Body-Painted Animal Defenders Urge World Cup Fans to Go Vegan

Mexico City—“Score for Animals, Go Vegan!” That’s the message that around two dozen animal defenders from around the world — each body-painted in the flag colours of countries competing in the FIFA World Cup — delivered to crowds outside Mexico City’s iconic Palacio de Bellas Artes today, urging everyone to spare animals from suffering by going vegan. The action took place two days before the tournament’s opening ceremony in Mexico City and is a collaboration among PETA entities, Animal Heroes, and Mexico Save Movement.

Images from the action are available here.

“Every animal who ends up on a plate was an individual who experienced joy and fear, and who valued their life,” says PETA Senior Vice President Mimi Bekhechi. “As the World Cup kicks off, PETA is encouraging everyone to be a winner for animals, the planet, and their own health by choosing delicious vegan foods.”

Cows develop friendships, chickens form complex social structures, and pigs recognise their own names—but in today’s meat, egg, and dairy industries, the animals are raised in filthy, crowded conditions, trucked to slaughterhouses in all weather extremes, and violently killed.  

In addition to sparing nearly 200 animals every year, each person who goes vegan also bolsters their own health, as vegans are less likely to suffer from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Going vegan also dramatically reduces one’s carbon footprint, as animal agriculture is a leading cause of water pollution and land degradation. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help those looking to make the switch.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”— points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a bull is a dog is a boy. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow PETA on Facebook, X, TikTok, or Instagram.

Contact:

Lucy Watson +44 (0) 20 7837 6327; [email protected]

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