Sara Dieckman
Samantha Mudd
English 151
November 9, 2010
PETA: Crock or Crucial?
Could one even imagine enduring the dismay of a deer in a field full of hunters? Imagine being able to outrun a human being alone but not the consequences of the speeding bullet heading your way. One minute your enjoying the crisp winter breeze, gnawing on the bark of a tree, and the next your dead because man thought you would be of better use as his main entrée at dinner. It does not matter if you object to being killed because man does not care and you have no rights or say in what happens to you. Many might call it “survival of the fittest”, but many other animal rights extremists might call these people “power thirsty killers”. The problem with man is that we tend to feel pity for our own species while we forget about all of the other struggling species each one of us affects every day. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, strongly believes that man has the power to change the world and give animals the right to prosper, and why shouldn’t they? They are the largest animal rights organization in the world with over 2 million advocates and members (About PETA).
PETA has been around for about thirty years and is based in Norfolk, Virginia (About PETA). According to PETA, animals are not supposed to be eaten, experimented with, worn as clothing, or used for human entertainment (About PETA). PETA strongly believes that animals feel suffering and have desire to lead their own lives and experience natural things. However, many people believe this organization to be useless. They believe it is amplified into being this extraordinary organization that really does not keep their word when it comes to saving animals and protecting their rights. For many others, however, this organization is changing the world and saving helpless animals who do not have a choice to be used as experiments, abused, eaten, or worn as a new fur or leather jacket. What gives human beings the right to flourish and advance in the world and other species no right to do the same? Should mankind have the authority to take down everything in their path to be the strongest and most prospering species just because they are at the top of the food chain?
There are several different groups of people against PETA, an organization that seems so fair and amenable. Some of these groups include hunters, others concerned with animal rights, and people who just do not believe that animals should have any rights at all. Some believe that animals are supposed to be used for human pleasure. These people decide that they’d rather enjoy eating a piece of meat then the beauty and company of nature and tranquility. Others, who are animal extremists just as PETA, believe that this organization is not reliable and that they have a number of members who are more likely to kill animals then help them. Many do not bring their attention to all of the positive things that PETA does for these animals and our society. By analyzing the issues animals face because their refusal of rights, discussing and discrediting why people have rejected PETA, and examining the action PETA has been taking to save animals all over the world, it can be inferred that PETA is a credible and genuine organization.
There are a number of obstacles that all types of animals face everyday due to the cruelty of man. One of these obstacles is hunting. Hunting occurs so that humans can obtain certain types of meat, animal skin and fur, and for their own entertainment. According to PETA, “Hunting has contributed to the extinction of animal species all over the world, including the Tasmanian tiger and the great auk” (Why Sport Hunting). This is a serious issue because who is to say that more species will not die off because of this cruel sport? But many people will argue that animals such as deer are overpopulated and if man did not hunt them there would be way too many of them. However, PETA argues that, “Even when unusual natural occurrences cause overpopulation, natural processes work to stabilize the group. Starvation and disease can be tragic, but they are nature’s ways of ensuring that healthy, strong animals survive and maintain the strength level of the rest of their herd or group. Shooting an animal because he or she might starve or become sick is arbitrary and destructive” (Why sport Hunting). PETA believes that nature should be in control of the death of animals’ rather then unnatural human activities such as hunting.
Animals also struggle with the serious worldwide issue known as animal cruelty. Animal cruelty can be defined as “cruel unwarranted treatment of animals” according to Roy D’Silva (Animal Cruelty). PETA mostly concentrates on animals that are abused at home, in factories and farms, and animals that are trained for circuses. This is because they are the most popular and serious of all the cases of animal cruelty. This is not to say that PETA doesn’t fight against other cases but these are just the most common. In 2010, pet-abuse.com recorded 625 cases of reported abuse of animals (State Ranking). This includes cases that deal with neglect, beating, bestiality, burning, suffocation, drowning, hording, hanging, kicking, torture, and animal fighting (State Ranking). When looking at pictures it is extremely hard to believe that one cannot help but feeling sorry and remorseful for any animal that has been abused. What difference does it make if it is a man or animal being abused? Each would feel pain and no case of abuse is morally correct no matter what the circumstance. If one cannot handle the responsibilities of a pet, one should not be able to take on the responsibility of owning one.
Many people are against PETA and believe that it is an organization that does not keep its word when it comes to helping animals. According to Bob Butz, “In February, the trial concluded for two PETA employees charged with 21 counts of animal cruelty and the illegal dumping of more than 80 dogs and cats they had collected (only to later euthanize) from shelters and veterinarian offices in and around Ahoskie, N.C. Wrapped in black garbage bags, the dead animals were found inside a dumpster behind the Piggly Wiggly supermarket over a three-month period in 2005” (PETA Files). This is an extremely interesting argument against PETA but PETA is the largest animal rights organization in the world. They have over two million members and employees. Out of two million people, what are the odds that none of them will be corrupt people? Some of the members could be people trying to work against everything that PETA is working towards. All one has to do to become a member of PETA is make a donation. Maybe PETA should be more selecting on who they let in on their organization but it would be way more complicated to help animals across the country without having advocates and members everywhere in the country. According to petakillsanimals.com, in 2009 PETA only found homes for 8 out of 2,366 animals (Exclusive: PETA’s Pet Killing). Yet again an interesting argument, however, PETA has worked to save millions of animals all over the world. This website also has no credibility. It contains no author to site and is a dot com website which makes one wonder if it really is a website one can rely on.
