Unbe-leaf-able! Maple Leaf-Costumed Animal Allies to Distribute Dozens of Free Vegan Roasts in Boston for Thanksgiving

For Immediate Release:
November 20, 2025

Contact:
Alex Payne 202-483-7382

Ahead of Thanksgiving—and to ensure everyone has access to delicious and nourishing food over the holidays—a pair of PETA supporters dressed as autumnal maple leaves will lead a giveaway of turkey-free holiday roasts near the intersection of Dartmouth and Boylston streets (at Copley Square) on Saturday, encouraging everyone to enjoy a vegan holiday and leaf animals off their plates.

“Turkeys are doting parents who feel pain and fear just as we do, value their lives as much as we value ours, and want to be left in peace, not carved into pieces,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “This Thanksgiving, PETA encourages everyone to serve a savory vegan feast that gives us all something to be thankful for.”

Where:           Intersection of Dartmouth and Boylston streets (at Copley Square)

When:             Saturday, November 22nd, 12:00 p.m.

Why:               In nature, turkeys can live for over 10 years and spend their days caring for their young, building nests, and roosting in trees. But those raised for food are slaughtered within their first six months of life—and millions are killed each year for Thanksgiving alone. Workers hang the young birds upside down, drag them through an electrified bath, slit their throats, and dump them into scalding-hot defeathering tanks—often while they’re still conscious.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kitsfor people who need a lesson in kindness. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help those looking to make the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.