‘Dead Calf’ to Haunt Anti-Female ‘Milk Marathon’ Kick-Off Event
For Immediate Release:
November 12, 2025
Contact:
Alex Payne 202-483-7382
Runners may be stopped in their tracks outside the Every Woman’s Marathon Wellness Fair & Expo on Friday and Saturday, where a lifelike “dead calf” will lead a pack of PETA supporters to call out the hypocrisy of a women’s race funded by the dairy industry—which systematically sexually assaults female cows and steals their newborn babies so that the milk meant to nourish them can be sold to humans.
The provocative action will serve as a preview of race day on Sunday, when protesters will assemble at the starting line and unfurl a massive banner proclaiming, “Milk Marathon Runs on Cruelty.” Meanwhile, vegan athlete Starlynn Costa will stage a 26.2-mile-long protest as she runs the course while wearing a tank top reading “Dairy Exploits Females” on the front and “You Can’t Be a Milk-Drinking Feminist” on the back.
“This despicable dairy industry PR stunt is manipulating women into promoting a product derived from the exploitation of female bodies,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on runners and people everywhere to do right by females of all kinds by going vegan.”
Where: Westworld of Scottsdale, 16601 N. Pima Rd, Scottsdale (at the intersection of E. Westworld Way and E. Polo Field Way)
When: Friday, November 14, 2 p.m. and Saturday, November 15, 10 a.m.
What: PETA notes that female cows produce milk only when they’re pregnant or nursing, for the same reason human women do—to feed their babies. Given the chance, mother cows form deep bonds with their young. In the dairy industry, cows are repeatedly forcibly impregnated (raped)—workers insert an arm into the cow’s rectum and a metal rod to deliver semen into her vagina—and their babies are taken from them shortly after they’re born. Mother cows have been known to frantically chase after the trucks hauling their calves away and cry out in grief for days after their babies are torn from them.
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, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
