PETA protests Biden turkey pardon with 'Hell on Wheels' display, subliminal messaging to make people go vegan

An animal rights group will bombard the streets of D.C. with visceral cries of distressed turkeys and subliminal messages urging people to go vegan as the White House participates in its annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon tradition on Monday.

The distressing animal cries and subliminal messaging are part of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' (PETA) "Hell on Wheels" turkey truck, which has been traveling to 30 different states across the country since as early as October, stopping at grocery stores, busy downtown areas and eventually the presidential turkey pardon. The truck, which is intended to look like a realistic turkey transport truck covered with images of birds crammed into crates, was posted on Sunday evening outside the Willard Hotel, where the birds were housed ahead of the ceremony. On Monday, the truck set up shop outside the White House. 

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"It's a life-sized Turkey transportation truck, and it's covered with images of real sickly turkeys. And if people listen very closely, they will hear a subliminal message to go vegan every 10 seconds. And that's because we want people to listen closely and watch closely, because every turkey is an individual," Amanda Brody, assistant manager in PETA's international grassroots campaigns department, told Fox News Digital. 

"No one needs to eat meat, dairy or eggs to be healthy, and everyone can help stop this needless suffering by simply going vegan today or enjoying a vegan roast at their Thanksgiving dinner this Thursday."

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Earlier this month, PETA President Ingrid Newkirk sent a letter to President Biden urging the "lame duck president" to cancel what she described as the "wretched" turkey pardon tradition. Newkirk argued the tradition is "a humiliating meat-industry stunt that uses the White House as its public relations backdrop."

"Turkeys are devoted parents who purr to their chicks, and whose skin changes color to express their emotions, yet in the meat industry, they’re treated as unfeeling objects, crammed into filthy sheds, and slaughtered, often while they’re still conscious," Newkirk said Monday. "PETA’s ‘Hell on Wheels’ truck is sending a strong signal that it’s beneath the Oval Office to shill for the meat industry and appealing to the public to please give birds a break by choosing vegan this Thanksgiving and beyond."

The history of the presidential turkey pardon is a little murky, with some believing it first began when President Abraham Lincoln granted "clemency" to a turkey in 1863. Others have suggested the tradition began much later with President Harry S. Truman. Meanwhile, according to NPR, the turkey pardoning tradition was formalized in 1989 by President George H.W. Bush.