Outdoor advertising agencies in Dublin and Cork have rejected a festive advertising campaign featuring a computer-generated “dog-turkey” hybrid encouraging people to go vegan, according to the animal rights organisation PETA.
The campaign, which has already appeared in parts of the UK and in cinemas across Northern Ireland, features an image of a creature with the head of a dog and the body of a turkey. The accompanying text asks: “If you wouldn’t eat your dog, why eat a turkey? Go Vegan.”
The UK branch of “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals”, or PETA, stated that despite repeated requests for clarification, the local billboard owners and ad agencies involved have not provided specific reasoning or feedback regarding the decision to block the visual from appearing in the Republic of Ireland.
Elisa Allen, PETA’s Vice President of Programmes and a Galway native, defended the imagery, suggesting that the public’s emotional connection to pets should extend to livestock.
“Turkeys feel the same joy and pain as the dogs we share our homes with, yet people would be rightly horrified if dogs were trussed up, stuffed and served as their Christmas centrepiece,” Allen said in a statement
“PETA urges everyone show goodwill to all by leaving animals off their plates and choosing vegan.”
The organisation’s broader “Every Animal Is Someone” initiative argues that the biological differences between species do not justify their slaughter.
PETA claims that while wild turkeys can live up to 10 years, those raised for the Christmas market are typically slaughtered between 12 and 26 weeks of age.
The group noted that their motto maintains “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any way,” and they continue to offer “Empathy Kits” and vegan recipes to the public as alternatives to traditional holiday roasts.
Ad agencies in Cork and Dublin have not issued a formal public statement regarding the rejection of the hybrid-animal campaign.
The campaigning group has also rolled out a “Happy Christmassacre” ad wherein a family is eating Christmas dinner, but become increasingly covered in blood and gore the longer the meal goes on.
Campaigns to reject meat
In recent years, a number of initiatives aimed at reducing meat consumption have taken root in Ireland.
As previously reported by Gript, a State-funded guide has encouraged Irish teachers to urge pupils to “eat less meat” and dairy in the name of climate objectives, while also recommending that Junior Infants be shown illustrated books about Greta Thunberg to promote climate activism.
These recommendations originate from the Green Schools programme, which awards its Green Flag status to hundreds of schools across Ireland each year. The programme is operated by the State-funded NGO An Taisce, which receives approximately €3.5 million in annual taxpayer funding.
This funding is drawn from a wide range of government departments and State bodies, including the Departments of Transport, Education, Climate, Housing and Tourism, as well as local authorities, Irish Aid, Uisce Éireann, the National Transport Authority, and others.
The Green Schools programme has promoted reduced consumption of meat and dairy for a number of years. In a 2018 article, it asked: “How can we encourage everyone to eat less meat and dairy?”
The article states that “the total carbon footprint of plant protein is significantly lower than meat per kg of consumed food,” and calls for the introduction of a “Meatless Monday” policy in schools across Ireland.