PETA
“”I'm half-convinced that PETA is a false flag operation to discredit animal rights, secretly funded by cattle farmers.
|
| —Jeet Heer[1] |
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is a vegan fundamentalist cult an American animal rights organization. They oppose hunting, fishing, animal testing, pets, seeing eye dogs, and zoos while promoting a vegan diet. They are best known for their frequent inflammatory and downright irresponsible media stunts, such as throwing red paint on people wearing fur coats; running emotionally appealing ads comparing eating meat to the Holocaust; and encouraging college students to drink beer rather than milk. Their trademark ads tend to involve famous (and hot) actresses (who may or may not be actual vegans) and models photographed nude (while covering up their naughty bits). Animal rights activist Ingrid Newkirk is the president of PETA.
[edit] History
PETA was co-founded by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco, after Pacheco uncovered the abuse of monkeys at a Silver Spring, Maryland laboratory in 1981. This and the court litigation that followed led to changes in the laws in 1985 regarding animal testing to ensure against cruelty. PETA could have, and probably should have, quit at that point because they have become somewhat more extreme and absurd since.
[edit] No fur, no meat, but euthanasia is OK?
PETA maintains a puzzling attitude towards pet ownership, asserting that "it would have been in the animals' best interests if the institution of 'pet keeping'—i.e., breeding animals to be kept and regarded as 'pets'—never existed" but that responsible pet owners should adopt from pounds or animal shelters.[2] Yet very few of the dogs, cats and other companion animals entrusted to PETA's care are rehomed, with the vast majority being put to death.
In April 2009, PETA came under fire for euthanizing 2,124 of the 2,216 (96%) of the pets companion animals turned in to its US headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, during 2008. A PETA spokesperson said that this was OK because:
- PETA doesn't really operate as an animal shelter (so why do they take animals that should go to shelters in the first place?)
- America is facing a pet overpopulation epidemic and euthanasia is the most humane solution (unlike no-kill shelters that spay and neuter animals before putting them up for adoption)
- The vast majority of animals that PETA receives are not suited for adoption because they are unsocialized or too sick to make good
petscompanions - Euthanizing animals allowed PETA to have more operating capital for shock marketing campaigns[3]
- Yes, some adoptable animals were euthanized. But, hey, everybody makes mistakes now and then, right?[4]
Critics claim that this incident — and PETA's tepid response to being called out on it — illustrates how PETA's high-profile advocacy regarding vegetarianism and the fur trade is a cash cow that can't be spent on the day-to-day plight of dogs and cats.
PETA even went as far as sending cookies and a "thank you" note to a no-kill shelter that announced they might have to start killing again [5]
The killing continues, and by 2013 PETA had killed almost 30,000 domestic animals, many in horrific shelter conditions and others killed in "death vans" within minutes of being handed over to PETA's care, without being admitted to shelters at all.[6]
These shady activities notwithstanding, the organization is still able to attract pet-owning celebrities to promote its warm and fuzzy public image.[7]
[edit] Some of PETA's nuttier actions
The conventional wisdom on PETA is that they are a group with a moderate membership... and hardline leadership. Allegations that they have ties to ecoterrorism groups are not well-substantiated. Their reception even among liberals is, to put it politely, decidedly mixed. Less politely, they're extremely divisive, and likely to spark flamewars in gatherings of multiple points of view. While many liberals would argue that a certain amount of regulation of animal rights is necessary, the scientific community in particular (otherwise largely centrist-to-liberal) strongly opposes their antivivisection position as being unreasonably restricting on medical research due to current technology's lack of ability to accurately simulate living systems.
[edit] Animal testing
Despite PETA saying it would not support a cure for AIDS if it involved animals, its VP MaryBeth Sweetland uses insulin that contains animal products for diabetes. Saying that she needs her life to "fight for the rights of animals,"[8] but it's totally cool for everyone else to suffer and die.
[edit] Ben & Jerry's
On 23 September 2008, PETA issued a press release[9] asking Ben & Jerry's to stop using milk from dairy animals, and instead start using — uh, um - human breast milk.[10] No reaction yet from the National Organization for Women regarding the image of potentially millions of women attached to automatic milking machines. Of course, human milk- based dairy products and ice cream already exist, if you know where to find them and can pay the obscenely high price tag and the possible risk of ending up on a register of potential sex offenders. At least PETA didn't demand they start using soy milk.
[edit] Chicken wings and penis size
On August 15 2013, PETA sent a letter to Drew Cerza (founder of the National Buffalo Wing Festival) claiming that "consuming poultry while pregnant may lead to birth defects in utero, including smaller-than-average penises for newborn boys" [11].
