Swindon Rejects PETA’s ‘If You Wouldn’t Eat Your Dog, Why Eat a Turkey Billboard

For Immediate Release:

14 October 2019

Contact:

Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 222; [email protected]

SWINDON REJECTS PETA’S ‘IF YOU WOULDN’T EAT YOUR DOG, WHY EAT A TURKEY?’ BILLBOARD

Ad Company Refuses to Run Campaign Urging Compassion for Turkeys

Swindon – PETA tried to bring its thought-provoking seasonal advert – which has been displayed across the UK, including on dozens of London buses – to Swindon this December. However, local billboard owners have rejected the ad – which shows a dog collar on a plate slathered with gravy next to the words “If You Wouldn’t Eat Your Dog, Why Eat a Turkey? Go Vegan” – on the grounds that, as one representative wrote, “they view the artwork as being potentially distressing to a child”.

“Children love animals, and if they knew all animals feel pain and fear just as dogs and cats do, they’d trade in their turkey legs for a savoury slice of vegan roast in a heartbeat,” says PETA Director Elisa Allen. “PETA’s advert is designed to help people of all ages understand that there’s no valid reason why anyone who’s repulsed by the prospect of chowing down on dog meat shouldn’t extend that compassion to all other animals and go vegan.”

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” – notes that, because of speciesism, turkeys are routinely abused in ways that would be illegal if the victims were dogs or cats. Though in the wild, turkeys live for up to 10 years, those killed for food are normally slaughtered between 12 and 26 weeks of age. The young birds are often hung from metal shackles by their feet and dragged through an electrified bath that can cause full-body tremors. Some are still conscious when their throats are slit and as they’re placed into scalding-hot water to remove their feathers.

The group plans instead to place its “I’m ME, Not MEAT” ad campaign in Swindon. The billboard will be located on County Road from 16 December.

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

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