In an attempt to raise awareness about animal cruelty, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals representatives held a public demonstration on State Street Friday, promoting vegetarianism through a nude activist painted in a butcher's diagram.
Among a meat eating and leather clad audience, Michelle Cho, a PETA volunteer, said she wanted to use her body to demonstrate and make an important political statement. She posed on the sidewalk under a banner that read, 'All Animals Have the Same Parts-Have a Heart, Go Vegetarian.'
'The point of this is to show that all humans and animals share parts,' Cho said.
She also urged for ethical farm treatment and said the animals subjected to farming are being deprived of feelings, friendship and animal bonding.
'People need to know that when we put animals in cages, we're depriving them of everything natural,' Cho said.
She said there is nothing more unnatural than confining billions of animals to filthy, cramped cages, stalls or sheds, where only a steady diet of drugs keeps them alive until they get shipped off to the slaughterhouses.
Chris Link, campaign coordinator for PETA, said the public demonstration in Madison is one of many stops along a Midwest tour.
'We've had a great response,' Link said. He also added that through their protests PETA has been able to distribute more informational pamphlets and spread the word about their website.
Cho added that the website has been instrumental in PETA's cause and has helped move their ideas forward. She said the website allows for individuals to see real-life slaughterhouses and the grave conditions in which the animals are treated.
Margaret Trotter, a UW-Madison junior, said she thought the PETA protest was ridiculous.
'I dislike it. I think it's disgusting and I feel that it's wrong to put an emotional attachment to slaughtering meat,' Trotter said.
However, Cho said she is so dedicated to this cause that braving the bitter January temperature wearing nothing more than body paint is essential.
'It is cold, but animals suffer far more,' she said.
