Airport removes ad that demeans animals

[Catherine]

Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto put out a new ad campaign. It was meant to express that they treat people well, but the reference to people not being cattle implies that it is okay to not treat cattle well when transporting them. (sadly cattle are not treated well when being transported)  Animal Rights Toronto responded quickly and surprisingly the airport responded back by pulling the ad.

http://globalnews.ca/news/3566866/animal...-campaign/

It is a victory. It is not okay to even talk about treating animals badly. Cattle deserve to be treated well and removing the ad strengthens that position.
Animal rights and animal protection will be won by small victories. It sometimes doesn't seem like much, but it got people responding to the idea that cattle deserve respect and should not be transported badly. That will help when we start pushing for better treatment of cattle when they are being transported.

[LPC]

Anything which changes public perception of animal welfare issues for the better (like in this case) is to be welcomed.

[Catherine]

I am impressed with how quickly they acted, both the animal rights group and the airport.  I never even got to see the ad before it was pulled.

No business wants to be seen as disrespecting animals. That is because people who care about animals have shown that they will react strongly if they disapprove of something. Every time we sign a petition or post something about animals we are part of the pressure that protects animals.

[Tobi]

Good. I am glad this was spotted. It 'normalises' bad treatment of cattle. There is something almost mind-numbing for humans in that message, as if "being treated like cattle" means that treatment has to be bad. It almost becomes acceptable when said like that!
Thank goodness something was done about it. When I hear of things like this, I do see we are making very positive changes. I hope that is the thin end of a good wedge!

[Catherine]

I wonder who thought the ad up in the first place. They certainly are unaware of social media and the tremendous response that happens when an animal is wronged. Companies will think twice before they do anything like this again.

If fear of public response makes people treat animals better, the animals are still being treated better.
Doing the right thing for the wrong reason is still doing the right thing.