PETA ‘Blesses’ Pasadena Churchgoers With Heavenly New Billboard

The animal rights organization PETA on Wednesday took its plea for the humane treatment of animals to a celestial authority with a billboard placed in the 2700 block of East Colorado Boulevard.

The billboard, which contains the fifth of eight Beatitudes contained in the Gospel of Mattew in the New Testament of the King James Version of the Bible, adds an extra suggestion. 

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy,” so goes the fifth Beatitude, a derivation of the Latin word “beatus,” meaning “blessed.” The Bible tells us Jesus presented the Beatitudes in his Sermon on the Mount. 

But the billboard goes a step further, adding “Earn Your Place in Heaven: Go Vegan.” 

A sign hanging on the gates of heaven, where various animals are lined up to enter, states “Vegans Welcome.” 

Placement of the billboard is more targeted than incidental, being placed within a mile of five area Christian churches.

“Jesus would weep at conditions for animals on the cramped, squalid farms that treat God’s creations as unfeeling and disposable,” said PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA’s billboard reminds people, Christian or otherwise, that choosing not to eat flesh is the ultimate act of mercy.”

The billboard is located at 2745 E. Colorado Blvd., near Light of Love Mission Church, Pasadena City Church, World Mission Society Church of God, and The Church in Pasadena. 

The motto of PETA — Peop[e for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — states, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat.” The organization stands opposed to speciesism, something they’ve said is a human-supremacist worldview, and offers a vegan starter kit. 

PETA officials said the billboard will be up for a month, or possibly longer, depending on local reactions.

For more information, visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.