Sia has teamed up with PETA for a musical Web blitz targeting the Canadian commercial seal slaughter.
The pop sensation — whose new album, This Is Acting, debuted last week — provided music for a macabre CGI spot in which a seal designer presides over a fashion show featuring animal models who wear human body parts.
The public service announcement (PSA), set to Sia’s song “Free the Animal,” will be blasted on Canadian social media, with a call for the public to urge new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to drop federal sealing subsidies. The video was produced free of charge by the Chinese branch of ad giant Ogilvy & Mather.
“The dwindling seal slaughter reflects the world’s growing disgust with killing animals for fashion,” says Sia. “I’m thrilled that PETA is using my song to keep reaching the masses with this clever PSA.”
PETA and its international affiliates have successfully campaigned for the EU and Russia to join the U.S. and other countries in banning seal-fur imports. And despite years of attempts, the Canadian government has failed to open a market for seal products in China, where PETA Asia is very active. The seal-skins trade has plummeted from slaughtering more than 300,000 animals in 2005 to fewer than 45,000 in 2015 because of declining markets.
Sia joins a long list of celebrities who have campaigned against the commercial sealing industry, including Pamela Anderson, Ke$ha, Sarah McLachlan, Iggy Pop, William Shatner, and many more.
