PETA’s Talking Cow Tells NY Students What Big Dairy’s Promo Tours Won’t
For Immediate Release:
April 24, 2026
Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382
There’s a bovine battle brewing in New York classrooms. As the New York Animal Agriculture Coalition rolls its self-promotional 53-foot “Mobile Dairy Experience” trailer to elementary schools across the state, PETA is countering Big Ag’s propaganda tour with Carly the Cow—a talking, mooving animatronic cow who’s telling students the truth about who cow’s milk is really for—their babies. And the kids? They’re eating it up—along with the free vegan ice cream sandwiches.
TeachKind, PETA’s humane education division, has already brought Carly to more than a dozen New York schools this spring, where the life-size cowbassador has shared with the students fun facts (cows can smell up to five miles away) and similarities between cows and humans (all mothers love their babies)—while emphasizing that bullying is never OK, whether it’s a cow or a classmate. Students who’ve met Carly have told her, “I love you, Carly!,” and when asked how they can help cows, they often respond, “We can treat others the same way we would want to be treated” and “We can help by not eating dairy products!”
“While the dairy industry’s milk marketing truck peddles fairy tales, Carly the Cow is giving students the facts about who cows are: thinking, feeling individuals who deserve our respect and consideration,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is making sure students get the animals’ side of the story before Big Ag gets its hooks in them, so they can decide for themselves whether to join the millions of Americans who are dumping dairy in favor of vegan milk.”
PETA points out that cows, like all mothers, form instant bonds with their babies—yet in the dairy industry, their beloved calves are stolen from them so that the milk meant to nourish them can be sold to humans. Each person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals every year, dramatically shrinks their food-related carbon footprint, and slashes their risk of suffering from cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and obesity. PETA’s free vegan starter kit is filled with tips to help anyone looking to make the switch.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information about PETA’s humane education resources, please visit TeachKind.org or follow TeachKind on Facebook and Instagram.
