Homicide Statistics Prompt ‘Meat Is Murder’ Billboard

PETA Moves to Place Pro-Vegan Ad in Response to Chicago’s Murder Rate

For Immediate Release:
January 4, 2018

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

In response to homicide statistics released on Monday by the Chicago Police Department—which revealed that 650 people were killed in the city in 2017, down from 771 the year before—PETA is seeking to place a billboard reminding residents of the Windy City that billions of animals are murdered every year for food. The provocative ad shows a woman’s leg on a plate with a garnish, alongside the words “Meat Is Murder.”

“The needless murder of any living being is tragic, but cooking and ingesting the corpse of the victim is just ghastly,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA’s billboard would ask Chicago residents to consider all victims of violence and to bring about a more peaceful world for everyone by choosing healthy and humane vegan meals.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that more than 9 billion chickens, 300 million turkeys, 115 million pigs, and 29 million cows are slaughtered for food each year. Animals used for food experience joy, pain, fear, love, and grief and value their lives, just as humans do. But in today’s meat and dairy industries, cows are forcibly separated from their beloved calves, chickens’ throats are cut while they’re still conscious, piglets are castrated without painkillers, and fish are cut open while they’re still alive.

In addition to sparing the lives of more than 100 animals each year, people who go vegan reduce their risk of suffering from heart disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity, and numerous other ailments.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.