‘We’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Feathers!’: New PETA Protest Hits Milan Ahead of Olympics

For Immediate Release:
February 5, 2026

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Winter Olympics fans walking by Piazza Duomo today were met with a sensational sight: a trio of nearly nude PETA members—wearing nothing but beanie hats, ski goggles, and snow boots—displaying a banner declaring, “We’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Feathers!” The eye-popping plea served as a reminder that feather-filled winter clothing (often featured in cold-weather athletic gear) comes from the misery of geese and ducks. PETA’s nine exposés of the down industry show birds suffering from gaping and bloody wounds, having their feathers violently ripped from their skin, and being stabbed in the neck while conscious.

Photos of the action are available here. Video is available here.

“Every feather stuffed into a puffer jacket or vest was torn from a bird who was factory farmed and violently killed,” says PETA UK Vice President Mimi Bekhechi. “The only beings who should be wearing feathers are the birds themselves, and PETA is calling on athletes and fans to choose only innovative, high-quality, vegan outerwear.”

PETA points out that geese are family-oriented and mate for life, and that ducks are social animals who communicate through body language, vocalizations, and subtle cues such as head tilts and tail shakes. A PETA Germany investigation shows slaughterhouse workers in the down industry in Poland—the world’s second-largest exporter of down—dragging ducks and geese across grated floors, kicking a duck with full force, and grabbing the animals by their legs or wings. Some birds were evidently conscious and still frantically flapping their wings or even trying to lift their heads after their throats were slit. PETA Asia exposés of “responsible” down suppliers show workers at duck slaughterhouses in Vietnam stabbing birds in the neck and cutting off their feet while they were still conscious and struggling.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear or abuse in any other way”—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 the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.