Ad Aimed at Kids Was Intended to Run During Broadcast of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

For Immediate Release:
November 25, 2009

Contact:
Amanda Schinke 757-622-7382

Harrisburg, Pa. -- A provocative new TV commercial from PETA in which a little girl says grace before her family's Thanksgiving dinner--and turns her prayer into a graphic description of how turkeys suffer on factory farms--has been rejected by WGAL-TV in Harrisburg. PETA had hoped to run the ad during the station's broadcast of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade so that young viewers could decide for themselves whether or not to eat turkey this year. But the station refused to allow PETA to buy airtime for the 30-second spot, stating, "We don't want to air the commercial on the station."

"Dear God, thank you for the turkey we're about to eat--and for the turkey farms where they pack them into dark tiny, little sheds for their whole lives," the girl begins. Eliciting gasps and raised eyebrows among her relatives, she continues, "And special thanks for all the chemicals and dirt and poop that's in the turkey we're about to eat." The ad concludes, "This Thanksgiving, be thankful you're not a turkey. Go vegan." Click here to watch the ad.

A PETA undercover investigation last year documented that workers punched, threw, and kicked live birds; bludgeoned birds with pipes, pieces of wood, and tools; deliberately broke turkeys' necks and other bones; stomped on birds' heads; forcefully shoved feces and feed down birds' throats; held birds' heads under water; cut turkey hens' beaks with pliers; and urinated in a turkey pen.

"Young people have a natural affinity for our feathered friends and for all animals," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "They deserve to learn the truth about how birds raised for the Thanksgiving table have nothing to be thankful for. Rather than contribute to factory-farming cruelty, many kids are now opting for a vegan diet."

For more information, please visit PETA.org.