Billboard Blitz Urges: Don’t Leave Dogs out in the Cold!

For Immediate Release:
January 11, 2021

Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382

With winter in full swing, PETA is alerting guardians to the dangers of leaving dogs outside, with digital ads now running on unmissable billboards between South Philadelphia and Burlington, N.J.

“Dogs are flesh and blood, not picnic tables, so if left outside in freezing temperatures, they’ll freeze, too—sometimes to death,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA is reminding everyone that animals depend on us for everything from food, water, and shelter to safety, warmth, and happiness—and that means keeping them indoors with the rest of the family.”

Animals who are left outdoors in the cold can suffer from frostbite and exposure, become dehydrated when water sources ice over, and die. Last winter, there were at least 37 cold weather–related companion animal deaths—and these are just the ones that were reported. Most aren’t. When kept tethered, dogs often become tangled and die because they’re unable to reach food, water, or shelter. All dogs kept isolated outdoors—on chains or in pens—are denied the companionship that’s essential to these highly social pack animals.

It’s illegal in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania to leave a dog tethered outside for more than 30 minutes when temperatures are below 32 degrees. PETA urges anyone who sees neglect to report it to local authorities. Witnesses should take pictures from public property and note how long an animal is left without adequate food, water, or shelter.

PETA’s billboards are now up in the following locations:

• On I-95 N., facing south, just past Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia
• On Route 130 N., facing south, south of Central Highway in Pennsauken, N.J.
• On I-295—both north and south—facing both directions, south of Mount Holly Road in Burlington, N.J.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—has also placed billboards in the Newark area.

For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.