This is (obviously) an incorrect statement since they're referring to phthalates on which you can find enough information[12] with a quick Google search to know exactly how wrong PETA is on this subject[13].
[edit] Connection to eco-terrorist groups
PETA has come under attack for admitting to having made donations to the Earth Liberation Front and its sister organization Animal Liberation Front, as well as donating funds in the legal defense of members of the groups who were trial for environmental or animal rights- related acts of terrorism.[14]
[edit] Godwin's Law violations
In 2009 PETA held a protest in which they picketed a kennel club's dog show dressed in Ku Klux Klan uniforms, passing out flyers comparing the breeding of purebred dogs to the Ku Klux Klan's ideal of a pure race.
A 2003 PETA ad campaign called "The Holocaust on Your Plate" drew a moral equivalence between the consumption of meat and the genocidal murders of millions of Jews, Slavs, Roma peoples, homosexuals, political opponents, and others in Nazi Germany's concentration camps. It juxtaposed pictures of pigs in pens and children in concentration camps, and drew immediate outrage — not outrage about eating meat, but outrage over their exploitation of genocide to make their point.
[edit] "Got Beer?"
In 2000, PETA actually campaigned that beer's better for you than milk, and specifically targeted college students.[15] While this proved too stupid and dangerous a public campaign even by PETA standards, they still endorse this nonsense on the organization's website.[16]
[edit] The Great Renaming Campaign
PETA has sent demands and cash offers to some towns requesting that they change their names, including Hamburg and Fishkill (both New York), and Rodeo (California). Their alternative for Hamburg? Veggieburg. No, really.[17] (Incidentally, the 'kill' in Fishkill is the Dutch word for 'creek'.)
PETA also sent a letter to the Pet Shop Boys requesting they change their name to the Rescue Shelter Boys.[18] You can't make this stuff up. Clearly more in jest is PETA's proposal to Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle that the state's license plate slogan be changed from "America's Dairyland" to "America's Cow Hell"[19] (which, admittedly, would be a kickass band name).
[edit] Hypocrisy
PETA has also been cited for hypocrisy regarding the celebrities it uses in its PR campaigns. As examples, Pamela Anderson and Eva Mendes have appeared in some of PETA's risque ads, however Eva admits to eating fish - while Pamela auctioned off a Dodge Viper to raise money for PETA (despite the car containing leather seats). Bill Maher has also served as a board member of PETA, yet admits to eating meat on occasion.
[edit] PornETA.xxx
On 16 August 2011, it was announced[20] that PETA would finally cross the line that its previous ad campaigns had only hinted at — it planned to start a hardcore pr0n website.[21] According to HuffPo, PETA confirmed the website in a phone interview.[22] Allegedly, the content on the new site would be vegan-oriented with anti-meat, anti-fur, anti-leather messaging. Since then, the website has been renamed "Peta.xxx"[23] (safe for work). Which, of course, prompts a few snarky questions:
- If you can't eat meat, and fur and leather are verboten, just how pornographic can their website be?
- Can a porn site live on carrots and cucumbers alone?
- No bears? C'mon!
However, considering PETA's track record at announcing outrageous publicity items only to backtrack when the public reacted negatively, we would be remiss if we failed to include one of these.(Warning: Poe's Law in action!)
[edit] Satanic panic
At the height of the Satanic panic in the late 1980s, PETA's newsletter reported (as fact) rumors that pets were being stolen by Satanists for animal sacrifice and "crucifixion" at Halloween. PETA suggested that people keep their black cats inside around Halloween to protect them from Satanists.[24] They still maintain a "Halloween advisory" on their website, omitting any mention of Satanism or animal sacrifice, yet noting with approval that many shelters refuse to adopt out black cats during October.[25]
It is true that superstitious stereotypes still abound about black cats,[26] but c'mon.
[edit] Sea kittens
Among PETA's more ridiculous campaigns has been their decision that fish should now be known as "sea kittens." Apparently having a cute and silly name is enough to stop global overfishing in its tracks.
[edit] Super Bowl commercials
Every year, PETA produces a cheaply-made commercial with NSFW content that is hyper-sexualized, not to mention outrageously sexist. They then submit the commercial to the NFL for inclusion in the Super Bowl. The commercials are so increasingly over-the-top that they are always rejected, even when PETA offers double (or triple) the going ad rate for the game. The 2011 example, allegedly a compilation of "out-takes" from the 2010 commercial, showed a group of bikini-clad actresses — and one pasty, shirtless actor — playing with vegetables as if they were sex toys.[27]
Thanks to the free publicity from each year's rejection, these "commercials" become instant hits on the internet, which was no doubt PETA's intent all along.
