Dairy Queen Announces Cancellation of Animal
Abuse Ad Due to Protests
Chicken Basketball Ad to Cease Airing by the end of September
Machipongo, Va. – United Poultry Concerns
has been advised by the American Dairy Queen Corporation via email
that the company will remove its cruel ad in which chickens are
treated like basketballs. Dairy Queen states: “You have
recently contacted American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ) regarding
your concerns with the Dairy Queen ® commercial featuring
the DQ® Chicken Strip Basket. I want you to know that ADQ
is taking your comments and the feedback of others seriously.
After careful consideration, we have decided to cease airing the
commercial at the end of September.”
Dairy Queen may be thanked by contacting: http://www.dairyqueen.com/customer/cus_feedback.asp
To view UPC’s Action Alert, visit:
http://upc-online.org/alerts/90903dq.htm
On September 9, 2003, United Poultry Concerns sent
the following letter to the American Dairy Queen Corporation Headquarters:
On behalf of United Poultry Concerns, a nonprofit
organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment
of domestic fowl, I am writing to urge you, please, to remove
the television commercial that shows basketball players throwing
chickens as if they were basketballs. Even if the chickens are
inanimate, this kind of image encourages children, teenagers,
and others to abuse all kinds of defenseless animals and to disrespect
animals. According to your consumer relations manager Carolyn
Kidder, some of the chickens appearing in the commercial are animatronic
while others were provided by a company. This means that you are
not only promoting animal abuse; you are practicing animal abuse
to sell your products.
With the increasing media attention that has lately
been given to how badly chickens are treated by the poultry industry,
and how much chickens suffer under these conditions, and how sensitive
and intelligent chickens are – as documented by poultry
welfare specialists – it appears that Dairy Queen is part
of a backlash by the consolidated food industries to keep the
public from caring about chickens even if they are badly treated.
Those of us who deal professionally with animal
cruelty and law enforcement issues every day see the effect that
a climate of cruelty has on young people and others who have not
had the benefit of a humane education, and who lack compassion
for others. I request that you review your contribution to this
climate, and see if you can do something positive instead. Please
withdraw the commercial. I would appreciate a response from you.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Karen Davis, PhD, President
United Poultry Concerns
United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes
the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl.
http://www.upc-online.org
