The Inter-Mountain photo by Taylor McKinnie PETA’s ‘Hell on Wheels’ vehicle was parked outside of the Scottie’s restaurant in Elkins on Thursday at lunch time to protest pork products and promote veganism.

ELKINS — PETA protested outside an Elkins restaurant during the lunch hour Thursday, part of a statewide tour to denounce the sale of pork products.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ “Hell on Wheels” protest vehicle parked outside of Scottie’s in Elkins Thursday in an attempt to convince diners and community members to go vegan.

In a release from the animal rights organization, PETA announced that their “hyper-realistic pig transport truck that looks as if it contains real pigs on their way to slaughter” would be parked outside of Scottie’s at noon Thursday and that diners at the restaurant would be “in for an earful.”

“(The truck) will bombard them with actual recorded sounds of the animals’ panicked screams along with a subliminal message every 10 seconds suggesting that people go vegan,” the release stated.

However, an Inter-Mountain reporter who was on the scene for more than an hour could only faintly hear the “panicked screams” audio when standing directly next to the truck. No diners at the restaurant interacted with the truck; few appeared to have noticed it.

When asked by The Inter-Mountain as to why PETA chose to protest in Elkins, the truck’s driver said he was not the person to speak with and that he was told to come to Elkins by those higher-up in the organization. When asked where the truck was headed next, the driver said he did not know.

Scottie’s in Elkins had no comment on the matter, when contacted by The Inter-Mountain.

The “Hell on Wheels” drive-by campaign has been on the road since 2024, according to PETA’s website. This month, the campaign visited Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. 

The campaign scheduled three stops in West Virginia, including Elkins. On June 9, the truck was in Morgantown. Today, the truck will be in the city of Williamson in Mingo County and then in Pikeville, Kentucky.

“Behind every bacon & egg biscuit or Becky sandwich is a once-living, sensitive individual who was crammed onto a truck for a terrifying, miserable journey to their death,” PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said in the release. “PETA’s ‘Hell on Wheels’ truck is an appeal to anyone who eats pigs to remember that the meat industry is cruel to them and that the only kind meal is a vegan one.”