Struggling Bowling Alley in Manahawkin to Score Some Funds From PETA?

Pro-Vegan ‘Spare Animals’ Ad That Replaces Whole Gutter Top With a Gaping Mouth Could Help Keep Thunderbird Lanes in Good Financial Health

For Immediate Release:
July 20, 2020

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

As Thunderbird Lanes is temporarily closed and many bowling alleys are struggling to stay in business amid state COVID-19 regulations, PETA sent a letter this morning offering to help by paying now to run a pro-vegan ad above the pin decks when the bowling alley reopens.

PETA points out that confining and killing animals for food has caused COVID-19, avian flu, swine flu, and SARS—and that eating animals is linked to deadly health conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

“For saving animals, preventing future pandemics, and safeguarding our own health, going vegan is like bowling a 300,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA staff love bowling almost as much as they love promoting delicious, healthy, and humane vegan meals.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—also encourages Thunderbird Lanes to offer vegan foods like dairy-free nachos, veggie burgers, and crispy soy tenders.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

PETA’s letter to Thunderbird Lanes follows.

July 20, 2020

Jim Davis

Co-Owner
Thunderbird Lanes

Dear Mr. Davis,

I’m writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 6.5 million members and supporters worldwide in response to the news that, like many other bowling alley owners, you have temporarily closed because of COVID-19 guidelines. We have an offer that could score you some funding in the meantime: We’d like to pay now to place an eye-catching ad that reads, “Spare animals. Get your health out of the gutter! Go vegan. PETA,” above the pin deck when you reopen.

As you may know, the novel coronavirus originated at a live-animal market in China, where vendors sell animals for human consumption. Pathogens flourish on filthy factory farms and in slaughterhouses in the U.S., making such places perfect breeding grounds for dangerous bacteria and viruses. In addition to carrying a high risk of contamination from pathogens—including E. coli, campylobacter, and salmonella—meat contains no fiber and is packed with artery-clogging saturated fat and cholesterol.

Leading health experts agree that eating vegan foods is the single best way to enjoy a longer, healthier life. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vegans reduce their risk of developing diabetes by 62%, their chance of being hospitalized for a heart attack by 33%, their risk of suffering from heart disease by 29%, and their risk of developing cancer by 18%. A vegan diet can also decrease the risk of suffering from obesity, since vegans are about 18% thinner and 10 to 20 pounds lighter, on average, than their meat-eating counterparts.

Consuming meat, eggs, and dairy has long been known to be unhealthy and unnecessary, and the current COVID-19 crisis is just one more reason that we, as a society, need to aim higher. We also urge you to serve vegan foods such as nachos and pizza with vegan cheese, Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger, dairy-free mozzarella sticks, and Gardein’s crispy tenders. I look forward to hearing from you to get the ball rolling on this win-win offer. Thank you for your consideration.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid E. Newkirk

President