PETA Unveils Ad Featuring Boy Scout Opposed to Fishing
By Fred Jackson and Jim Brown
July 13, 2001
(AgapePress) - A radical animal rights group has launched a campaign to try to convince Americans that fishing should be banned, and the group is using a Boy Scout to front its effort.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is well-known for its efforts to convince people that killing non-human creatures is evil. But in Connecticut, they have put a new twist on their cause by employing a Boy Scout to do a television ad that denounces fishing, arguing that it is cruel and inhumane.
The Hartford Courant newspaper reports Justin Aligata is a willing participant in the campaign. In the commercial, he says he does not understand how the Scouts can offer merit badges in fishing when the organization’s 1998 handbook says a Scout does not harm or kill any living thing.
Aligata, who says he became a vegetarian after attending Earth Day festivities a few years ago, appears in the ad in full Scouts uniform.
The Scouts national spokesman, Gregg Shields, says the Scouts gave its okay for Aligata’s participation, but does not plan to stop offering merit badges for fishing.
The 30-second spot is due to start running this weekend in Connecticut and in Dallas, headquarters of the Boy Scouts. One local Hartford area network, WVIT-TV, NBC30, has refused to air the commercial because it is too controversial.
© 2001 AgapePress all rights reserved.
By Fred Jackson and Jim Brown
July 13, 2001
(AgapePress) - A radical animal rights group has launched a campaign to try to convince Americans that fishing should be banned, and the group is using a Boy Scout to front its effort.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is well-known for its efforts to convince people that killing non-human creatures is evil. But in Connecticut, they have put a new twist on their cause by employing a Boy Scout to do a television ad that denounces fishing, arguing that it is cruel and inhumane.
The Hartford Courant newspaper reports Justin Aligata is a willing participant in the campaign. In the commercial, he says he does not understand how the Scouts can offer merit badges in fishing when the organization’s 1998 handbook says a Scout does not harm or kill any living thing.
Aligata, who says he became a vegetarian after attending Earth Day festivities a few years ago, appears in the ad in full Scouts uniform.
The Scouts national spokesman, Gregg Shields, says the Scouts gave its okay for Aligata’s participation, but does not plan to stop offering merit badges for fishing.
The 30-second spot is due to start running this weekend in Connecticut and in Dallas, headquarters of the Boy Scouts. One local Hartford area network, WVIT-TV, NBC30, has refused to air the commercial because it is too controversial.
© 2001 AgapePress all rights reserved.
