‘Next stop, the gas chamber’: London bus adverts to be removed
EXCLUSIVE: TfL acts after Jewish passengers criticise vegan group’s campaign targeting methods used to slaughter pigs
Posters bearing the words “next stop, the gas chamber” which appeared on buses in north London this month have been pulled by Transport for London.
Passengers travelling on routes in Burnt Oak and Mill Hill found themselves seated beside the adverts, positioned on the exterior of buses between the upper and lower decks.
The adverts are part of a campaign against slaughter by gassing being run by the vegan group Viva. The ads’ positioning prompted criticism from Jewish passengers, who said the words were disturbing because of their association with the Holocaust.
Passengers who use the 114 route, on which the adverts appeared, contacted this newspaper to say they were in poor taste. After being contacted by Jewish News, TfL said it was removing the adverts.
A TfL spokesperson said: “We continuously work to ensure public transport is a safe environment for everyone and always consider how an advert may be received. However, following further review of this campaign, we have decided that it should not continue to run on our bus network. It will be removed as soon as possible.”
Juliet Gellatley, founder and director of Viva, told Jewish News the charity was very sorry for the offence caused by the advert.
She said she accepted the “uniquely horrific associations” that the words ‘gas chamber’ have with the Holocaust. She went on to maintain that the advert had not been intended as a comparison with the Holocaust.
Viva’s target is Pilgrim’s Europe, a supplier of pork products based in Uxbridge, north-west London. The charity says 90 percent of the 10.7 million pigs slaughtered each year in the UK die by gassing. The animals are lowered into pits or chambers that contain high concentrations of carbon dioxide.
Gellatley said: “The words ‘Next stop, the gas chamber’ referred specifically to the journey pigs make to these killing systems. They were not intended to depict bus passengers as victims or to make any comparison with the Holocaust. We fully appreciate the uniquely horrific associations that the words ‘gas chamber’ have with the Holocaust and no comparison with the Holocaust was intended.”