Animal rights group PETA has launched a Christmas ad looking to sway people from eating turkey for Christmas dinner.
The two-minute film done in collaboration with creative agency Dream Farm Studios tells the tale of Toby the turkey’s escape from the back of a truck headed for an eventual spot at someone’s dinner table. In a stroke of good luck Toby instead finds himself with a loving family “at the table, not on it.”
“Turkeys like Toby are gentle, gracious, and gregarious individuals, and each one has a story that should not end on a fork,” said PETA Vice President Mimi Bekhechi. “PETA urges everyone to share comfort and joy this Christmas by enjoying a delicious vegan feast. We stand ready to help with our free vegan starter kit.”
The ad wraps up with a simple message: “Peace on Earth begins at home. Have a vegan Christmas.”
According to PETA, each year, millions of turkeys suffer and die for the UK’s Christmas dinners, adding: “In nature, turkeys are protective parents and spirited explorers who can live up to 10 years, but those killed for food are normally slaughtered between 12 and 26 weeks of age. The young birds are often hung from metal shackles by their feet and dragged through an electrified bath that can cause full-body tremors. Some are still conscious when their throats are slit and as they’re placed into scalding-hot water to remove their feathers.”
