The two cities host sizeable St. Patrick’s Day parades every year.
Animal rights organisation PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has claimed that two cities in the United States have refused permission to display a PETA advert close to the parade routes in the run-up to St. Patrick’s Day.
PETA claims that the advert, which features a shirtless man with a four-leaf clover in his mouth alongside the words ‘Kiss Me, I’m Vegan. Go Vegan and Get Really Lucky This St. Patrick’s Day’ was deemed too “sexually suggestive” in Butte, Montana and Savannah, Georgia.
Butte, formerly a mining town, has more citizens of Irish descent than any city in the United States and is said to have the biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the Rocky Mountains, while Savannah, according to PETA, hosts the fourth-largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the country.
In a statement, PETA said that the ad was deemed too “sexually suggestive” to be placed near the parade routes in both cities, while transit companies in Butte never responded to inquiries about displaying it in bus shelters around the city.
“With their healthy hearts, sizzling physiques, and increased stamina, vegans easily score that pot of gold at the end of the bedroom rainbow,” said PETA President Ingrid Newkirk.
“PETA’s St. Patrick’s Day signs may be sexy, but they send a wholesome message that nothing is more attractive than compassion.”
Having been rejected in Butte and Savannah, the adverts will instead be displayed on the parade route in Manchester, New Hampshire, which also has a high proportion of residents of Irish descent, from 5 March onwards.
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