Ashton Cinema Launches PETA Christmas Ad That Could Have Viewers Swapping Turkey for Tofurky
Ashton – PETA’s new Christmas advert, featuring the voice of Absolutely Fabulous and Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget star Jane Horrocks, is coming to big screens in Ashton. Made in collaboration with creative agency House 337, the spot tells the story of Tessa, a jolly young turkey who sings while she marvels at many of today’s Christmas customs, like The Elf on the Shelf. But things take a dark turn when Tessa finds herself seized and sent to an abattoir – the fate that awaits most turkeys in real life – where she questions how killing sensitive animals for the Christmas table can have a place in today’s world. The spot ends with a simple appeal to kill the tradition, not the turkey, by trying a vegan meal instead.
The spot is showing at Cineworld in Ashton throughout the festive season.
“I’m proud to be giving a voice to Tessa, a curious little turkey who questions why millions of birds are killed for the Christmas table each year when so many other options exist,” says Horrocks. “I hope the spot encourages kind souls everywhere to explore vegan dishes that offer some peace on Earth to animals this festive season.”
“Turkeys are smart, social individuals who don’t want or deserve to be dinner, and there is a wealth of kind and tasty animal-friendly options available to choose from,” says PETA Vice President of Programmes Elisa Allen. “Tradition doesn’t excuse cruelty, and PETA urges Ashton locals to spread festive cheer to all this Christmas by preparing and enjoying a vegan feast.”
Misguided holiday customs result in the torment and horrific death of many animals. Approximately 9 million turkeys are killed for Christmas dinner each year in the UK alone. In nature, turkeys are protective parents and spirited explorers who can live up to 10 years, but those killed for their flesh are crammed into filthy sheds – which are breeding grounds for diseases such as the ongoing bird flu epidemic – before being slaughtered at just 12 to 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 or as they’re placed into scalding-hot water to remove their feathers.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview – offers a guide to meatless Christmas roasts and a vegan starter kit. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, or Instagram.
Contact:
Lucy Watson +44 (0) 20 7837 6327; [email protected]
#