Silvio Berlusconi: The New Face Of Campaign Warning “Too Much Sex Can Be A Bad Thing”?

For Immediate Release:

2 May 2014

Contact:

Hannah Levitt +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 235; [email protected]

PETA Asks Dog Lover Ex-Italian Prime Minister to Star in Ad Encouraging Desexing of Dogs and Cats to Tackle Homelessness Crisis

London – Silvio Berlusconi’s bold pledge to find homes for the estimated 150,000 dogs held within Italy’s state-run kennels has prompted People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to write to the former Italian prime minister asking him to help tackle the root of the dog and cat overpopulation crisis by starring in a campaign with the slogan “Too much sex can be a bad thing. There are so many homeless animals – please sterilise your dogs and cats”. A mock-up of the proposed advert can be seen here.

“Il Cavaliere knows only too well what trouble a high sex drive can cause”, says PETA UK’s Mimi Bekhechi. “While his intention to find families for all of Italy’s abandoned dogs is admirable, the only way to reduce the number of homeless dogs is for people to sterilise their animals.”

Just one intact male dog can impregnate an endless number of females, and just one female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies in only six years. As long as people continue to breed and buy dogs, dogs by the thousands will continue to be turned over to already extremely crowded shelters and Berlusconi’s well-intentioned adoption plan will fail. Other celebrities who have appeared in “Sex Can Be a Bad Thing” ads for PETA or its affiliates include adult-film stars Sasha Grey, Jenna Jameson and Ron Jeremy.

 For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.

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