Giant pink and blue "condoms" descended on Tullamore today!

If you were out and about Tullamore today you may have seen some odd looking pink and blue dressed characters!

Did you guess what they were, or, what their message was?

Well, they were actually PETA members dressed as giant pink and blue 'condoms', yes condoms, aiming to raise awareness about spaying and neurtering cats and dogs!

Holding signs that read, 'Dogs and Cats Can't Use Condoms: Spay and Neuter!' the pair descended on Tullamore on Wednesday to spread the message that five homeless dogs are euthanised every day in Ireland, and the only way to manage the cat and dog overpopulation crisis is to have animal companions spayed or neutered.

'Hundreds of thousands of unwanted cats and dogs suffer on the streets of Ireland every day, and most will never finding a loving home', says PETA Director Mimi Bekhechi.

'Dogs and cats can't wear condoms, so PETA is calling on guardians to take responsibility and spay or neuter their animal companions.'

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that 'animals are not ours to abuse in any way' – notes that every year in Ireland, thousands of unwanted cats and dogs enter animal shelters, and many of them are euthanised because there simply aren't enough good homes.

Many more never make it to an animal shelter and are left to fend for themselves on the streets, where they are subjected to cruelty, are struck by cars, or suffer from starvation, extreme temperatures, disease or injuries. The solution is simple: always spay or neuter companion animals.

Spaying one female dog can prevent 67,000 births in six years, and spaying one female cat can prevent 370,000 births in seven years.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.