|
Earlier this year, PETA’s lawsuit challenging California’s “Happy Cows” ad campaign was dismissed when a court ruled that the government is exempt from the state’s false-advertising laws! While California has strict laws against false advertising, Judge David Garcia of the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, ruled that the government can’t be sued for violations of these laws, no matter how egregious such violations may be. The judge did acknowledge that California cows probably aren’t happy and that if the ads implying that they were happy had been made by a private individual, false-advertising laws might apply.
California’s false-advertising laws are designed to protect consumers from being deceived. Deception is deception, whether carried out by the government or by private business, so PETA is appealing the judge’s decision, arguing that making the government accountable for deceiving the public is good for the people of California and good for the cows and calves whose suffering is hidden behind the Milk Board’s deceitful campaign.
Background
PETA filed its lawsuit
against the state-supervised California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB)
last December for portraying idyllic conditions in its “Happy Cows”
advertisements, in stark contrast to the actual conditions in which most
dairy cows live. The CMAB ads carry the tagline, “Great cheese comes
from happy cows. Happy cows come from California,” and depict cows
enjoying acres of rolling, green pastures. In fact, the state’s dairy
cows typically live on extremely muddy, feces- and urine-soaked lots devoid
of even a bush, a blade of grass, or any vegetation. The cows are repeatedly
impregnated and are genetically and chemically manipulated to produce
abnormally high quantities of milk. Their newborns are torn from them—many
of the males being relegated to dark, filthy veal crates. Dairy cows are
worn out and prodded off to slaughter at just a fraction of their natural
life expectancy.
The attorney general had asked the court to dismiss the case on several
grounds, including the claim that the government is exempt from the false-advertising
and unfair business-practices laws. PETA opposed the attorney general’s
position. Click here to read PETA’s brief.
“It is inexcusable for the government to deceive the public about
animal abuse and avoid accountability for it,” says PETA’s legal
counsel Matthew Penzer. “Whether it comes from the government or
from private industry, lying to people in order to boost sales is wrong
|
 |
 |
|
