PETA's Thanksgiving Ad: Just Jive Turkey?

Thanksgiving may make you feel grateful for everything you have or it may be an insufferable meal with relatives you avoid the rest of the year, but chances are you don't think it's a day to fry up the family pet. That, however, is exactly what should be at the forefront of your mind, according to the animals rights group PETA.

Known for shock tactics and in-your-face ads, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, has launched an advertising campaign aimed at the family feasting holiday. The billboard, which pictures an animal that's a cross between a dog and a turkey, reads: "Kids: If You Wouldn't Eat Your Dog, Why Eat a Turkey?"

"Kids love animals and if they thought about how turkeys feel pain and fear just as dogs and cats do, they'd trade in their drumsticks for Tofurky in a heartbeat," said PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "This Thanksgiving, families can give all animals something to be thankful for by sticking to humane, delicious vegan meals."

According to PETA, more than 40 million turkeys are killed in the U.S. every year for Thanksgiving dinners. Earlier today, Patch reported that HoneyBaked plans to sell 7.99 million pounds of Thanksgiving ham and turkey in Georgia alone.

The group said they plan to run the child-targeted ad in Florida, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee and Utah.

In 2009, PETA produced a commercial it wanted to run on NBC during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, but the peacock network rejected the anti-gobbler spot, saying it wasn't up to standards.

WATCH PETA'S BANNED 2009 THANKSGIVING COMMERCIAL:

Comments

[Double Deal]

08:00 AM on 11/19/2011

If one child eats their pet, this campaign will have been worth it.

[frapfreak]

06:55 PM on 11/17/2011

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_meat_consumption_in_South_Korea

[Thaag Tidestalker]

07:41 AM on 11/17/2011

If turkeys weren't made to be eaten, WHY DO THEY SAY GOBBLE GOBBLE?

[dbrett480]

07:04 PM on 11/16/2011

I didn't know PETA was still relevant. I just thought they existed purely for the benefit of comedians.

[Kalari]

11:32 AM on 11/17/2011

Peta likes going after Super Mario I think any credibility they had goes out the window with that. Next they will be suing the WB for looney tunes for their violent animal depictions lol. What a joke they all need to chill out and have a burger.

[addl0127]

05:22 PM on 11/16/2011

plants are living to so how can you kill them....

[pixiewings614]

10:30 PM on 11/17/2011

Plants react to light based stimuli through enzyme reactions similar to the way a coil inside of a thermostat reacts to heat. This is not caused by a nervous system. Humans and other animals have many body systems that are similar, and react similarly, but we also have nerves and a brain. All animals with nervous systems feel pain. Some animals have more advanced nervous systems. Animals being killed in a slaughterhouse feel the same pain (and confusion, most likely) as someone beaten up and murdered in an alley. Animals do not tend to show pain like humans because many shut down and become "stoic" when they are sick and in pain. This comes to them from ancient conditioning, when a sick animal is usually easy prey to predators. Other animals (usually some breeds of domestic dogs) behave like they were just hit by a car when they stub their toe. Their pain is no less or worse, they just show it more, in fact, if they were in the wild, they could be an instant target.

[clb45para]

04:57 PM on 11/16/2011

The problem is: PLANTS HAVE FEELINGS TOO.

[plantbasedpunk]

11:20 AM on 11/17/2011

Even if plants DID sense pain (which they don't) it takes about 8 pounds of plant material to produce 1 pound of beef. Assuming you were really concerned about minimizing "plant suffering", the best thing you could do would be to eat plants directly, rather than pumping them into animals in order to fatten them up. Just saying.

[brokenleoheart]

04:17 PM on 11/16/2011

im an omnivore, im gonna eat meat. that said, i wouldn't waste any food, and on thanksgiving, alot of turkeys get slaughtered, and alot of that food ends up getting wasted.

[LilithV]

03:44 PM on 11/16/2011

I wish PETA would realize that "shock advertising" simply does not work. Sure people are talking about it, but how many are really going to change their meat eating ways? If the organization really wanted to make an impact and be taken more seriously they should be spending their money and efforts on educating people on free range produce, fair trade and buying locally.

[ms schatzi]

10:55 AM on 11/16/2011

It's ridiculous as well as a lost cause trying to convince people not to nourish themselves.

[IrieMoon]

11:17 AM on 11/16/2011

Oh yeah, because meat doesn't have any nourishment in it at all right?

[IrieMoon]

10:16 AM on 11/16/2011

If I wouldn't eat my dog then why eat a turkey?

Well, because my dog looks at me with love in her eyes. She fetches for me. She gives me constant companionship. She is my little buddy.

Did you ever try any of those things with a turkey? They're not the nicest of animals and they're certainly not nearly as cuddly as my dog.

Nice try PETA.

[theguy1234]

11:06 AM on 11/16/2011

But in their ability to suffer, they're the same, right?

[IrieMoon]

11:26 AM on 11/16/2011

Everyone has the ability to suffer. Even vegetables.

What makes you think I eat turkey that suffers? Just because I eat turkey doesn't mean I eat factory farm turkeys. Not all omnivores are the same just like not all vegetarians are insane.

[HappyBrit]

03:38 AM on 11/17/2011

No, I would say not. Dogs are far more intelligent than turkeys and are most likely more capable of suffering. Same as turkeys are more intelligent than slugs, which we presume are barely capable of suffering at all.

[pin10]

07:02 AM on 11/17/2011

There's no difference between eating a dog or a turkey. Whether you like a turkey or not it is irrevelent. They are BOTH animals and have the capacity to feel pain. Where's your heart?

[Thaag Tidestalker]

07:43 AM on 11/17/2011

Right under my sternum. Is this normal?

[pin10]

08:09 AM on 11/17/2011

Typical response from someone who has nothing to say and knows he/she's been licked.

[Lindarrr]

09:35 AM on 11/16/2011

People have totally missed the point of Peta's message here. If you're going to have an entire nation eat a turkey on the same day, that's a lot of Turkeys that are going to be slaughtered and mistreated. If you're going to eat a turkey, at least buy one from a small farm, where the animal got to have a decent life and see sunlight and not have it's beak chopped off. The message isn't to turn everyone into vegetarians. It's to raise awareness of the disgusting practices that are put in place to make Thanksgiving Turkey dinners possible for millions of people.

[shawmajaha]

06:56 AM on 11/17/2011

It says right at the end of the video Go Veg they dont want them to be eaten at all.. but i do agree people should buy them from local farms if you do want to enjoy your turkey.

[MtnGeek]

10:59 AM on 11/17/2011

If people have missed the message, it is because PETA isn't doing a good job of communicating their message.

[Aleks Hunter]

08:54 AM on 11/16/2011

Every Thanksgiving we get all of these People Eating Turkeys Again ads. On the list of problems we need to tackle, turkey dinners aren't even in the top 100... pages.

[Mrsbean54]

07:23 AM on 11/16/2011

Kids: We're targeting you with this ad so that you can feel guilty, and cry, and incessantly whine to your parents during Thanksgiving dinner. Our apologies in advance that you don't buy your own food, so you have to eat what your family provides. We also apologize in advance for the extra hour that you will have to sit at the dinner table for not eating your dog-turkey.

Sincerely, PETA

[JDHARTIL]

05:08 AM on 11/16/2011

Nice!!!

[Ossit]

02:54 AM on 11/16/2011

PETA you're a most tasteless bunch. Comes from eating bark and grass I suppose.

[Dembabe40]

10:15 AM on 11/16/2011

Hey, bark and grass were once living things too and no one's standing up for their rights!

[Ossit]

01:23 PM on 11/16/2011

Good one, Dembabe40.