Kraft Draws Ire for Road Kill Candy

Feb 25, 8:28 AM (ET)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – Animal rights activists are disgusted by a new candy from Kraft Foods Inc. that’s shaped like critters run over by cars – complete with tire treads.

The fruity-flavored Trolli Road Kill Gummi Candy – in shapes of partly flattened snakes, chickens and squirrels – fosters cruelty toward animals, according to the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "It sends the wrong message to children, that it’s OK to harm animals. And that’s the wrong message, especially from a so-called wholesome corporation like Kraft," said society spokesman Matthew Stanton. The society is considering petition drives, boycotts and letter-writing campaigns to get the candy pulled from the market, Stanton said.

After receiving a complaint from the NJSPCA Wednesday, Kraft officials pulled an animated advertisement from Trolli’s Web site that featured car headlights and animals. No other decisions on changes have been made, said Kraft spokesman Larry Baumann.  If you look across the Gummi category we certainly have many products that are offbeat, and that’s what we were doing in this case," Baumann said. "We didn’t mean to offend anyone."