PETA

I still don't understand why people hate them so much. They are trying to stop people from harvesting animals for fur, test chemicals on them, torture and brutally kill livestock, and end the mistreatment of almost every animal out there (except for snakes, alligators and insects, which kind of bugs me...)

But regardless of that, they are only trying to help.

People dislike them because they are meddlesome and self-righteous demagogues who are trying to legislate what other people do with their property. It's no business of theirs if people want to make/wear fur or eat meat. As for "torture" and animal testing:

1) Farmers and slaughterhouses don't "torture" animals. The modern meat industry has to butcher livestock on an industrial scale, so the do it the most efficient way possible. Inflicting pain just for the hell of it would not only serve no purpose, but actually cost them money, so they don't.

2) Trying to prevent animal testing is not just meddlesome, but outright detrimental to human health and scientific advancement. PETA would rather let medical research that could save lives go undone than test on animals.

3) This bears repeating: they would rather let human beings suffer and die than perform testing on animals. They literally believe that animals are worth more than people.

Problems:

• Their ads are extremely offensive a lot of the time. See the whale ad.
• They are known to support the Animal Liberation Front, which tends to attack animal testing labs and endanger the people working there.
• They are not good at having celebrities that are actually vegan speak up for them.

Maybe a problem:

• Supposedly a large number of animals rescued by PETA are euthanized, more than humane society shelters or the like. However, I have only heard this from a 'consumer advocacy' group, or people citing that group so I don't know how true it is.

PETA exploits women's bodies.

And animal testing is usually a last resort so it's also a bit of an overreaction.

They also send messages like this out. Even to children.

Yes, that is an actual ad they aimed toward children.

edited 12th Jan '11 3:45:19 PM by Marioguy128

They've done a lot of good, like when they busted that iams lab but they tend to be extremely silly or offensive. The freak out over the baby seals thing, for example.

Peta kills animals

Additional sources:

• The Telegraph
• SF Gate
• Center for Consumer Freedom

Peta's ad campaigns are offensive:

• CNN
• banned in Germany
• the images

Peta's ads prey on children:

• Center for Consumer Freedom
• Not the best source but has some related links to explore
• Violent cooking mama parody - official site

Peta ads exploit women:  ^*

• Khloe Kardashian
• Charlotte Ross
• Joanna Krupa
• Suzanne McCabe
• Similar porntastic ad mocking TSA
• A feminist response
• A feminist response to PETA's response to a feminist response to their ads

Peta is hypocritical:

• opinion article
• Center for Consumer Freedom
• "I'm an insulin-dependent diabetic. Twice a day I take synthetically manufactured insulin that still contains some animal products — and I have no qualms about it ... I'm not going to take the chance of killing myself by not taking insulin. I don't see myself as a hypocrite. I need my life to fight for the rights of animals." PETA Senior Vice President Mary Beth Sweetland on her use of insulin, which was tested on animals. various sources

General fun facts:

• From an anti-peta site

I'm against causing undue harm to animals, but PETA is not an organization I'd choose to represent my views in the slightest.

edited 12th Jan '11 4:09:32 PM by Yamikuronue

^The Peta Kills Animals site is run by the Center for Consumer Freedom, and I've yet to see useful citations from either that PETA is actually killing animals at a rate higher than humane shelters.

Does it matter? Shelters don't go around screaming that "ALL ANIMALS HAVE A RIGHT TO LIVE". Shelters openly admit they're doing what they can and they just don't have the room. PETA takes people's pets in a "rescue" effort and kills them without even trying to place them. Numbers aren't the issue here.

From the telegraph article: "Of 2,216 animals taken to its premises in Norfolk, Virginia, last year, 2,124 were put to sleep - almost six per day. Homes were found for just seven."

SF Gate reports: "In 2003, PETA euthanized over 85 percent of the animals it took in," said a press release from the lobby, "finding adoptive homes for just 14 percent. By comparison, the Norfolk (Va.) SPCA found adoptive homes for 73 percent of its animals and Virginia Beach SPCA adopted out 66 percent."

Newsweek: "Since 1998 PETA has killed more than 17,000 animals, nearly 85 percent of all those it has rescued. [...] Shelters around the country kill 4 million animals every year; by some estimates, more than 80 percent of them are healthy. [...] Brown and others insist they have achieved no-kill without turning animals away, and on a fraction of PETA's $30 million budget. "With the resources at their disposal, PETA and the Humane Society of the U.S. could become no-kill in no time," Winograd says. "Instead they have become leading killers of cats and dogs, and the animal-loving public unwittingly foots the bill through taxes and donations." "

edited 12th Jan '11 4:15:00 PM by Yamikuronue

Heh, this is kinda funny because I just did the DEHTA questline in World Of Warcraft last night.

