The Humane Society of the United States has sued the Raleigh Transit Authority (RTA) agency for refusing to run the organization’s ads on the sides of its buses.

HSUS approached the RTA about running ads on buses that included photographs of pigs in gestation stalls, along with a written message advocating that the stalls be eliminated from use, according to documents filed with the Eastern District of North Carolina. The RTA declined to run the ads as “too negative.”

HSUS is suing for violation of its First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, contending in its complaint that the RTA’s reason for rejecting the ads is unconstitutional and that the agency’s policy regarding acceptable advertising is similarly indefensible. The organization also wants the court to force the RTA to accept the ad.

“The Transit Authority is violating the First Amendment by censoring animal welfare messages, and depriving the citizens of Raleigh of information pertinent to their food purchases,” said Jonathan Lovvorn, senior vice president for animal protection litigation for HSUS.

Executives at the RTA could not be reached for comment.

 

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