PETA has filed a lawsuit against New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and the organizers of CowParade NYC 2000 because the charity's fiberglass cow has been banned from the event for being "profane," "graphic," and "inappropriate." PETA's suit alleges that the rejection of the design constitutes a violation of its First Amendment rights, as well as a breach of contract for the almost $10,000 cow.
PETA's submission, deemed too offensive, is designed like a butcher shop's poster cow, each section of its body containing a fact about how cows are killed for food and how eating them is linked to illnesses like cancer, heart attacks, and even impotence. One of the facts, that "eating meat causes impotence because it blocks the arteries to all vital organs, including the penis," comes from the medical advisor to President Clinton, Dr. Dean Ornish.
"As someone struggling with prostate cancer, Mayor Giuliani should be thrilled that PETA is educating New Yorkers about meats connection to fatal diseases," says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. "Instead of banning PETA's cow, he should prohibit hamburgers from entering the city limits."
The quotes deemed too "graphic," "profane," and "inappropriate" are:
"Cattle are castrated and dehorned without anesthesia."
— Dr. Ned Buyukmihci
professor of veterinary medicine, University of California, Davis
"Eating meat causes impotence because it blocks the arteries to all vital organs, including the penis."
— Dr. Dean Ornish, M.D.
Medical Advisor to President Clinton
"A lot of times, the man skinning the cow finds out an animal is still conscious."
— USDA Inspector Timothy Walker
Click on the image above to view PETA's banned cow.
Click on the image above for a letter from PETA’s lawyers to event organizers.
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