PETA: "Change Packer Name"

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has asked the Green Bay Packers to change their team name.

In a letter to team President Bob Harlan, PETA said that the name Packers promotes "violence and bloodshed" because it refers to meat packers.

"Calling the team the Packers sends a dangerous, unhealthy message to sports fans," PETA wrote.

After discussing medical claims against a diet that includes meat, PETA continued to denounce the team name saying that the meat packing profession does not elicit pride therefore the team chose not to be called the "Animal Killers."

Packers President Bob Harlan defended the team's name in response to the letter.

"We've been the Packers since 1919, and this is the first time anyone has suggested we change our name," Harlan said. "We like our name, our tradition, we want to save the name like we want to save the name of Lambeau Field."

The PETA letter did offer some suggestions for replacement team names like the Green Bay Pickers, which would promote a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables, or the Green Bay Six-Packers, in honor of Wisconsin's brewery heritage.

"Rather than have the name represent something cruel, like killing animals, have it represent something else from Wisconsin, like we do a lot of harvesting of vegetables and fruits," said Marianne Schemenauer of PETA. PETA ended the letter, "If you don't change your name, at least be honest and make your mascot a cleaver-wielding bloody butcher."

The possible sale of naming rights -- the right of a company to pay to have its name used on the stadium -- has been among issues discussed as part of the team's planned $295 million renovation and expansion of Lambeau Field.

A referendum is scheduled in September for Brown County voters to decide if they want to raise the county sales tax to help pay for the Lambeau Field stadium project.