‘Hell on Wheels’: Amid Bird Flu Outbreaks, PETA’s ‘Chicken Truck’ Is Exposing Who Pays the Highest Price for the Egg Shortage

As bird flu outbreaks sweep through filthy farms and an egg shortage sends prices soaring, PETA’s “Hell on Wheels” chicken truck is hitting the road to expose the real cost of that carton of eggs and chicken sandwich. This mobile billboard of truth is cruising across the country with a gut-wrenching message: Chickens are social, sensitive animals who suffer immensely in the meat and egg industries. With the stench of crisis in the air, PETA’s rolling protest isn’t just hard to miss—it’s impossible to ignore.

The ”Hell on Wheels” chicken truck will be making appearances near various food festivals, Chick-fil-A locations, egg restaurants, and busy downtown areas to remind everyone that chickens are not ours to use for food. The large truck is plastered with shocking images of chickens bound for slaughter, and it blares the sounds of chickens in distress as well as a subliminal message telling people to “go vegan.” This interactive, mobile installation is an urgent call for humans everywhere to give a cluck about chickens, arguably the most abused animals on the planet.

The large truck is plastered with shocking images of chickens bound for slaughter, and it blares the sounds of chickens in distress as well as a subliminal message telling people to “go vegan.” This interactive, mobile installation is a protest on wheels, a call for people everywhere to give a cluck about chickens, arguably the most abused animals on the planet.

couple hugs sadly while viewing PETA

One child who stopped to look at the truck said that it was “really sad” and that the chickens “look enslaved, like they’re being mistreated.”

hell on wheels chicken truck

The “Hell on Wheels” chicken truck in Norfolk, Virginia.

At one point, the truck was stolen and gutted. But PETA remained unruffled. We raced to recover and repair it so we could continue driving home its message of compassion for millions of gentle birds.

PETA
Since 2022, PETA’s Hell on Wheels chicken truck has visited over 160 cities.
  1. Mobile, Alabama
  2. Tucson, Arizona
  3. Conway, Arkansas
  4. Fayetteville, Arkansas
  5. Fort Smith, Arkansas
  6. Hot Springs, Arkansas
  7. Jonesboro, Arkansas
  8. Little Rock, Arkansas
  9. Pine Bluff, Arkansas
  10. Rogers, Arkansas
  11. Springdale, Arkansas
  12. Bakersfield, California
  13. Fresno, California
  14. Los Angeles, California
  15. Palm Springs, California
  16. San Diego, California
  17. San Francisco, California
  18. Santa Ana, California
  19. Victorville, California
  20. Boulder, Colorado
  21. Denver, Colorado
  22. Pueblo, Colorado
  23. Hartford, Connecticut
  24. Washington, D.C.
  25. Cape Coral, Florida
  26. Daytona Beach, Florida
  27. Destin, Florida
  28. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  29. Fort Myers, Florida
  30. Jacksonville, Florida
  31. Key West, Florida
  32. Lakeland, Florida
  33. Miami, Florida
  34. Naples, Florida
  35. Ocala, Florida
  36. Orlando, Florida
  37. Panama City Beach, Florida
  38. Pensacola, Florida
  39. Sarasota, Florida
  40. St. Augustine, Florida
  41. St. Petersburg, Florida
  42. Tallahassee, Florida
  43. Tampa, Florida
  44. West Palm Beach, Florida
  45. Albany, Georgia
  46. Augusta, Georgia
  47. Macon, Georgia
  48. Savannah, Georgia
  49. Valdosta, Georgia
  50. Chicago, Illinois
  51. Effingham, Illinois
  52. Evansville, Indiana
  53. Springfield, Illinois
  54. Indianapolis, Indiana
  55. Terre Haute, Indiana
  56. Warsaw, Indiana
  57. Lawrence, Kansas
  58. Overland Park, Kansas
  59. Topeka, Kansas
  60. Wichita, Kansas
  61. Ashland, Kentucky
  62. Bowling Green, Kentucky
  63. Danville, Kentucky
  64. Elizabethtown, Kentucky
  65. Hopkinsville, Kentucky
  66. Lexington, Kentucky
  67. London, Kentucky
  68. Louisville, Kentucky
  69. Richmond, Kentucky
  70. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  71. Lafayette, Louisiana
  72. Monroe, Louisiana
  73. New Orleans, Louisiana
  74. Shreveport, Louisiana
  75. Biloxi, Mississippi
  76. Gulfport, Mississippi
  77. Hattiesburg, Mississippi
  78. Jackson, Mississippi
  79. Kansas City, Missouri
  80. St. Joseph, Missouri
  81. St. Louis, Missouri
  82. Arlington, Nebraska
  83. Grand Island, Nebraska
  84. Lincoln, Nebraska
  85. South Sioux City, Nebraska
  86. Las Vegas, Nevada
  87. Albuquerque, New Mexico
  88. Cape Girardeau, Missouri
  89. Jackson, Missouri
  90. Cumberland, Maryland
  91. Edgewood, Maryland
  92. Frederick, Maryland
  93. Frostburg, Maryland
  94. Hagerstown, Maryland
  95. Towson, Maryland
  96. Detroit, Michigan
  97. Amarillo, New Mexico
  98. Las Cruces, New Mexico
  99. Santa Fe, New Mexico
  100. Albany, New York
  101. Binghamton, New York
  102. Jamestown, New York
  103. New York City, New York
  104. Rochester, New York
  105. Syracuse, New York
  106. Utica, New York
  107. Watertown, New York
  108. Worcester, Massachusetts
  109. Newport, New Hampshire
  110. Portsmouth, New Hampshire
  111. Asheville, North Carolina
  112. Charlotte, North Carolina
  113. Greensboro, North Carolina
  114. Wilmington, North Carolina
  115. Fargo, North Dakota
  116. Canton, Ohio
  117. Cincinnati, Ohio
  118. Cleveland, Ohio
  119. Columbus, Ohio
  120. Dayton, Ohio
  121. Warren, Ohio
  122. Elk City, Oklahoma
  123. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  124. Tulsa, Oklahoma
  125. Eugene, Oregon
  126. Medford, Oregon
  127. Portland, Oregon
  128. Salem, Oregon
  129. Allentown, Pennsylvania
  130. Butler, Pennsylvania
  131. Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
  132. Erie, Pennsylvania
  133. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
  134. Hershey, Pennsylvania
  135. Lancaster, Pennsylvania
  136. Scranton, Pennsylvania
  137. York, Pennsylvania
  138. Providence, Rhode Island
  139. Charleston, South Carolina
  140. Columbia, South Carolina
  141. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
  142. Cookeville, Tennessee
  143. Clarksville, Tennessee
  144. Franklin, Tennessee
  145. Johnson City, Tennessee
  146. Knoxville, Tennessee
  147. Memphis, Tennessee
  148. Nashville, Tennessee
  149. Austin, Texas
  150. Dallas, Texas
  151. Fort Worth, Texas
  152. Houston, Texas
  153. San Antonio, Texas
  154. Cedar City, Utah
  155. Provo, Utah
  156. Salt Lake City, Utah
  157. Blacksburg, Virginia
  158. Charlottesville, Virginia
  159. Fairmont, West Virginia
  160. Lynchburg, Virginia
  161. Norfolk, Virginia
  162. Virginia Beach, Virginia
  163. Charleston, West Virginia
  164. Parkersburg, West Virginia
  165. Wheeling, West Virginia
  166. Cheyenne, Wyoming
  167. Laramie, Wyoming
  168. Rock Springs, Wyoming
Hell on Wheels tour map