[edit] Video Games are serious business
PETA has protested many a video game in the years it has been active.
Assassin’s Creed publisher Ubisoft got attacked by them after they announced that players will be able to hunt whales in the next entry of the series,[28] Blizzard got an earful for allowing players to club seals in World of Warcraft,[29] and they also got all sorts of upset at Mario for wearing a Tanooki suit.[30][31] As a reaction to the indie game Super Meat Boy by Ed McMillen, PETA made the parody game Super Tofu Boy.[32] They're even linked to releasing a virus infected version of an iPhone app that they wanted banned.[33]
[edit] Got Milk? Or Autism?
PETA launched a campaign linking the consumption of milk to autism. The problem is that there is zero evidence for such a link. They were (rightfully) called out on it by several news outlets, websites and, of course, by people on Twitter.[34][35][36]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- PETA official website
- Advocacy Group Decries PETA's Inhumane Treatment Of Women, The Onion News Network
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Animal Rights Uncompromised: 'Pets' at PETA website.
- ↑ http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/h/2628-hyperbolic-hypocrisy
- ↑ PETA under fire over claim that it kills most animals left at its US headquarters, Daily Telegraph, 4 April 2009.
- ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/douglas-anthony-cooper/peta-animals-kill_b_1850755.html
- ↑ Nathan J. Winograd, "Shocking Photos: PETA's Secret Slaughter of Kittens, Puppies", Huffington Post, April 2, 2013.
- ↑ Peter Dinklage - Actor & Vegetarian - PETA Ad at YouTube.
- ↑ http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/h/2628-hyperbolic-hypocrisy
- ↑ PETA press release requesting Ben & Jerry's replace dairy milk with human breast milk
- ↑ How about a double scoop of mama's milk?: MSNBC, 25 September 2008.
- ↑ http://www.peta.org/mediacenter/news-releases/Keep-Pregnant-Women-Out-for-the-Sake-of-Their-Sons-Sex-Organs-PETA-Tells-Buffalo-Wing-Festival.aspx
- ↑ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090927154823.htm
- ↑ http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Schwarcz+PETA+science+wing+nuts/8918499/story.html
- ↑ http://cnsnews.com/news/article/peta-under-attack-funding-alleged-eco-terrorists
- ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/2000/mar/14/news/cl-8515
- ↑ http://www.peta.org/blog/got-beer/
- ↑ CBS News - PETA Woos Hamburgers With Rare Offer
- ↑ PETA to Pet Shop Boys: Rescue Shelter Boys, perhaps? CNN.com, 10 April 2009
- ↑ PETA wants Wisconsin to change license plates
- ↑ Murphy, Kevin. PETA to launch .xxx smut site 'to help animals': Naked celebrity campaign moves to next level, The Register, accessed 21 August 2011.
- ↑ We don't really know yet if it will be called PornETA.xxx, but it seems as good a name as any.
- ↑ Kelly, Tara. PETA Plans a Porn Site, Huffington Post, posted 19 August 2011.
- ↑ http://features.peta.org/now-that-we-have-your-attention/
- ↑ http://www.holysmoke.org/report/index.htm
- ↑ http://www.peta.org/feat/halloweenadvisory/dev01/index.html
- ↑ Yes, Berkeley has to write advisories about this.
- ↑ PETA's Controversial New Super Bowl Ad (VIDEO/NSFW), Huffington Post, posted 31 January 2011.
- ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2013/03/06/peta-attacks-assassins-creed-4-for-including-whaling/
- ↑ http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2009/04/06/help-battle-seal-slaughterers-in-world-of-warcraft.aspx
- ↑ http://features.peta.org/mario-kills-tanooki/
- ↑ Even though the first time he wore one was 23 years ago.
- ↑ http://features.peta.org/super-meat-boy-parody/
- ↑ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/08/17/peta_infects_phones_with_anti_dogfight_virus/
- ↑ Got Credibility? Then You’re Not PETA Jeffrey Kluger, Time Magazine Retrieved September 26, 2014
- ↑ Autism link: Outrage as PETA declares war on milk Rose Powell, The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved September 26, 2014
- ↑ PETA Embraces Autism Pseudoscience Steven Novella, Science-Based Medicine Retrieved September 26, 2014