Dozens of signs that describe the slaughter of farm animals in sometimes graphic and profane terms were discovered on L trains in recent days and have been removed, CTA officials said Thursday.

Since last week, 28 of the unauthorized signs, which were placed near paid advertisements inside L trains, were removed from the Orange Line, and 15 were pulled from the Blue Line, CTA spokeswoman Maria Toscano said.

The agency also directed its rail employees and its advertising contractor to continue to look for the signs and yank them on sight.

The situation is unusual because of the sheer number of signs and the detail that apparently went into making them.

"It's rare that there's an `ad' put up like this, in the correct format, down to the [11-by-28-inch] dimensions that we use, although these clearly had an unfinished look to them," CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said. However, "they looked real from a distance."

"I can only remember once . . . in the last five years where someone had gone to the trouble of making a car card, and that was protesting service issues," she said. "And it wasn't as widespread."

The signs single out McDonald's, with one designed to look like it's from the chain.

Lisa Howard, a spokeswoman for McDonald's Corp., said: "Obviously we have absolutely no connection to these. . . . We have an excellent track record in respect to animal welfare. . . . We've been singled out for our leadership."

It's unclear who posted the signs. The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals denied responsibility.

"We have a moratorium on our campaign against McDonald's," said Bruce Friedrich, a PETA official. "After an 11-month campaign, they agreed to make some improvements to the way animals are treated. What they did was the barest of minimums . . . but it's still commendable.

"Steve Hindi, who leads a suburban group called Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, said SHARK didn't post the signs.

"If you're going to be using obscenities, vulgarities, I feel like it's kind of bringing down our issue," he said. "What we're trying to do is instead of the real radical stuff . . . show people . . . footage of rodeos, circuses, slaughterhouses."

The CTA has received few if any complaints about the signs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------

A LOCAL RESIDENT'S DESCRIPTION OF WHAT HE SAW ON THE L:

(McEl-Train Report)

This was the funniest thing I ever saw on the el-train. March 2001

I first saw it about 3-1/2 weeks ago 3/7/01. I was on the el-train coming home from a meeting. I looked up and saw a McDonald's advertisement. Not just any McAd, but one with a blue cow telling folks what happens to cow's at McDonald¹s.

There were others too. I saw three basic types, up in the removable illuminated advertisement panels in the upper ceiling corners of the train cars (1 ft x 2-1/2 ft). I'm speculating here but it looks like someone removed the panels and re-matted them with the anti-McAdvert (you can see threw the new ad to see the out-line of the original ad in one of the three that I saw).

Descriptions And Text of the Adverts:

------------------

Blue Cow: Shows a cartoon of a talking head (a blue cow) with a balloon of text telling folks what happens to cow¹s destined for McDonald¹s. McDs logo/Marquee off to one side.

Blue Cow Text: Aside from the Hormone therapy, my favorite part of being a team member at McDonalds is 'Slaughter Day'. The farmer hangs me upside down from my feet and slits my throat while I'm fully conscious. It's AWESOME! ------------------

Malraja Mac: Shows a Big Mac sandwich, Text and a McLogo®.

Malraja Mac Text: In India, they call it 'The Malraja Mac', or more commonly, 'the sandwich of Death'.

------------------

Resistance Is Futile: Shows a simple portrait of a young man (surfer boyish)'and a bunch of text, white on black back ground.

Resistance Is Futile Text: In recent years McDonalds have received a lot of negative press regarding the nutrition of its food. In response McDonalds launched the multi million dollar advertising, 'Resistance Is Futile.' We wanted to make sure that our message was absolutely clear: Don't Fuck with McDonalds. Our Food tastes good and you can get it quickly. If you eat a lot of our food, it is likely to promote such conditions as obesity, diabetes, breast & bowel cancer, and heart disease. This does not effect our corporate agenda, and this will definitely not, affect your choice to eat at our restaurants.

 
 
related links  
 
- press cuttings: McDonald's
- press cuttings: McLibel
- press cuttings: Campaigns
- press cuttings: McLibel film
- press cuttings: related stuff
- press releases & statements
- photo album, cartoons, subvertisements
- interviews, books, plays, reports
- witnesses statements, transcripts, evidence