PETA Vice President to Discuss Senator Norman's Proposed Ban on Photographing Farm Animals
For Immediate Release:
March 31, 2011
Contact:
Robbyn Brooks 202-483-7382
Tampa, Fla. -- PETA Senior Vice President Dan Mathews will give a talk titled "Why Animals Should Be Shot—With Cameras" on Tuesday to address Florida State Senate Bill 1246, which, if passed, would make it a misdemeanor to take photographs or video footage of farms. The bill, proposed by Sen. Jim Norman of Tampa, has sparked amusing editorial columns from around the state.
When: Tuesday, April 5, 7 p.m.
Where: University of South Florida, Marshall Student Center (Oval Theater), 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa
"No one's denying that this bill is designed to keep the grotesque reality of factory farming behind closed doors," says Mathews, who will show video footage taken during previous PETA undercover investigations. "We need more cameras on factory farms and in slaughterhouses—not fewer."
An author and a frequent guest on programs such as Larry King Live, Mathews is the irreverent force behind many of PETA's colorful crusades and star-studded stunts. After Mathews showed Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger video footage of beavers and foxes killed for their pelts, both fashion designers agreed to stop using fur. Mathews has been named among the world's most influential gays by Out magazine and has lectured at Harvard University, Princeton University, and Columbia University. So far this year, his campaigns have appeared on the front pages of the The Wall Street Journal, The Jerusalem Post, and Le Monde.
This event is being sponsored by the University of South Florida student group Students Protecting the Environment and Animals through Knowledge. Admission is free, and the event is open to the public.