Yeah, people hate them not only for being obstructive, but the whole organization is steeped in a kind of jaw-dropping hypocrisy, shortsightedness, and self-destruction that wouldn't be out of place in a comic book. And yeah, they fund ALF, who are all but outright terrorism.

edited 12th Jan '11 4:16:59 PM by Pykrete

Interestingly I keep running across this badly-worded and badly-coded page defending PETA. It was good for a brief laugh - it's nothing but denial.

[1]

To their credit, Super Tofu Boy was at least a decent recreation of Meat Boy in a technical sense. At least they've got some half-decent Flash programmers that could probably be doing something more useful with their lives

Well, let's take a look at one of these videogame-ish ways PETA promotes itself (go to Youtube to watch the other videos):

What.

edited 12th Jan '11 4:23:20 PM by TotemicHero

A lot of the messages in Meat Boy are making fun of people who thought it was PETA propaganda or something. -_-

I like how in the Peta Myths site under the "myth" that they support terrorists, instead of denying it, they are actually proud of it.

edited 12th Jan '11 5:05:12 PM by storyyeller

Honestly, my thoughts on PETA are: fuck PETA.

I can see where their sympathy for animals comes from, and their initial goals were noble. Now, they have become just an utterly ridiculous farce.

People Eating Tasty Animals.

Old joke but always relevant towards PETA.

My cousin's neighbor, a retired Marine and outdoorsman, said he cut off a hippie guy who had a "proud PETA supporter" bumper sticker today in a facebook post.

I laughed cause I'd have done the same thing.

edited 12th Jan '11 5:13:46 PM by MarkVonLewis

Yes, nothing quite says maturity and control like potentially causing an accident over a bumper sticker.

Not that I agree with some of PETA's methods either, mind you. Just sayin'.

Oh he freely admitted it was immature in the post. But he also said he wasn't even a little ashamed.

Wow, suddenly Jon Stewart's 'you go, then I'll go' speech makes sense.

About PETA euthanising most of the dogs and cats in its shelters, I've heard this is likely because at least some members of PETA believe that dogs and cats are better off dead than being "owned" by people. Like they think dogs hate the idea of being "owned" and that they shouldn't be property, but many pet "owners" would more view their dogs and cats as furry family members. I think for being an animal rights group, they're anthropomorphizing the animals too much instead of trying to look at it from the animal's point of view. Sure, there are people who abuse their pets, but most people don't treat their pet cats and dogs like slaves (which is probably what "owning" a pet means to PETA). Not to mention they're assuming that dogs and cats have the same feeling of being "owned" that a human slave does. Maybe PETA would have less of a problem if people started calling it adoption instead of owning a pet? (which there ARE people who call it adopting a pet rather than owning one anyway)

Source: http://hellboundalleee.blogspot.com/2006/03/peta-and-pet-slavery.html

(sorry if it's inaccurate, it was the first one I could find and it seems to summarize what I was saying)

I think PETA is forgetting that not only are humans animals too, but you can't completely separate humans from other species like that. It's pretty much impossible and the only ways to do it would be, well, cruelty to animals because it would involve killing ANY that even approached humans.

However, I wonder if these more extreme views are actually common in PETA, or is the issue of there being a Vocal Minority?

I wonder if PETA's desire to separate humans from all animals inspired the plot in the Pokemon Black and White games, where Team Plasma and N think that all humans are cruel to Pokemon and that they need to be completely separated.

edited 12th Jan '11 6:53:23 PM by Rainbow

I have mixed feelings for PETA. They range from burning hatred, to strong dislike. I'll go over the burning hatred first. They're hypocritical. They actually really do seem to hate domesticated animals. Their shelters kill animals at an alarming rate, far higher than other kill shelters. More than once their members have been caught killing dogs at other shelters. Dogs that were lined up and ready to go to a loving family. PETA is nothing more than pond scum and trash wrapped in sugar. Ethical treatment of animals my ass. The fact that their allied with domestic terrorists doesn't help them.

Now for my strong dislike of them. They're stupid, and they undermind their own goals. If it was just that they supported vegetarianism, faux fur, and opposed animal testing, that'd be just fine. But no, they have to show their opponents as a Card-Carrying Villain.

Also, sometimes they're just annoying to the point of self parody. "Wahhhh, Obama swatted a fly." It's a fly, nobody cares, not even you. You just want to make an ass out of yourself so more people will pay attention to you.

That thing about killing dogs at other groups' shelters sounds like something they could easily be arrested for.

edited 12th Jan '11 8:05:56 PM by Rainbow