A new PETA advertisement which compares animals born and bred in the meat, egg and dairy industries to victims of sexual assault has sparked outrage on social media.
The ad begins with different women speaking about their horrific experiences. “One man held me down, while another man touched me,” say women in the ad. The ad then takes a turn. "I am you," says a woman, "Only different," says another, while holding up a picture of a cow.
The ad goes on to say how billions of animals are born into the meat and dairy industry via forcible artificial insemination and how almost all are a result of rape. It ends by urging viewers not to participate, and to go vegan.
Following the ad's release, outrage poured in on Twitter.
Despite the indignation against the campaign, PETA stands by the message in its ad.
It even released a statement defending its ad, and arguing that the ad does not diminish the experience of sexual assault victims.
"It is rape when someone sticks their hand into a vagina or rectum without permission. That’s the dictionary definition of rape. We believe that everyone should see the reality of dairy, meat, and turkey production and then, unless they’re ethically blind, they will be appalled. Every decent person abhors and denounces sexual abuse of women but we cannot blithely accept the sexual abuse of other females who happen not to be human but have the same vulnerability to pain," the statement read.
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