Animal Activists Rip Katy Perry for ‘Cruel’ Ad Targeting Koala Bears

KatyPerryKoalaBears
Getty/Getty

Pop star Katy Perry is taking heat for telling her dog to chase koala bears in a video meant to promote her upcoming Australian tour for her latest album, Witness.

In a 30-second ad for Myer, an Australian department store chain, the “Swish Swish” singer is seen telling her dog, Nugget, “Let’s go chase some koalas.”

Australian animal activists slammed Perry and Myer over the ad’s reference to chasing koalas, which are apparently endangered on the continent.

“Asking your dog to chase koalas is seriously cruel @katyperry! 100 koalas die every year from dog attacks,” tweeted Animal Justice, a political party in Australia.

Australian reality TV star and veterinarian Chloe Madden said “This is just absolute ignorance from Perry and Myer, and inappropriate on so many levels.”

“Perry is a role model to so many young people, and this just destroys all the good work we do to try to encourage people not to let their dogs come into contact with koalas,” Madden told the Courier Mail newspaper.

According to Queensland’s Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, each year, approximately 110 koalas are attacked and killed by dogs — around 75 percent of attacks are fatal.

A spokesperson for Myer confirmed that Perry’s offending remarks would be removed from the video.

“We are aware of comments in relation to Katy Perry’s Witness: The Tour advertisement and a particular reference made to koalas,” a spokesperson for Myer told Daily Mail Australia. “We are currently removing the material which references koalas.”

A new version of the ad now sees Perry saying, “OK, Nugget. It’s time to get you a puppy passport.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time Perry has enraged animal rights activists.

In 2013, PETA activists condemned Perry’s use of wild animals in the video for her hit song “Roar.”

 

Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson

 

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.