PETA Erects Tombstones to Protest Westminster Dog Show's Contribution to Shelter Dog Deaths

Grim Reaper Confronts Purebred Dog Enthusiasts With Grim Reality

For Immediate Release:
February 12, 2010

Contact:
Virginia Fort 757-622-7382

New York -- Beneath a banner reading, "Every Dog Bred Means Another Dog Dead," PETA supporters will set up a "graveyard" with 40 tombstones--one to represent every 100,000 animals killed in animal shelters each year because of a lack of good homes--outside Madison Square Garden.

When:   Monday, February 15, 12 noon

Where:  Westminster Dog Show, Madison Square Garden, west side of Seventh Avenue at 32nd Street

 "When people buy a dog or cat from a breeder or pet store, they are subsidizing more breeding and at the same time denying a homeless animal in a shelter the chance to find a home," says PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. "Because animal shelters are so severely crowded, people who buy animals instead of rescuing them give shelters no choice but to euthanize healthy, loving animals."

Each year, U.S. animal shelters take in an estimated 8 million animals--mostly dogs and cats. Half of them must be euthanized for lack of a good home.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.