Update:
Updated at 10:48 a.m. May 22 with response from the park.
Planned Peppa Pig Theme Park in North Texas draws criticism over meats on menu
PETA is urging the theme park to serve only vegan foods.
The kid-friendly Peppa Pig Theme Park in North Texas hasn’t opened yet, but the park is already drawing criticism over its future menu.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, is calling for the planned North Richland Hills theme park to serve a fully vegan menu.
In a letter sent May 13 to Hasbro, and Merlin Entertainments, PETA said serving animal-based food would horrify Peppa Pig-loving children and be in direct opposition to the values of the popular British cartoon. Hasbro produces the show and Merlin Entertainments will run the park.
“None of Peppa’s friends or family should be exploited or eaten, so we urge you to serve only vegan foods at your theme parks,” PETA’s senior director Danielle Katz wrote in the letter. “Surely, Miss Rabbit would never butcher her chicken friends to serve nuggets or take a mama cow’s milk — meant for her babies — to make cheese pizza.”
The park, which is expected to open later this year, will be the second Peppa Pig Theme Park in the U.S., with the other in central Florida. Once it opens, the Texas park will feature multiple rides, including kid-friendly roller coasters, and themed play areas with a splash pad, nature trail, treehouse and indoor cinema.
Neither Hasbro nor Merlin has responded publicly to PETA. A spokesperson for Merlin said in an email Wednesday to The Dallas Morning News the park has not announced its menu.
If it replicates its Florida menu, the park will serve animal — but no pig — products. PETA urged the park to follow the same rules for all animals.
“Just as you decided to leave pig flesh off the menu at your Florida theme park, we expect you’ll do the same in Texas, given that pigs are intelligent, playful, and affectionate beings—just like Peppa herself,” the letter said. “You clearly recognize the irony of selling pig meat, so why sell products made from other exploited animals like Carol Cow or Mrs. Cow? Just like pigs, cows and other animals are friends, not food.”
PETA also pointed out the growing popularity of vegan food. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, the vegan food industry is projected to hit $162 billion in the next decade.
The Peppa Pig Theme Park is the second kids-focused theme park coming to North Texas. Universal Parks & Resorts is opening a kids-focused theme park in Frisco, which is expected to open in 2026.
