Bunny on PETA HQ Goes Green for COVID-19 Memorial

Group Remembers All Victims of the Pandemic, Including Animals Killed During Shutdowns

For Immediate Release:
June 25, 2020

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

As the U.S. exceeds 120,000 COVID-19-related human deaths—and millions of animals were shot or gassed to death on factory farms as the virus hit slaughterhouses, infecting workers and causing shutdowns—PETA has changed the color of the bunny on its waterfront building from blue to green, the color of compassion, to honor the lives lost.

“We invite our community to join us by turning on green lights in memory of all who have suffered and died because of this virus,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “And because all of us worry about future pandemics, we ask everyone to take seriously the link between infectious diseases and the confinement of domestic and wild animals for food. PETA is a resource for free vegan starter kits, recipes, tips, and whatever people need to move away from meat.”

The novel coronavirus originated in a Chinese wet market where live and dead animals were sold for human consumption, swine flu began on a U.S. factory farm, and other influenza viruses have been traced to chickens. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that approximately 75% of recently emerged infectious diseases affecting humans originated in other animals.

On its website, PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—offers vegan starter kits and a list of vegan-friendly restaurant chains, many of which are still offering takeout during the pandemic.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.