Lawsuit Threatened Over Pulled ‘Boycott Canada Goose’ Ads

PETA Warns of Potential Suit After Ad Agency Unlawfully Removed Bus Shelter Ads Blasting Vile Fur-and-Feather Jackets

For Immediate Release:
December 6, 2018

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

Today, PETA’s counsel sent a letter threatening to sue the City of Toronto and Astral Media Outdoor over the removal of PETA’s anti–Canada Goose ads—which were pulled from the city’s bus shelters after just one day in an egregious violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms—unless the ads are reposted immediately.

In September, PETA entered into an agreement with Astral Media Outdoor to post benign ads showing a coyote proclaiming, “I’m a Living Being, Not a Piece of Fur Trim,” and a goose stating, “I’m a Living Being, Not Jacket Filling,” above the words “Boycott Canada Goose” at several bus shelters between Canada Goose’s headquarters and the home of the company’s CEO, Dani Reiss. But the ad agency quickly reneged on the agreement and took down the ads after receiving “numerous complaints” (many of which PETA suspects came from Canada Goose executives) through its internal communications line and the city’s help line.

“This censorship isn’t just legally problematic—it’s also doing an enormous disservice to the geese and coyotes who are tormented and violently killed for Canada Goose jackets,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA will pursue legal recourse unless our ads are rightfully restored and left in place for the full length of the initial agreement.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—has released a video exposé revealing that workers at a Canada Goose down supplier rounded up terrified geese who piled on top of one another in an attempt to escape, causing suffocation and death. Workers grabbed birds by their necks and crammed them into cages so small that they couldn’t sit up or extend their wings. Coyotes used for Canada Goose’s fur trim can suffer in traps for days before they’re shot or bludgeoned to death. Trapped coyote mothers desperate to get back to their starving pups have even tried to chew through their own limbs to escape.

A wide variety of top brands—including HoodLamb, NOIZE, Save the Duck, and Wuxly Movement—sell warm, stylish, cruelty-free coats that no animal had to suffer and die for.

The group’s letter is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.