This cow on a billboard near Charlotte’s airport wants passengers to travel vegan
A strange billboard message just went up outside Charlotte’s airport.
At first blush, some might think it’s downright eerie or creepy.
“Was She Killed to Make Your Carry-On?” reads the message clearly aimed at drivers headed to Charlotte Douglas International Airport. “Cruelty doesn’t fly. Choose Vegan.”
The billboard at 4560 Billy Graham Parkway includes an image of a cow, its body transformed into a tan leather carry-on bag.
The name “PETA” appears at the bottom of the message, giving away the intent of the mysterious message.
The animal-rights group hopes flyers and everyone else will choose “cruelty-free, eco-conscious travel accessories,” Lauren Kent, spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said in an email that included a statement by PETA president Ingrid Newkirk touting vegan luggage.
“Vegan luggage is just the ticket for sustainable style that spares cows and shrinks our carbon footprints,” Newkirk said in the statement.
“PETA hopes travelers will choose wisely to save all our skins by embracing innovative vegan leather made from everything from fruits and fungi to kombucha and cactus,” Newkirk said.
In response to questions from The Charlotte Observer, Kent said CLT is one of only three airports where the ad has appeared.
PETA chose Charlotte Douglas because the airport is the sixth-busiest in the world, she said.
The airport logged 43 million flyers last year, up 59% from the 27 million passengers in 2020, Kent said, citing a Jan. 31 Observer article.
The message also is running through July on three panels in Morgantown Municipal Airport in West Virginia, “a state that was named a top travel destination for 2022 by both Lonely Planet and Condé Nast Traveler,” Kent said.
In December, PETA placed the ad in Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, “the busiest airport in Montana, the state that ranks No. 6 in cattle raised for their flesh,” Kent said.
The ad also ran in last month’s issue of Business Traveler magazine, according to Kent.
“We plan to place it in many more cities, to continue letting people know that purchasing leather means paying people to torment and slaughter animals, while destroying the planet,” Kent said in the email.
A PETA video exposé of the world’s largest leather producer revealed what the organization called the cruelty involved in killing cows and bulls for their skin.
This story was originally published July 9, 2022 at 9:25 AM.