‘What’s Wrong With You?’ New PETA Campaign Calls Out Coney Island’s Meat-Eating ‘Animal Lovers’ 

For Immediate Release:
August 12, 2025

Contact:
Alex Payne 202-483-7382

Do you love your dog, but still eat meaty hot dogs? That’s the contradiction PETA is pointing out to “animal lovers” on Coney Island in a sky-high message outside Nathan’s Famous. The campaign aims to point out the hypocrisy between loving one animal and eating another, and asks patrons, “There’s so much right about you, so what’s wrong with you?”

“Most diners would be appalled by the idea of eating a dog, yet they don’t question eating a hot dog made from a cow who suffered immensely and was violently killed,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges everyone to do some self-reflection and expand their circle of compassion to all animals by going vegan.”

Cows feel love, joy, fear, and pain just like all animals, and mourn when a loved one dies or when they’re separated—but in the meat industry, workers shoot cows in the head with a captive-bolt gun, hang them up by one leg, and slit their throats, often while they’re still conscious. Each person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals every year; reduces their own risk of suffering from cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and obesity; and dramatically shrinks their carbon footprint.

PETA’s billboard can be seen across from Nathan’s Famous at 1236 Surf Ave., in Brookyln. Similar billboards are running near meaty eateries in other animal-friendly cities throughout the country, including Chicago and Denver.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free vegan starter kits to anyone looking to make the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.