PETA supporters go topless in NYC to oppose outfitter Canada Goose

Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Animal rights activists covered in "bloody body paint" demonstrated topless Thursday in New York City to protest outfitter Canada Goose over the treatment of coyotes and geese.

The protesters, supporters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, set off red smoke bombs and unfurled a large banner with what they said is a "more accurate version" of the Canada Goose logo.

The demonstrators rallied outside Canada Goose's flagship Manhattan location.

PETA has posted videos online showing the abuse of geese, which are starved and left in cages for hours before they are slaughtered. The geese are taken from James Valley Colony Farms in Canada to a slaughterhouse at Schiltz Foods in South Dakota.

Goose down is used as a filling for jackets.

"Once they had been unloaded for slaughter, the geese watched, terrified, as other frightened birds were again grabbed by the neck, stunned, shackled upside down by the legs, and killed right in front of them," PETA states on its website.

The group also accuses Canada Goose of trapping coyotes and using their fur to trim coats.

"Every Canada Goose coat represents the suffering of coyotes who were caught in painful steel traps and geese whose throats were slit," said PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "PETA is calling on shoppers to refuse to give a dime to this cruel company until it stops selling items for which sensitive animals are tormented and killed."

PETA's campaign against Canada Goose also includes large banners near a store in Chicago that read, "I'm a living being, not jacket filling" and "Boycott Canada Goose."

"This is our big campaign for fall and winter, so this is where all our firepower is going right now," PETA Clothing Campaigns Manager Christina Sewell said. "We're putting more resources into it this year because we feel like, with the Los Angeles fur ban that just happened, and San Francisco earlier this year banned the sale of fur, we feel like we're so close to getting Canada Goose to make that extra step to move on to more sustainable faux fur options."

Banners will soon be on display at several Canada Goose locations, including Montreal, Vancouver and Short Hills, N.J.

Canada Goose officials say their treatment of animals is "ethical" and "humane."