Where Is the ‘Hell on Wheels’ Truck Heading Next?

CityDate
Portland, Maine & Waterville, MaineJune 6, 2025
Bangor, MaineJune 7, 2025
Littleton, New HampshireJune 10, 2025
Burlington, VermontJune 11, 2025
Oswego, New YorkJune 12, 2025
Buffalo, New YorkJune 13, 2025
Ithaca, New YorkJune 14, 2025
Poughkeepsie, New YorkJune 15, 2025
Orange County, New YorkJune 16, 2025
White Plains, New YorkJune 19, 2025
close up shot of man looking at PETA

PETA’s Groundbreaking ‘Hell on Wheels’ Chicken Truck Serves Up Serious Food for Thought

Chickens are gentle, curious individuals with unique personalities and complex relationships. They talk to their chicks while they’re still inside the shell and have unique calls to warn others of danger coming from the land or air. They comprehend cause-and-effect relationships and understand that objects still exist even after they’ve been hidden from view. They can experience love, joy, sadness, and pain. But from the moment they hatch, billions of chickens raised for food each year suffer enormously—all just for a fleeting taste of flesh.

a crowd of people pass by PETA

Workers slam chickens into small crates and truck them to slaughterhouses through all weather extremes. Hundreds of millions sustain broken wings and legs from rough handling, and millions die from the stress of the journey. At slaughterhouses, workers force their legs into shackles before their throats are cut. Almost all chickens are still conscious when their throats are cut, and many are literally scalded to death in feather-removal tanks after missing the throat cutter.

The truck is packed with free leaflets that are full of information about going vegan: the single best thing you can do for chickens, other animals, and the environment. The truck also sports a QR code that people can scan with their phone to learn more.

Chickens Pay the Highest Price for Bird Flu and the “Egg Shortage”

The real “egg crisis” is the suffering of more than 300 million hens on egg farms every year in the U.S. Factory farms confine them to tiny wire cages where they can’t even spread their wings—and at misleadingly labeled “cage-free” facilities, workers cram them into dark, filthy sheds by the thousands.

The bird flu crisis is a harrowing reminder that egg farms are filthy breeding grounds for disease. From birth to slaughter, hens are surrounded by their own waste and breathe ammonia-laden air that burns their lungs and damages their immune systems. These conditions allow viruses like bird flu to spread like wildfire.

Consumers aren’t footing the cost for this catastrophe—chickens are. Since January 2025, farmers have killed more than 45 million chickens due to bird flu. Farms often mass slaughter them in horrific ways: Some companies use water-based foam to slowly smother the birds to death, a terrifying process that can take up to 14 minutes. Egg farms frequently gas the birds, and others resort to “ventilation shutdown” (VSD), a cruel method that cuts off airflow and raises the temperature to as high as 120 degrees—essentially baking the birds alive.

Many companies market flesh or eggs with bogus “certified humane” labels, but these deceptive labels mean nothing to the birds who suffer on farms and at slaughterhouses. The only truly humane option is to go vegan.

Protecting Chickens and Eating Delicious Food Go Hand-in-Hand

Birds’ eggs and flesh belongs to them. Plus, there are plenty of delicious, vegan chicken and egg products that you can enjoy in sandwiches, breakfast scrambles, baking, and more. Going vegan is a win, win, win: You can spare nearly 200 animals every year, reduce your carbon footprint, and boost your own health. If you haven’t made the compassionate switch yet, don’t wait another second—order PETA’s free vegan starter kit now. Or, if you are already living vegan, order one for a friend or family member.

Chickens and green grass

Browse Hundreds of Free Vegan Chicken Recipes
vegan fried chicken

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