Did PETA Go Too Far With This Advertisement?
The animal rights group PETA is known for pulling controversial stunts in order to get attention, but some people in the U.K. are outraged over their latest attempt to get people to go vegan. Ryot reports that the group had a giant billboard erected in Nottingham which depicted sexual imagery. The NSFW image on the billboard shows a woman with what appears to be ejaculate on her face in an act that is known in the pornography industry as “a facial.” Alongside the shocking photo was a message that doesn’t quite make sense.
“Some bodily fluids are bad for you. Don’t Swallow. Ditch Dairy.”
The billboard appalled people who resided in the area, including the commercial director for the U.K.’s oldest soccer team, Notts FC. The outrage made it all the way to Space Outdoor, an advertisement agency that approved the billboard to go up in the first place. The offensive image and its message was removed within 48 hours of its unveiling. Do you think the billboard was offensive enough to warrant its removal?
PETA appears to thrive on controversy, and is constantly in the media for pulling odd stunts and making strange public declarations. Most recently members of the animal activist group were outraged that a giant anaconda snake didn’t get to eat Paul Rosolie on Discovery Channel’s Eaten Alive. Gawker reports that the group expressed anger that the snake was tricked into constricting around the man, only for it to be denied the large meal. That’s not a satire story. That really happened.
There is also a dark side to the various controversies surrounding the activist group. Back in November The Huffington Post reported that a family’s chihuahua was stolen off their front porch and then euthanized by members of the organization. The family was compensated with nothing more than a fruit basket, and even though the persons responsible were charged with the theft of the dog, the prosecutor in Accomack County, Virginia refused to prosecute the case. That’s far from the only negative story, either. There are dozens.
Back in April 2013 an investigative report was published on The Huffington Post which indicated that PETA euthanizes more than 96 percent of the animals it rescues. The exposé found that the organization has killed 30,000 animals in the past 11 years. The report also found that in 2012 the organization’s headquarters only adopted out 12 of the 733 dogs that entered the building. The rest — 602 dogs — were killed. That same year, they euthanized 28 out of only 34 companion animals, adopting out only four of the trained animal assistants.
Has PETA gone too far this time with the billboard in the U.K., or is this just more of the same behavior to expect of this activist group?
[Photo credit: Ryot/PETA]
