Animal lovers and activists are celebrating a win Thursday after Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto apologized and not only removed but cancelled a terminal upgrade marketing campaign which included ‘disturbing’ posters stating, “You’re precious cargo, not cattle” that many felt were disrespectful to animals, specifically cows.
Len Goldberg told Global News that a concerned employee of the airport had been very disturbed to see the posters and alerted him to the situation.
Goldberg then proceeded to post about it on Facebook, encouraging others to contact Billy Bishop to let them know “they were really saddened that animals were being called out in that way.”
Scores of people reached out by phone and e–mail and Goldberg said that within two hours, the airport told him they were going to take down all of the ads.
“When you see a big airport, in a big city like Toronto, saying, ‘We made a mistake, we want to respect the cows, we’re taking down the posters and cancelling the campaign,’ you just feel like change is happening,” said Goldberg.
In e–mails obtained by Global News a spokesperson for the airport wrote to Goldberg, “Our sincere apologies if the message on the terminal upgrade marketing campaign offended you or in any way implied a disrespect for animals. We agree that animals should be treated humanely and with respect.”
The spokesperson said they discussed the ad with the owners of the terminal, Nieuport Aviation Infrastructure Partners, who initiated the campaign, and it agreed to remove the posters and cancel that aspect of the marketing.
It was a response that pleasantly surprised Jenny McQueen, co-founder of Animal Rights Toronto, who had been alerted to the situation by Goldberg, telling Global News that, “Anytime we see animals being called out, or being the butt of jokes, we’re going to act.
“We just wish that companies would act as quickly as the airport did when they realized the mistake that they made,” McQueen said.
McQueen acknowledges that some may feel as though a simple poster is no big deal but she also sees how attitudes are changing towards animals and how animal rights are becoming more “mainstream.” She hopes that this win is just the beginning.
“To many it’s a silly concern, but for those of us who each week witness Canadian cows facing awful transport in the heat of summer (and the freezing cold in winter) on their way to the slaughterhouse, words are incredibly important, and are a start in trying to muster some respect for them.”
Global News reached out to Billy Bishop, but at the time of publication, had not heard back.