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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Burger giant submits to hedgehog demands |
| 2006-09-01 |
| Hedgehogs have finally humbled burger giant McDonald's after years of campaigning, forcing the company to redesign its killer McFlurry ice-cream containers. Up to now the opening in the container has been large enough for hedgehogs to get their heads into for a lick of the left-over dessert -- a trap they have then been unable to withdraw from, so dying of starvation in untold numbers. But from September 1, the wide-mouthed opening in the lid of the McFlurry containers will be reduced in size, making them too small for the sugar-loving animals to get their heads into. "This is excellent, it is long overdue news," said Fay Vass, chief executive of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. "We have been in touch with McDonald's about this problem for over five years and are delighted that they have at last solved the problem." McDonald's said in a statement the design change had resulted from pressure from the society which prompted "significant research and design testing" to develop new packaging. "The smaller aperture of the lid has been designed to prevent hedgehogs from entering the McFlurry container in the unfortunate incidence that a lid is littered and is then accessible to wildlife," it added. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #17 Zen About a decade ago a skunk with a damm Yoplait Yogurt container on its head fell into one of my basement window wells. I did not appreciate it. Nobody does skunks and I finally had to poison the smelly beast with carbon monoxide. Then many gallons of that plain label tomato juice at 3 in the morning to clean the window well and siding. The General Foods idiot worried about their branding should be forced to live with skunk scent for a winter. Oh and we never did eay Yoplait. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-09-01 23:54 |
| #16 It's all true, RD. Evidently, Yoplait maker, General Foods, is redesigning the yogurt carton to have a rimless lip that will not lock onto the animal's fur. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-01 23:01 |
| #15 Zen that waz so good I'd swear it waz a spoof! |
| Posted by: RD 2006-09-01 21:07 |
| #14 Next on the list is Yoplait. Their distinctive slope-sided individual portion yogurt container is the perfect fit for a skunk's head. Once donned, the animal cannot extricate itself and dies of thirst or starvation. Confronted with repeated requests by wildlife groups, Yoplait has refused to alter their container design citing its importance in branding the product. While all the usual human responsibility for littering still applies, the callous position adopted by Yoplait really merits a boycott. Laugh as you might at the prospect of precious piebald polecats passing on, they are a vital link in the ever-shrinking predatory chain. We are obliged to combat any and all threats to our environment, especially when it is something so simple as a container redesign. As to litterbugs, they represent human morality nearing ebb tide. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-01 15:50 |
| #13 The BHPS has been bitching about this in their newsletters for years (Niles and I have been members for something like ten or fifteen years). I like the BHPS because, compared to your big-time environmental groups, they seem old-fashioned, homey, and sane. They never ask you to chain yourself to a hedge, or glue McDonald's locks shut. They did get a little shrill over the whole Uist thing, but maybe they thought a fellow wildlife organization (in that case Scottish Natural Heritage) might want to go a little easy on the wildlife. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2006-09-01 13:02 |
| #12 McFlurries - why do they hate us? - Spiny Norman |
| Posted by: Warthog 2006-09-01 12:52 |
| #11 Did Sonic Hedgehog sue McDonald's and win? I guess in this case, printing a warning label addressed to hedgehogs not to put their entire heads into the McFlurry container wouldn't work. Stupid hedgehogs anyway! Does anyone see a correlation between the fact that Sonic is a hedgehog and also the name of a competitor? hmmmmm...burger conspiracy???? |
| Posted by: Vickerina 2006-09-01 12:18 |
| #10 Is it possible to kill rats that way ? Yeah, I guess, If your rats come with quills all over them. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-09-01 12:04 |
| #9 Is it possible to kill rats that way ? |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-09-01 11:42 |
| #8 Aw, hedgehogs are cute li'l beasties. I'm glad they'll be safer now. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-09-01 11:01 |
| #7 Burger giant submits to hedgehog demands Bobby: Sad, but true, TW2412. People are such pigs. I have a better idea. Delicious Hedge Hoagies |
| Posted by: Piggy Human 2006-09-01 10:42 |
| #6 This reminds me of the time I was in India and a pack of wild dogs attacked a little girl in the street and killed her. The papers were all a flame between killing the wild dogs and cleaning up the garbage in the streets the wild dogs lived on. I thought both answers sounded good and didn't see why one should be discarded in favor of the other. Don't they have anyone in the UK willing to pick up trash to save the hedgehogs? Or is this one big plot to slaughter the foul prickly beasts and make McDonalds take the heat. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2006-09-01 09:23 |
| #5 Sad, but true, TW2412. People are such pigs. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2006-09-01 09:06 |
| #4 Excellent solution. Hedgehogs are safe and the humans can continue to drop their trash where they stand rather than walk 2 feet to a trash can. Easier to alter a container than train a human not to litter. |
| Posted by: Thinemp Whimble2412 2006-09-01 09:02 |
| #3 Hmm. Didn't know McD's served hedgehogs. Hell, they won't even let me take my dog in there. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-09-01 08:51 |
| #2 "This is excellent, it is long overdue news," said Fay Vass, chief executive of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. Fay Vass's one big moment in the sun has arrived... "We have been in touch with McDonald's about this problem for over five years and are delighted that they have at last solved the problem." Oh, for crissakes, Johnson, get R&D on this so this bitch will shut up! I'm sick of listening to this shit! |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-09-01 08:38 |
| #1 Phppbttahahahahahahhheaaahheaheeeeeee... Tell us another one, grandpa! |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2006-09-01 08:21 |