PETA’s ‘Hell on Wheels’ truck stops in Zanesville

ZANESVILLE, OH- Diners heading into Tee Jaye’s Country Place this morning were met with an unexpected scene, a life size truck wrapped in graphic images of chickens crammed into crates, blasting audio of birds’ cries.

The truck is part of PETA’s traveling campaign known as “Hell on Wheels.” They stopped in Zanesville as part of their national tour to raise awareness about the meat industry and the impact of factory farming on animal welfare and public health.

“We have a Hell on Wheels pig truck and a Hell on Wheels chicken truck that travel nationally, it’s been everywhere from Virginia to Florida to California confronting consumers with the fact that billions of sensitive, intelligent chickens are violently slaughtered every single year in the U.S. after enduring a short and miserable life on overcrowded, filthy, factory farms said PETA International Grassroots Campaign Assistant Manager, DeLana Barrett.

The demonstration comes amid ongoing concerns over bird flu, which has led to the deaths of more than 37 million chickens this year alone, according to PETA. The organization argues that animal agriculture increases the risk of zoonotic diseases.

“We ask people the next time that they’re at a restaurant or that they’re at the grocery store and they see dead chicken parts on a piece of styrofoam wrapped in plastic to think of that mother chicken who wasn’t able to nurse their babies, or tend to them before they were scooped up and transported to an overcrowded, dark warehouse before ultimately having their throats slit just a couple weeks later,” said Barrett.

The “Hell on Wheels” truck also visited other local businesses in the Zanesville area to spark conversations in the community. For more information, PETA encourages the public to visit PETA.org.