People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was founded by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco in 1980, and is likely the most well-known and most vocal of all the animal rights groups out there today. The animal rights protest industry is big business, making unbelievable amounts of money worldwide. In 2008, PETA earned over 31 million dollars. Ingrid Newkirk has described her group’s overall goal as “total animal liberation.” This means no meat, milk, cheese, eggs, honey, zoos, aquariums, circuses, wool, leather, fur, silk, hunting, fishing, and pets. PETA is also against all medical research that requires the use of animals, including research aimed at treating AIDS and cancer. If you are blind today and you use a seeing-eye dog, PETA is out for your blood as well. Bruce Friedrich (vice-present of PETA) speaking at an animal rights convention said that “blowing stuff up and smashing windows is a great way to bring about animal liberation,” adding, “Hallelujah to the people who are willing to do it.”
Not afraid in the least of criticism, some of PETA’s campaigns are really out to lunch. PETA is often, and with good reason, referred to as the “village idiot of the animal rights movement.” PETA thought it would be a good idea to contact Ben and Jerry’s ice cream to try and convince them to use human breast milk to make their ice cream. Needless to say, that idea didn’t go over so well.
Another of the many ridiculous PETA campaigns is to change the name of fish to sea kittens. This was launched at the start of 2009 with a website and online book that “Wants to change the image of fish as slimy and slithery creatures by claiming they are similar to cuter, more popular animals.” Would people think twice about ordering fish sticks if they were called sea kitten sticks? For that matter, why are they campaigning based on pets, if they donâ??t agree with the concept of pets? Just because itâ??s not furry and cute shouldnâ??t mean we like it less?
The biggest criticism of PETA stems from their high pet euthanasia rates. While the bulk of the animal rights groups are striving to keep the pet kill rates to a minimum, PETA has no qualms what-so-ever of destroying nearly every animal it gets it’s hands on. In 2008, PETA set a new euthanasia record. 95% of all the animals PETA took responsibility for, were destroyed. During the last ten years, PETA has euthanized well over 20,000 animals. That’s twenty thousand pets.
PETA also has a long history of the exploitation of women – not a month goes by when PETA doesn’t have another half naked woman on some poster or website. PETA has discovered that sex sells and takes no issue in using it to fund-raise for their million dollar campaigns. There have been stories published on the internet from some of their former employees who claim that they were bullied into taking the clothes off for PETA.
PETA is not into the business of helping animals, they are an animal rights protest and lobby group only. If you want to donate money to help animals, then go down to your local animal shelter and donate there. Just please don’t give to PETA, most of it will go to waste.
More facts about PETA:
- PETA wanted to buy a lighthouse to sell faux fish sticks.
- PETA has tried several times to sue other animal rights groups.
- PETA has their own line of coffins for lifelong supporters
- PETA wants us to eat road killed animals.
- PETA tried to sue Friends of Animals in 2006 and named nine chimpanzees as the plaintiffs.
- PETA spent 1 million dollars on legal bills in 2008.
- PETA has their own credit card line.
- PETA spent a hundreds of thousands of dollars in a campaign trying to get school children to stop drinking milk. The campaign was widely condemned by doctors and nutrition experts.
- PETA made colorful illustrated pamphlets for children titled, “Your Daddy Kills Animals” showing a father and son fishing trip with a deranged man and a screaming fish; and “Your Mommy Kills Animals” showing a deranged housewife preparing dinner and mutiliating a screaming rabbit with the kitchen knife.
