Group Will Hit the Sheets on the Streets of Montréal and Ottawa to Promote Feather-Free Outerwear and Bedding
For Immediate Release:
February 4, 2013
Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382
Montréal -- After spending the fall and winter encouraging U.S. shoppers to keep products made with cruelly produced down off their shopping lists, PETA is heading to Canada. Demonstrations—planned for Montréal on February 5 and Ottawa on February 6—will feature a pair of PETA members cuddling on a bed in front of a banner that reads, "Get Down Without Down," while other activists, accompanied by a half-plucked goose, hold signs that read, "Down Hurts," and distribute leaflets to passersby explaining how birds are repeatedly—and painfully—plucked alive for down.
"Many people who would never even think of wearing fur still buy down because they simply have no idea that birds are plucked alive and ripped open for their feathers," says PETA Associate Director of Campaigns Lindsay Rajt. "As winter continues, PETA looks forward to helping Canadians choose coats and comforters that are as kind as they are warm."
In a new PETA video exposé, Alicia Silverstone offers a behind-the-scenes view of the down industry, showing how workers rip out the feathers of geese. Afterward, the birds lie on the floor, bleeding and paralyzed with fear. Many are seriously injured, and some die from shock or infected wounds. Birds are often plucked so hard that their skin tears open, leaving gaping wounds, which workers crudely stitch back together, often in unsterile environments. A broadcast-quality version of PETA's video exposé featuring Silverstone can be downloaded here.
Warm, animal-friendly bedding and winter clothing are available everywhere. PETA encourages shoppers to check labels for synthetic down, down alternative, polyester fill, or high-tech fabrics such as PrimaLoft® and Thinsulate™—soft, washable, down-like fibres. In most cases, these alternatives are superior to down, which loses much of its insulating properties when it gets wet.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.