KOLPINAT, British Columbia – Green Peace Canada has launched a legal challenge against a PETA group operating out of Kolpinat, British Columbia. The group, Pipelines Everyone Totally Accepts, has adopted the popular animal rights’ groups acronym and are using it to rally in support of Canadian pipeline projects. The volunteer organization has so far printed nearly 100 pamphlets with the internationally recognized acronym, and created almost 24 full-size protest signs rallying members.
The pro pipeline outfit began as a small number of BC residents hoping to get pipelines approved in their province to improve jobs and increase provincial revenue despite the current political climate. There was much support for the group on Facebook and Google+, so a non-profit was formed with a DIY kit from Staples and the organization was officially launched.
READ MORE: PETA launches defamation lawsuit against yet another PETA for using the name People for the Eating of Tasty Animals
When the original name of the group, British Columbia Residents for Pipeline Approvals and Construction for Economical Reasons, or BCRPACER, failed to get much interest on the internet or in person, they changed it up to something more trendy. The organization’s leader, John St. Welldy, is adamant their intentions were not to copy or infringe on the name or trademark of another organization.
“Well, we didn’t really think about it too much, we were just having a few glasses of BC wine and spit balling ideas, and this came up. We thought it was catchy, and much easier to remember than BCRAPTBRES, or whatever the old one was. Why does it matter so much to them? They can’t even afford clothing at most of their protests.” – John St. Welldy, founder
Green Peace is pursuing litigation against PETA in an attempt to get the group to change its name to something that doesn’t infringe their partner group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The original PETA has for years used the acronym to support and improve animal rights around the globe. While the popular moniker has been used for years, and is very popular through internet searchs and associations with other special interest groups, 2P News legal consultant, Ke’van Sooyah, doesn’t think the courts will side with the animal group citing the numerous public infringements that can be found on the internet today.
“There are so many sales of apparel and decals using the acronym improperly, I fins it hard to believe that the courts will uphold this challenge. They would then have to go after Etsy, Amazon, CafePress, and so on, for sales of People Eating Tasty Animals, People Euthanizing Their Asparagus, Penalizing All Trump Associates, and even Pumping Everything Towards Asia. It’s not going to happen,” Ke’van Sooyah with Green Peace
The new PETA group has a protest planned for July 8th in Vancouver and expects 20-30 people to show up in support of pipelines in British Columbia. While the animal rights group, PETA, had no official comment for 2P News, there were rally schedules online indicating they would be in attendance for the opposing parties rally, in typical sand-clothing fashion.