Vancouver advertisements, which last week urged passersby to have fewer children, been taken down from transit stops and billboards all over the city.
The ad campaign was created to stir up public consideration about the world’s overpopulation problem, explained Dave Gardner, executive director of World Population Balance.
“As soon as we realized [the ads] were being misconstrued we took them down,” he told Vancouver Is Awesome Friday afternoon, “We realized our error."
One of the controversial ads, which pictured a Black child, spelled out: “The most loving gift you can give your first child is to not have another.”
Gardner responded to the resulting backlash, which included accusations of racism.
“I want the children who are brought into this world to have a bright future, one with clean air and water, a livable climate, and their needs met. For that to happen, smaller families are essential,” the director urged.
On Tuesday, the billboard company whom the group hired to place the ads took down more of the U.S. group's ads.
We're going to get #Vancouver (maybe all of #Canada) talking about solving #overpopulation. New billboard campaign launched today! https://t.co/TkcvJuN3Gt pic.twitter.com/wToz8bWKYP
— OverpopulationWPB (@solve_overpop) September 21, 2020
Its other ads included a scantily-clad Caucasian couple with the slogans “conservation begins at contraception” and a family-of-three pictured with words “We chose child-free!”
“We still have a dozen or so ads up but we’re disappointed the same messages are not getting out there,” the director said.
As for people who have accused the group of supporting a one-child policy, as once was the law in China, Gardner said that is simply not the case.
“We’re trying not to say 'should,' but asking for people to take careful consideration” as for how many children they bring into the world.
Read the organization's full statement on the matter, HERE.
