PETA Global 2018 Issue 1

BUYER BEWARE! If you bought a Canada Goose jacket, you may have a legal claim

C ompassionate people around the world know by now that the fur on Canada Goose jacket collars comes from coyotes caught in steel-jaw traps, but what about that down fill inside the jackets? “We treat our geese very special,” intones a farmer with Manitoba-based James Valley Colony Farms (JVC), in a promotional video for Canada Goose. Oh, really? That’s not the way PETA eyewitnesses who documented JVC workers rounding up geese, grabbing them by the neck, and shoving them into cramped cages for transport to slaughter would describe it. Canada Goose claims that the birds it exploits for down are free from fear, pain, distress, and physical discomfort – but nothing could be further from the truth. Gasping for Air “To round up the geese for transport to slaughter, workers herded the birds into pens, where the panicked birds piled up in the corners in their frantic effort to escape rough handling,” says PETA’s eyewitness. “Geese on the bottom of the pile were crushed and suffocated. At least one died, and a worker tossed the dead bird over the fence.” “Workers grabbed the geese by the neck – often two in each hand – all their weight dangling by their throats, and hauled them to transport crates, as they cried and flapped their wings in desperation and distress,” according to the eyewitness. “We saw one worker repeatedly step on geese while reaching for others, and the birds were crammed into the crates with such force that we could hear the cages clanging.” Stuck in Cramped Cages for Up to 24 Hours The cages were so small that the birds were unable to hold their heads upright, let alone stretch or move around at all. One veterinarian who viewed the footage said, “Being confined to these small crates for prolonged periods would cause painful muscle cramping … and predispose anxious birds to injury.” Some geese were left in the feces-littered crates for up to 24 hours without

any food or water, including a journey of more than five hours to the slaughterhouse, often in frigid temperatures.

that its Food Safety and Inspection Service investigate the slaughterhouse where the footage was recorded.

Take Action Now If you bought a Canada Goose jacket based on the claim that the down came from geese

Once unloaded for slaughter, the geese could only watch in terror as other frightened birds were again grabbed by the neck, shackled upside down by the legs, and killed right in front of them. Some birds flapped their wings and moved their heads as they bled out. The ones seen in the video “are showing signs of consciousness and sensibility,” according to a veterinary expert. Why Do They Have ‘Red Elbows’? When a PETA observer asked why the birds’ carcasses had “red elbows,” a slaughterhouse supervisor replied that it was “from putting them in the cages.” Approximately half of the birds from JVC had bruises on their wings – and some had dislocated joints or broken bones. PETA has filed a formal complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission and the Competition Bureau of Canada challenging Canada Goose’s claims that its products are “[e]thically sourced” and “humane,” as well as submitting evidence to the US Department of Agriculture and asking

who were free from pain, distress, or physical discomfort, please e-mail Info@peta.org – you may be able to join others in asserting your legal right not to be defrauded. Visit PETA.org/CanadaGooseDown

to watch PETA’s video (please share it with everyone you know!) and to urge Canada Goose to stop using down – and fur – in its clothing immediately.

Please note: Contact details and other information that you provide may be shared with PETA’s international affiliates and other third parties. Read PETA’s full privacy policy at PETA.vg/Privacy.

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COLD AS ICE