‘I’m Me, Not Meat’ Proclaims Turkey on New Swindon Billboard

For Immediate Release:

16 December 2019

Contact:

Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 222; [email protected]

‘I’M ME, NOT MEAT’ PROCLAIMS TURKEY ON NEW SWINDON BILLBOARD

PETA’s Christmas Ad Encourages Locals to Show Compassion for Turkeys

Swindon – In the spirit of giving, a Wiltshire local – who wishes to remain anonymous – donated the funds for PETA to place a seasonal billboard in Swindon this Christmas. The ad – which shows an inquisitive turkey – reads, “I’m ME, Not MEAT,” and reminds caring Swindoners that turkeys have feelings and the capacity to feel pain. The billboard is located on County Road and will be up for two weeks from 16 December.

Images are also available here, here, and here.

“PETA’s billboard aims to inspire people to consider who turkeys really are – gentle birds who don’t deserve to be strung upside down and slaughtered for a fleeting taste,” says PETA Director Elisa Allen. “Everyone can offer comfort and joy to these intelligent animals by choosing a delicious vegan Christmas meal instead.”

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” – notes that, in nature, turkeys are protective parents and spirited explorers who can live for up to 10 years, but that those killed for food are normally slaughtered at between 12 and 26 weeks of age. The young birds are often hung from metal shackles by their feet and dragged through an electrified bath that can cause full-body tremors. Some are still conscious when their throats are slit and as they’re placed into scalding-hot water to remove their feathers.

Earlier this year, PETA tried to place its “If You Wouldn’t Eat Your Dog, Why Eat a Turkey? Go Vegan” ad – which shows a dog’s collar on a plate slathered with gravy – but local billboard owners rejected the campaign on the grounds that, as one representative wrote, “they view the artwork as being potentially distressing to a child”.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.

#