PETA Raise Awareness of the Cruelty Inherent in the Meat Industry in Honor of the Year of the Chicken

Manila — Confined to a barren metal cage and holding signs that read, “Relate to Chickens’ Fate. Try Vegan,” members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia lead a protest in Chinatown on Tuesday before the start of the Year of the Chicken. PETA aims to remind tourists and shoppers that they can spare chickens immense suffering on farms and in slaughterhouses by going vegan.

“The Year of the Chicken is the perfect time to start practicing compassion for chickens and all animals by choosing delicious plant-based meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” says PETA Chinese Campaign Coordinator Sascha Su. “Anyone interested in making the switch to vegan eating can visit our website, PETAAsia.com, to request a free vegetarian/vegan starter kit.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that in the meat industry, chickens are kept in crowded cages or barns, where many barely have room to turn around. They are genetically manipulated and dosed with antibiotics, which makes them grow so large so fast that many suffer from organ failure or become crippled under their own weight. After six weeks in these horrible conditions, they’re roughly thrown into cages that are stacked on the back of a truck and then shipped through all weather extremes to a slaughterhouse.

In addition to sparing numerous animals every year daily torment and a terrifying death, going vegan reduces a person’s risk of suffering from heart disease, diabetes, obesity, strokes, and cancer. Vegan meals are also greener, as raising animals for food is a leading cause of water pollution and land degradation, and the United Nations has concluded that a global shift toward a plant-based diet is necessary to combat the worst effects of climate change.

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