‘Hell on Wheels’ is Coming to Columbus: Realistic Pig Truck to Blast Dying Animals’ Cries Outside Honey Baked Ham and Meaty Eateries

Lunchtime diners at Dexter’s Southern BBQ and Easter shoppers considering going into the Honey Baked Ham store are in for an earful on Wednesday when “Hell on Wheels”—PETA’s hyper-realistic pig transport truck that looks as if it contains real pigs on their way to slaughter—will bombard them with actual recorded sounds of the animals’ panicked screams, along with a subliminal message every 10 seconds suggesting that people go vegan.

The stops are part of the vexatious vehicle’s multi-state consciousness-raising Easter tour, which will hit Honey Baked Ham stores in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas ahead of the holiday to remind shoppers of the suffering behind every glazed ham centerpiece.

“Easter is all about celebrating life, yet we celebrate it with holiday hams that come from pigs who suffer a living death in filthy sheds, are crammed onto trucks for a terrifying journey to the slaughterhouse, and are hung upside down, and their throats slit,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA’s ‘Hell on Wheels’ truck is an appeal to everyone who eats pigs to remember that the meat industry is cruel and that going vegan truly celebrates life.”

Where: Outside Dexter’s Southern BBQ, 547 Veterans Parkway, Columbus

When: Wednesday, March 26, 12 noon

Afterward, the truck will visit the Honey Baked Ham Company at 1701 Rollins Way. The truck will also stop outside Chuck’s Bar-B-Que at 905 Short Avenue in Opelika, Alabama at 5 p.m.

Why: Like humans, pigs dream when they sleep, enjoy listening to music, and show empathy for others who are happy or distressed. Yet in the meat industry, workers chop off piglets’ tails, clip their teeth with pliers, and castrate the males—all without pain relief. When the time comes for slaughter, they’re crammed onto trucks and transported hundreds of miles through all weather extremes without food, water, or rest. Every year, more than 1 million pigs die, and at least 40,000 others sustain injuries during transport to slaughterhouses. It’s common for pigs on the way to slaughter to suffer from heat exhaustion or even become frozen to the sides of trucks.

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. PETA’s free vegan starter kit is filled with tips to help anyone looking to make the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.