natural empathy for animals by serving delicious vegan options that don’t harm clever, loyal pigs like the character they adore.”

PETA notes that pigs dream when they sleep, recognize their own names, and show empathy for other pigs who are happy or distressed. But in today’s meat industry, workers chop off piglets’ tails, cut their teeth with pliers, and castrate the males—all without pain relief. At slaughterhouses, workers slit their throats—often while they’re still conscious.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a pig is a dog is a boy. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help those looking to make the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Acuna follows.

July 9, 2026

Eduardo Acuna

Chief Executive Officer

Regal Cineworld Group

Dear Mr. Acuna,

Greetings from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). As kids around the country are already falling in love with Pua—the beloved pig character from the Moana franchise – ahead of the new Moana movie’s release this Friday, we’re writing to respectfully urge you to honor Pua by removing pigs from all Regal concession menus.

From Babe to Okja to Charlotte’s Web, film history is filled with wonderful stories that show audiences that pigs are curious individuals with complex emotions and unique personalities. When I was a kid, it was Wilbur, from Charlotte’s Web, who first inspired me to stop eating pigs and recognize that other animals are just like us in all the ways that matter. Movies and characters like these can help foster the natural empathy that children have for pigs and other animals, and they would be horrified to learn that while they’re cheering for animals on-screen, off-screen, pigs like Pua are being butchered to stock Regal’s concession stands.

Other entertainment venues have made similar compassionate choices when they recognized the horrible irony of serving pig flesh at events featuring beloved pig characters. When the Peppa Pig stage show toured the United Kingdom, the Grimsby Auditorium removed all sausages, bacon, and ham from its menu during the production’s run. We urge Regal Cinemas to follow their lead.

Like Pua, real pigs dream when they sleep, recognize their own names, show empathy for pigs who are distressed, and share in the joy of other pigs who are happy. But on industrial pig farms, most pigs spend the entirety of their short lives confined to filthy sheds. Workers chop off piglets’ tails, cut their teeth with pliers, and castrate the males—all without pain relief. Mother pigs are crammed into metal gestation crates and farrowing crates so small that they can’t even turn around. At the slaughterhouse, pigs are hung upside down and slashed with a blade so that they bleed out, sometimes while they’re still fully conscious.

As more and more young people are eating vegetarian and vegan out of concern for animals, the environment, and their health, removing pigs from Regal’s menus and replacing them with delicious vegan options would give Pua’s many fans something to cheer for. If you agree, PETA would be happy to get you started with tasty vegan bacon, sausage, and other pig-free options that your moviegoers will love and can be enjoyed with a clear conscience.  

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Jakob Shaw
Manager, Strategic Initiatives