PETA Will Point Out That Animal Markets, Transport, and Slaughter Are Linked to Fatal Viruses—and the Solution Is to Go Vegan
For Immediate Release:
May 22, 2020
Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382
Seattle – In the time of this novel coronavirus, PETA’s “Pandemic Pig” is heading to Pike Place Market to pass out free rolls of toilet paper to shoppers, along with the message that the way to save animals and prevent the spread of deadly diseases is to go vegan. Accompanied by PETA supporters—all standing 6 feet apart and holding pro-vegan signs—the “pig” will also offer a hands-free virtual vegan starter kit via a QR code for shoppers.
When: Saturday, May 23, 1 p.m.
Where: 1501 First Ave. (near the intersection with Pike Street), Seattle
“Filthy factory farms, slaughterhouses, and meat markets threaten the health of every human being on the planet by providing a breeding ground for coronavirus, SARS, bird flu, swine flu, and other viruses,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA’s ‘pig’ is hoofing it to Pike Place with a hot commodity as well as a plea to food shoppers to avoid meat like the plague.”
The coronavirus originated in a Chinese “wet market,” where live and dead animals are sold for human consumption. Health authorities confirm that influenza viruses and coronaviruses are zoonotic (transmissible from other animals to humans). Previous influenza viruses originated in pigs and chickens.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.
