Automotive manufacturer KIA's ad "Birds Eye View" for the 2023 Kia Sportage Turbo Hybrid SUV is an irresponsible piece of advertising.

In this ad, a young couple are seen posing for a picture, when out of nowhere a bird (Which Kia clarifies to be an African Fish Eagle on YouTube, but in the context of the ad is assumed to be an American Eagle) swoops in to steal one of their phones, which is being propped up as a camera. They then jump into their 2023 Kia Sportage Turbo Hybrid SUV, utilizing its technology to chase the bird down to its nest. Once they are at the nest, the young girl climbs up the rocks to the nest, grabbing her phone back, and then hopping back into her Kia. We then see the car driving into the distance, as a voice promotes the mileage of the 2023 Kia Sportage Turbo Hybrid SUV. 

This ad, being posted onto YouTube on July 5th 2023, and still being aired as of November 5th 2023, is an irresponsible promotion of behavior that is extremely illegal and extremely dangerous, asides from being terrible for the health of birds and the ecosystem.

The danger of interfering with the nest of a bird of prey is undisputed. Eagles are intensely territorial creatures, and although attacks on humans are rare, there are records of Eagles attacking humans if they come too close to their nest. If an Eagle saw a human reaching into their nest, a very likely outcome is an attack on the human.

Interfering with any sort of Eagle nest without a permit is also very Illegal. Under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668-668d), it is prohibited for anyone without a permit to “take” (Pursue, shoot, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest, or disturb) from any Bald or Golden Eagle, including their parts, nest, or eggs. A violation of this act can lead to a $100,000 fine ($200,000 for organizations) and/or a year in prison. A second violation is a felony.

On top of all that, interfering with a birds nest is terrible for the animal and ecosystem. Eagles have an incredible sense of smell, and a human reaching into the nest can distress the bird when it returns, as it will smell that a human has been in its nest. Eagles are essential for the ecosystem. Although reaching in for your phone is nowhere near the worst thing you can do to a nest, the best policy for the environment when in a habitat is always “leave no trace”.

In this situation, what the couple should have done has call a local park ranger or animal authority to properly get the phone back. Instead, the couple embarks on a journey where they make the dangerous, illegal, and unethical decision to interfere with an Eagles nest. And KIA, through creating and promoting this ad, is glamorizing that decision to millions of people. 

With that being said, this is what we demand from KIA:

1. Removal of this ad from KIA platforms
2. KIA to stop running this ad on streaming, cable, and any other services.
3. A public apology from KIA for this ad, with links to education on protecting birds of prey in America 
4. A sizable donation to a nonprofit that supports the conservation of Birds of Prey