A 30-second television commercial featuring “happy cows” --- so happy, they talk --- is not making People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) happy, notes Grumpy Editor.
What’s more, a California judge tossed out a PETA lawsuit, filed last year, seeking to shelve the California Milk Advisory Board/California Department of Food and Agriculture TV spot promoting happy, healthy and well-cared-for cows.
In the action, the animal rights group demanded that California dairy farmers prove that California cows are “happy,” as claimed in the commercials.
PETA complained that “most California dairy cows are subjected to physical and psychological pain and stress caused by intense and uncomfortable dairying practices, have a high risk of suffering from a number of diseases and die prematurely.”
(One wondered if PETA had happy cows mixed up with some chronically unhappy taxpayers struggling around tax-filing time.)
Actually, PETA has complained about happy cows since 2002.
The judge ruled the California Milk Advisory Board and the California Department of Food and Agriculture provided sufficient evidence to support their claim that dairy cows in the Golden State are comfortable, safe and happy.
Few daily newspapers reported the judge's decision.
However, the Merced (Calif.) Sun-Star covered the ruling under the headline: Judge: California dairy cows are happy.
In the TV spot promoting California cheese, two happy cows chat in a barn as a rooster crows nearby.
A voiceover mentions: “Great cheese comes from happy cows. Happy cows come from California. Real California cheese.”
See the TV spot here.
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