Toy giant Playmobil is being urged to launch a realistic slaughterhouse toy for children – by vegan activists.
According to campaigners from animal rights charity PETA, the toy company has misled consumers in the past, by portraying happy animals on its ‘Large Farm’ toy set.
PETA says these happy figurines ‘misrepresent the reality of life for farmed animals, who endure suffering and violence’.
No response
The charity reached out to Playmobil in the past, asking it to remove the happy animals, but as yet has received no response.
As a result, PETA has a new proposition for the brand: asking it to release a ‘My First Abattoir’ set, which would ‘show children the way cows are actually treated in the dairy industry’.
‘Lying to children’
“Because cows used for dairy are sent to slaughter once they no longer produce enough milk to be profitable to farmers, PETA’s proposed ‘My First Abattoir’ toy includes two cow figures who have been hung upside down and their throats slit,” PETA said in a statement sent to Plant Based News. “And because male calves are considered useless to the dairy industry, the set depicts a calf who has been dumped in a wheelbarrow for disposal.”
“If Playmobil is going to offer toys representing businesses that exploit animals for food, it should at the very least not misrepresent the conditions in which they live and die,” added PETA Director Elisa Allen. “PETA is calling on the company to stop lying to children about the horror and cruelty behind every glass of cows’ milk and every beef burger.”
Plant Based News has contacted Playmobil for comment.