High-Tech Ad Contains Secret Thanksgiving Message Only Kids Can See

As
if the box office hit Free Birds didn’t give kids
enough food for thought, PETA is hoping to kick things up a notch by placing a
high-tech ad in bus shelters in several Northeast cities that contains a secret
Thanksgiving message that only kids can see.

The
ad uses lenticular technology, in which images are printed on a plastic sheet
of tiny lenticules, or lenses, which project different images from different
angles. In this case, tall people see a benign Father Knows Best–like image of a retro mom carving a holiday
turkey. But people under 4 feet 3 inches tall see something quite different—Mom
stabbing a live turkey as blood splatters the horrified kids’ faces. Our goal
is to inspire kids to change the course of history for turkeys
without having to travel back in time to 1621.

Every
year, turkeys are
crammed by the thousands into huge, filthy sheds on factory farms. Farmers
often hack off the ends of the birds’ toes and beaks—without any anesthetics
whatsoever—in order to prevent them from injuring each other in the severely crowded
conditions.

A PETA investigation at a series of turkey
factory farms in West Virginia documented that employees stomped on turkeys’ heads,
punched turkeys, hit them on the head with pliers, and struck their heads
against metal scaffolding. Men shoved feces into turkeys’ mouths and held
turkeys’ heads under water. One man bragged about jamming a broom stick down a
turkey’s throat. Another said he saw a coworker fatally inject sulfuric acid
into turkeys’ heads. A supervisor said that he saw workers kill hundreds of
turkeys with two-by-fours.

While that investigation led to the first-ever felony indictments
for cruelty to farmed birds and the first-ever convictions of turkey factory
farmers for cruelty, turkeys, like chickens,
are not protected by the federal Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act.
During slaughter, they frequently have their throats slit and are dunked into
tanks of scalding-hot water without first being rendered unconscious.

What You Can Do

If you wouldn’t want your kids to see how your
dinner was made, maybe you shouldn’t be eating it. Host a G-rated Thanksgiving celebration
that’s suitable for all audiences, including turkeys. We have hundreds
of delicious, turkey-friendly vegan recipes to choose from.