‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’: PETA Easter Billboards Rise in Rome as Group Urges Pope to Spread Vegan Message
‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’: PETA Easter Billboards Rise in Rome as Group Urges Pope to Spread Vegan Message
Rome – As Easter Sunday is just around the corner and many Italian families plan to eat lamb, PETA has placed three billboards in Rome showing Moses brandishing a bundle of carrots and reminding everyone that there are no exceptions to the 5th commandment.
Photos in high resolution are available here.
Following Pope Francis’ message of kindness for Lent, the group has also sent a letter to His Holiness asking him to follow in the footsteps of St Francis of Paola – who took a vow of non-violence and refused to eat animals – and encourage Catholics to extend the message of charity and compassion to all living beings by leaving animals off their plates this Easter.
“‘Thou shalt not kill’ must extend to all animals, including the lambs who are slaughtered for Easter dinners,” says PETA Vice President of International Programmes Mimi Bekhechi. “PETA is encouraging everyone to celebrate the resurrection with a merciful vegan meal that leaves God’s creation in peace.”
The Bible clearly states that God’s design for the world was one in which humans and other animals coexisted peacefully and humans were caregivers – not killers. In Genesis 1:29, God says that the Earth’s seed-bearing plants and fruit “will be yours for food”. But many Christians today mark the resurrection of Jesus – the Lamb of God – by eating lambs, who are packed onto lorries, often without food or water, for gruelling journeys to the abattoir. Lambs are killed at under six months old, and at the slaughterhouse, some are still conscious and aware as workers cut their throats.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview – offers a free vegan starter kit filled with tips, recipes, and more on its website.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Contact:
Sascha Camilli +44 (0) 20 7923 6244; [email protected]
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