Ferrari Driver’s ‘PETA Car’ Races Into Montr

PETA Member Promotes Cruelty-Free Shopping During North American Ferrari Challenge

For Immediate Release:
June 6, 2013

Contact:
Kaitlynn Kelly 202-483-7382  

Montréal — One of the cars in the North American Ferrari Challenge—which heads to Montréal’s Canadian Grand Prix on June 7—boasts logos never before seen on a pro raceway, courtesy of PETA. Amateur Ferrari driver Jim Weiland will be driving for a cause, supporting PETA’s campaign against blinding rabbits and poisoning other animals by plastering several “PETA” signs and a “cruelty-free” bunny, which the group licenses to companies that don’t test their products on animals, on the car. Weiland will drive the PETA car throughout the remaining four races of the series. A photo of Weiland’s “PETA car” is available here.

“By putting PETA’s cruelty-free bunny logo on his Ferrari, Jim Weiland is helping racing fans across North America learn how easy it is to help animals simply by shopping cruelty-free,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “PETA’s bunny logo makes it easy to find the thousands of companies that sell top-quality personal-care and household products that were never tested on animals.”

Rabbits and other animals used for product testing have harsh chemicals force-fed to them, rubbed into their raw and abraded skin, or dripped into their eyes, leaving them with chemical burns, swelling, hemorrhaging, or blindness. When the experiments are over, the animals are killed. These archaic tests are banned in the European Union and Israel and are not required by the U.S., and more than 1,300 companies have pledged to PETA that they will use only non-animal testing methods. A list of these cruelty-free companies is available on PETA’s Beauty Without Bunnies website, where consumers can also order a free copy of PETA’s global cruelty-free shopping guide.

A native of Cleveland, Weiland is one of four drivers in the Ferrari Challenge’s R3 Motorsports “The Auto Gallery” team. He, his wife, and his young son share their home with three dogs and are proud to support PETA’s work in defending those who can’t defend themselves.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.