BY HANNAH RAMESAR
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is a non-profit organization with the motto: “Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment.” Though their cause is honorable, PETA goes overboard at times, disrespecting, slandering, and tarnishing the reputations of people to further their agenda. They take animal rights to an extreme and that extreme behavior hurts their cause more than it helps it.
PETA goes to outlandish lengths to publicize their point that “animals have feelings too”, regardless of age or what you consider to be socially acceptable. Members of PETA once stood outside of a Broadway show and handed out fliers to small children whose parents were wearing fur. Inside the flier, it stated: “…And the sooner she stops wearing fur, the sooner the animals will be safe. Until then, keep your doggie or kitty friends away from mommy – she’s an animal killer.” PETA falls into the heartless department with such obvious disregard for a child’s frame of mind after being told something so heinous,.
PETA has also repeatedly thrown red paint on people wearing fur coats. This makes no sense, as the animals have already been killed for the coat. Now they have destroyed it and the owner will probably just buy another one, thus giving more support for the very thing they were trying to protest against.
PETA does not stop there however; they have even stooped to insult people’s body image. Their “Save the Whale” billboard is a key example of this. In a press release PETA claimed the billboard campaign was launched in Jacksonville to remind people that going vegetarian can be an effective way to shed those extra pounds for those struggling to lose weight. Anyone wishing to achieve a hot “beach-bod” is reminded that studies show that vegetarians are, on average, about 10 to 20 pounds lighter than meat-eaters. But that was not enough, PETA went even further, in a press conference their Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said, “Trying to hide your thunder thighs and balloon belly is no day at the beach. PETA has a free ‘Vegetarian Starter Kit’ for people who want to lose pounds while eating as much as they like.”
PETA truly crossed the line with its “Holocaust on Your Plate” campaign, belittling one of the most horrific human tragedies in modern history. The organization compared animals that are housed in huge filthy warehouses and rounded up for slaughter to Jews murdered in concentration camps. PETA stated, “the leather sofa and handbag are the moral equivalent of the lampshades made from the skins of people killed in the death camps.” While the condition of the commercial slaughterhouses may not be up to par, undervaluing what happened in the Holocaust is reprehensible.
When directly insulting people is not enough, PETA gains attention by being inappropriate, such as with their “My Boyfriend Went Vegan” advertisement. The ad claims that vegan men have powerful sexual stamina- so powerful that their female partners are bruised and must wear neck braces, like victims of battery. It is disturbing that PETA would equate good sex with abusive sex.
The organization’s ultimate goal has been described as “total animal liberation.” They are even for the “liberation” of seeing-eye dogs. It would seem that they would much rather puppies roam the streets instead of enjoying the warmth and comfort of a loving family.
PETA’s “Animal Liberation Project” (ALP), insists that animals are the same as people. Wesley Smith, author of Consumer’s Guide to a Brave New World, makes the point: “When ALP places a photograph of hanged black people with that of a dead cow being hoisted by a rope for butchering, it is because animal liberationists actually believe that the lynching of African-Americans in the Jim Crow south and slaughtering cattle are equivalent evils.” In what world is the way African-Americans were unjustly hung, the same as a cow being prepared for butchering?
All that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ ridiculous campaigns have managed to do is insult and hurt large groups of people. If animal liberation is what they are promoting, why attack people? One way of getting people to pay attention and participate is kindly approaching them or presenting relatable situations, not accusing them of being murderers and trying to fool them with falsely advertised sexual situations. PETA has repeatedly gone too far and there is no sign of them stopping any time soon.
