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16 n e w h a v e n B I Z | N o v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 8 n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m WHAT'S YOUR SIGN? It's a jungle out there T R E N D I N G T his autumn drivers on I-95 in eastern Fairfield County have been confronted by a flight of electronic billboards asserting a pretty radical animal-rights message. e boards were in Barrett Outdoor rotation from August 1 to October 31. e displays are the handiwork of a Colorado non-profit group called Be Fair Be Vegan (BFBV), which launched the cam- paign in August 2016 with a stunning moving billboard in New York City's Times Square, one of the highest-visibility locations on the planet (and most expensive: that media buy reportedly cost close to $1 million). e message caused the group's Facebook page to explode from zero to 10,000 in, well, two shakes of a lamb's tail. Since then the campaign has gone live in Seattle, Cleveland, Tasmania (!) and most recently Melbourne Australia, where the ads appeared on national TV aer they were refused by the govern- ment-owned Yarra Trams, sparking a beastly censorship debate. e billboards' message is simple and striking: Animals and humans are morally equivalent. Other species have feelings, express love, experience pain and are hurt by loss. erefore humans ought to treat them not as property (or as dinner) and ought to treat repre- sentatives of other species with the same consideration and thought- fulness they extend to members of their own two-legged species. e quality of the boards is striking. Created by vegan activist Joanna Lucas, their powerful graphic imagery combines stark black- and-white photographs with thought-provoking observations about animals' presumed personalities, inner lives and experiences. e thoughtful (human) observer will wonder: Who paid for this? Barrett Outdoor boards on I-95 in Fairfield County are among the most expensive outdoor (as its called in the trade) advertising in the country. Animal advocates Chris Kerin and Pat Harmon raised about $24,000 to buy the four boards (three static, one digital) for three months. Kerin, who lives in Fairfield, figures it was money well spent for the impact the messages have generated. e point is to convince (human) viewers that "We should extend our circle of compassion to include animals," Kerin explains. "We should treat animals they way we ourselves would like to be treat- ed, and not draw some harsh dividing line between humans and animals. Animals should be free to live naturally they way they're supposed to live, and we shouldn't be using them for our own enjoy- ment." Cheeseburgers, for example. Kerin says the group hopes to raise more money bring the cam- paign to New Haven and Hartford counties in 2019. e ethical bottom line, for Kerin, is a kind of trans-species golden rule. "Everyone should be treated the way you would like to be treated — and that includes animals," he says. "We don't need to use them for food, or to wear as clothes, or for entertainment like Sea World. We use them because we enjoy it." n — Michael C. Bingham

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