A billboard erected on the Pat Bay Highway last week just past the intersection of Mount Newton X Road is designed to make children think twice about choosing to eat turkey this Christmas, say PETA spokespeople.
The giant sign, featuring an image of a cat head attached to the body of a turkey, reads “Kids: If you wouldn’t eat your cat, why eat a turkey?”
Campaign Manager for PETA Danielle Katz, based out of Virginia, said the billboard was designed to open up the lines of communication between children and parents in regards to eating poultry.
“We hope that children and parents will see the billboard and it will start a conversation about the possibility of considering a vegan Christmas dinner,” explained Katz.
When asked what prompted the erection of the billboard in a municipality where farming is one of the main resources, Katz said the organization didn’t know much about the surrounding communities but was targeting Victoria as one of the main cities in which to run their campaigns.
“We’re not just targeting that area specifically, but also Victoria and other places all over Canada.”
“We’re working hard this holiday season to really encourage people to eat a cruelty-free, vegan meal. It’s so easy now to find alternatives like Tofurkey that are tasty.”
Katz explained that PETA’s concerns with the consumption of turkey center around large-scale factory farming and that Victoria is currently the only city in Canada that has the billboard up.
“We placed a similar billboard with the image of a pig and dog hybrid in Reno, Nevada as well as in West Memphis, Arkansas, but don’t have any others up in Canada,” she said, adding that PETA worked on other campaigns in Canadian cities that included giving away free Tofurky in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton in time for Canadian Thanksgiving.