PETA explains, “we aren't afraid to make the difficult comparisons, say the unpopular thing, or point out the uncomfortable truth, if it means that animals will benefit” (Uncompromising Stands). One cannot deny the millions of ads and campaigns that PETA has done to help species all over the world. They are radicals that have taken so much action to protect animals and their rights. Being the largest animal rights organization in the world, there is going to be controversy and scandals within the organization. It would be incredibly difficult to find 2 million advocates and employees who are one hundred percent genuine and uncorrupted. When people make accusations towards PETA they do not think clearly about everything positive they do and do not take everything into consideration when one has such a large organization as this.
It is important to understand all that PETA has done to help the animals that live among us in order to understand all that this organization stands for. PETA explains, “The very heart of all of PETA's actions is the idea that it is the right of all beings—human and nonhuman alike—to be free from harm. Our world is plagued with many serious problems, all of which deserve our attention. Cruelty to animals is one of them” (About PETA). PETA has taken so much to prove this quote true. One of the most recent victories PETA has experienced was at Gardner-Webb University (Gardner-Webb). A student had called PETA’s laboratory investigations department (LID) bothered about a barbarous project the students had to partake in (Gardner-Webb) Apparently the students were supposed to catch, kill, and skin dozens of animals who had been taken out of their familiar habitat (Gardner-Webb). “LID immediately contacted the school to urge its administrators to end the cruel procedures and filed complaints with state wildlife authorities and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In response to PETA’s efforts, the school no longer offers this inhumane classroom assignment,” according to PETA (Garner-Webb).
But this is not all that PETA has done; one of PETA’s most popular campaigns was The “Naked” Campaign, mostly because it was so controversial. In this campaign, men and women walked behind a giant banner saying they would “rather go naked then wear fur” (FAQ). Many celebrities made offers to participate, such as Pamela Anderson and Todd Oldham (FAQ). This campaign inspired magazines and television shows such as Entertainment Tonight, Us, and People to do anti- fur movement stories. PETA also helped save 4.5 million animals from being tested on in Europe in 2009. PETA states, “After learning that a massive animal testing program in Europe was going to cause even more animal suffering as a result of duplicative testing, PETA initiated a joint letter to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), which oversees the program, asking it to intervene. Now, in a huge victory for animals, ECHA has announced a process that will spare as many as 4,410,000 animals from cruel tests” (PETA helps).
PETA is a group of animal extremists. They do not take animal cruelty, experimentation, or hunting lightly. They will do anything in their power to make sure that animals are treated fairly. PETA has been fighting for animals for 30 years and this organization will not stop until they are fully satisfied with the way that human beings treat other living species. Because they are radicals, they take extreme action in everything that they do and I believe that it helps their cause. It is extremely hard to get
mankind to understand and believe in one’s concepts or ideas if one does not take extreme action to get them to understand. If PETA were to do less daring campaigns, sure it would be less controversial and PETA would have a better name, but they would not be helping the cause of animals as much as they would want to and would not be getting people to understand why they care so much. Mankind needs extreme action taken to help them understand that animal cruelty and hunting is not morally correct and that animals feel just as much pain as human beings do. PETA states “We have the power to spare animals excruciating pain by making better choices about the food we eat, the things we buy, and the activities we support” (About PETA). So why ignore the fact that PETA has such a positive effect on our environment? We should not think of PETA as a scandal or a menace but rather and advocate for a positive change in our world.
Works Cited
"About PETA." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): The Animal Rights
Organization | PETA.org. Web. 20 Nov. 2010.
"All About PETA." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): The Animal
Rights Organization | PETA.org. Web. 20 Nov. 2010.
Butz, Bob. "Catching up with the Animal-rights Extremists and Their Latest Lunacy."
PETA Files 214.9 (2007). Print.
D'Silva, Roy. "Animal Cruelty: Animal Abuse Facts and Statistics." Buzzle Web Portal:
Intelligent Life on the Web. Web. 20 Nov. 2010.
"Exclusive: PETA’s Pet Killing Program Set a New Record in 2009." PETA Kills
Animals | PetaKillsAnimals.com. Web. 20 Nov. 2010.
"Gardner-Webb University Ends Cruel Classroom Exercises." People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA): The Animal Rights Organization | PETA.org.
Web. 20 Nov. 2010.
Animals (PETA): The Animal Rights Organization | PETA.org. Web. 20 Nov. 2010.
"State Ranking." Pet-Abuse.Com - Home. Web. 20 Nov. 2010.
abuse.com/pages/cruelty_database/statistics/state_ranking.php?year=2010&search=go>.
"Uncompromising Stands on Animal Rights” People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PETA): The Animal Rights Organization | PETA.org. Web. 20 Nov. 2010.
"Why Sport Hunting Is Cruel and Unnecessary” People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PETA): The Animal Rights Organization | PETA.org. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. http://www.peta.org/issues/Wildlife/why-sport-hunting-is-cruel-and-unnecessary.aspx
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