Would You Eat Your Dog?

How would children feel if Spot and Fluffy were stuffed and roasted for Christmas? That’s what we’re asking this holiday season with a new billboard that shows an animal who’s a cross between a dog and a turkey. We decided to run the billboard near Manchester schools in the hope that it will spark a dialogue between kids and their parents. “Kids love animals, and if they thought about how turkeys feel pain and fear just as dogs and cats do, they’d trade in their drumsticks for a veggie roast in a heartbeat”, says PETA Special Projects Coordinator Abi. “Families can extend the spirit of peace and goodwill by offering humane, delicious vegan meals this Christmas.”

In nature, turkeys are protective and loving parents as well as spirited explorers who can climb trees and run as fast as 25 miles per hour. But most turkeys destined to be killed for food are crammed into filthy warehouses, where disease, heart attacks and sudden deaths are common. Turkeys are drugged and bred to grow such unnaturally large upper bodies that their legs often become crippled under the weight. More than 15 million turkeys are killed in the UK every year – more than 10 million for Christmas dinners alone.

Leave the turkey (and Fido) off your plate – go vegan!