Members with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) organization are protesting outside grocery stores to encourage veganism despite stay-at-home guidelines in place due to the coronavirus health emergency.

TMZ reported Friday that it had spoken to someone in the organization about their protests targeting grocery stores, noting that PETA is drawing a connection between agriculture workers and the pandemic and urging people to protect animals:

The animal rights org tells TMZ … protests are focusing on supermarkets because they are one of the few businesses still open in the pandemic, and PETA wants people to make a connection between diseases like COVID-19 and animal agriculture. PETA protested outside a grocery store in Reno, NV this week … using a PETA cow to urge shoppers to save animals by going vegan. Next week, PETA says a chicken will be advocating a similar message to shoppers outside a supermarket in Sioux Falls, SD. PETA’s got a heart for humans too, and they’re taking steps to protect their loyal protesters from catching the virus. Activists are standing 6 feet apart from one another at protests, and they’re handing things out to the public from a safe distance — at a recent protest, an extended grabber tool was used to distribute toilet paper roles to pedestrians that read, “wipe out animal illness, go vegan.” PETA’s also going hands-free for vegan starter kits … instead of passing out leaflets, a protester holds a big sign with a QR code so folks can download the leaflet on their phones.

Despite PETA protesters not respecting the stay-at-home guidance for all Americans, they are wearing masks emblazoned with the words “meat markets are breeding markets for diseases.”

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