Minneapolis Advertisers Ban PETA's Billboard Attacking IAMS Pet Food

[Karmadillo]

http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=4707

For Immediate Release:
July 13, 2004

Contact:
Allison Ezell 757-622-7382

Minneapolis — PETA hoped to have its new anti-Iams billboard displayed in Minneapolis, but area outdoor advertisers want no part of it. The billboard shows a caged dog with the tagline "Warning: Iams Is Dangerous to Dogs and Cats. Iams Funds Cruel Experiments on Animals." The message refers to an undercover investigation at an Iams contract laboratory, where at least 27 dogs were killed, while others died of illnesses that went untreated. The ad is part of PETA’s international campaign, which was launched in Iams’ hometown of Dayton, Ohio, last September, to protest the misery of animals who are neglected and killed in Iams’ crude laboratory tests.

Despite assurances from Iams that it would not perform tests on animals that would not be acceptable on humans, PETA’s investigator, who worked at the lab, found the following:

* Dogs and cats indefinitely confined to small cages in dungeon-like rooms
* Dogs whose vocal cords had been surgically cut out so that they couldn’t bark
* Dogs suffering from untreated ear infections, rotten teeth, and injured paws
* Workers’ reports of a live kitten who was washed down a drain
* Terrified, unsocialized animals cowering in their cages
* Kennels that were stifling during summer months and near freezing in winter
* Dogs force-fed vegetable oil through tubes inserted down their throats

"We’re howling mad that Iams is causing misery and death for dogs and cats while feeding its customers fiction," says Mary Beth Sweetland, senior vice president of PETA’s Research & Investigations Department. "Dogs and cats shouldn’t suffer for Iams’ profits, and we want to get that message to the public."

Last June, PETA filed a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against Iams and its parent company, Procter & Gamble, for making allegedly false claims on their Web sites regarding the care provided to the cats and dogs used by Iams in its research. Broadcast-quality footage of animals in an Iams contract laboratory is available. For more information, please visit PETA’s Web site iamscruelty.com.

[Ruffhowse]

1. Won't buy their food anymore!

[RebelOne]

2. Same here.

[RubyDuby in GA]

3. Never

My dog eats their mini chunk food. But no more. I have already written the company, but who knows if that does any good anymore. This is despicable! :grr:

[MikeDuffy]

4. ???

1) Where is the commentary about corporate ad censorship?
2) Where are the usual PETA bashers?

[newyawker99]

5. Hi MikeDuffy!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast: