PETA to change 'blubber' billboard

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Aug. 25 (UPI) -- A U.S. animal rights group announced it will change a controversial Florida billboard that critics said compared overweight women to sea mammals.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said Monday it will change the Jacksonville billboard, which reads: "Save the Whales. Lose the Blubber: Go Vegetarian."

"I think it's rather rude," a St. Petersburg woman said. "Yeah, we all need to be a little bit healthier and exercise a little bit more, but that sign is very rude."

PETA spokeswoman Lindsay Rajt said the group received both positive and negative feedback about the billboard.

"We received a number of calls from people that were very appreciative," Rajt said. "We received e-mails from people who identified with being overweight, and they said that the whales billboard actually motivated them to start making healthier food choices."

"Our intent was not to offend anyone," she said. "Our goal was really to encourage people to live healthier lives and, of course, as an animal-rights group, to save animals at the same time."