Before I start this blog, let it be known that I hate PETA with a passion. I think they are hypocrites, so the whole point of this blog is to try and justify my opinion. Nevertheless, as always it’s up to YOU to decide what you think about them. You may agree with me, I don’t know.
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So what IS PETA? To you and me, they’re the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, in other words an animal rights group. Over the past decade or so, their name has become synonymous with the whole concept of animal rights; they promote veganism, denounce animal testing and abstain from any product derived from an animal. No doubt most of you will have been told that they are dedicated to saving animals through clever campaigns and raids on animal testing laboratories. When you take away this layer, which is essentially a very expensive and cosmetic PR campaign, you see that not all things are good in PETALand.
First of all, I think it would be worth taking a look at the head and guiding light of PETA, Ingrid Newkirk. According to Wikipedia, Newkirk (pictured right) is a British born vegan who’s experiences in India concerning the abuse of animals in circuses helped shape her philosophy as it is today. While this seems like a noble enough reason to campaign for animal rights (and believe me, I don’t have a problem with animal rights), one only has to take a look at her will to know that something is wrong.
2. While the final decision as to the use of my body remains with PETA, I make the following suggested directions:
a. That the “meat” of my body, or a portion thereof, be used for a human barbecue, to remind the world that the meat of a corpse is all flesh, regardless of whether it comes from a human being or another animal, and that flesh foods are not needed;
b. That my skin, or a portion thereof, be removed and made into leather products, such as purses, to remind the world that human skin and the skin of other animals is the same and that neither is “fabric” nor needed, and that some skin be tacked up outside the Indian Leather Fair each year to serve as a reminder of the government’s need to abate the suffering of Indian bullocks who, after a life of extreme and involuntary servitude, as I have seen firsthand, are exported all over the world in this form;
c. That in remembrance of the elephant-foot umbrella stands and tiger rugs I saw, as a child, offered for sale by merchants at Connaught Place in Delhi, my feet be removed and umbrella stands or other ornamentation be made from them, as a reminder of the depravity of killing innocent animals, such as elephants, in order that we might use their body parts for household items and decorations;
d. That one of my eyes be removed, mounted, and delivered to the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a reminder that PETA will continue to be watching the agency until it stops poisoning and torturing animals in useless and cruel experiments; that the other is to be used as PETA sees fit;
e. That my pointing finger be delivered to Kenneth Feld, owner of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, or to a circus museum to stand as the “Greatest Accusation on Earth” on behalf of the countless elephants, lions, tigers, bears, and other animals who have been kidnapped from their families and removed from their homelands in India, Thailand, Africa, and South America and deprived of all that is natural and pleasant to them, abused, and forced into involuntary servitude for the sake of cheap entertainment;
f. That my liver be vacuum-packed and shipped, in whole or in part, to France, to there be used in a public appeal to persuade shoppers not to support the vile practice of force-feeding geese and ducks for foie gras;
g. That one of my ears be removed, mounted, and sent to the Canadian Parliament to assist them in hearing, for the first time perhaps, the screams of the seals, bears, raccoons, foxes, and minks bludgeoned, trapped, and sometimes skinned alive for their pelts; that the other ear be removed, preserved, and displayed outside the Deonar abattoir in Mumbai to remind all who do business there that the screams of the cattle who are slaughtered within its walls are heard around the world;
h. That one of my thumbs be removed, mounted upwards on a plaque, and sent to the person or institution that, in the year of my death or thereabouts, PETA decides has done the most to promote alternatives to the use and abuse of animals in any area of their exploitation;
i. That one of my thumbs be mounted in a downward position and sent to the person or institution that, in the year of my death or thereabouts, has gone against the changing tide of societal opinion and frightened and hurt animals in some egregious manner;
j. That a little part of my heart be buried near the racetrack at Hockenheim, preferably near the Ferrari pits, where Michael Shumacher raced in and won the German Grand Prix;
k. That anything else be done with my body that PETA believes will serve to draw attention to and so abate the plight of exploited animals.
Now, what is wrong with this picture? To me, a will that expresses the wish to be turned into a parody of fast food when I pass on, is a sign of mental illness. One needs to question whether Newkirk is quite in her right mind. And as El Sid herself stated, “who the fuck would want one of her severed thumbs mounted on their desk?!” It’s this kind of delusional behavior that shuns people away from the animal rights movement. People see the will on the PETA website and assume that it’s fronted by a mental patient.
But that’s not all I have to say about PETA, oh no. Next in line is the “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” ads that they’re so fond of. Again, it bases itself on a noble concept, the abolition of animal fur in clothing. Let’s face it, we’re in the 21st century now; polyester and artificial fabrics are cheap and easy to make. Sure, they wore skins back in the club-toting days, but they didn’t have Ikea back then.
Again though, PETA have taken this concept and blown it out of the water. Take a look at this add:
Now, ask yourself, to whom does this ad seem marketed? Women? I doubt it. A bunch of lecherous men and sexually repressed teenagers? Likely. And at the end of the day, what does the viewer concentrate on the most; the message behind the ad or the fact that there’s a naked woman on it? You tell me.
Possibly the most insulting part of PETA’s entire campaign would have to be comparing the treatment of animals in mass-farming to holocaust victims. PETA states explicitly that
“like the Jews murdered in concentration camps, animals are terrorized when they are housed in huge filthy warehouses and rounded up for shipment to slaughter. The leather sofa and handbag are the moral equivalent of the lampshades made from the skins of people killed in the death camps.”
While animals are perhaps mistreated in the mass farms, how on earth can anyone lack so much sense as to compare their treatment to that of holocaust victims in concentration camps? Believe me, there is a difference. For one, the concentration camps were specifically created to kill a large number of people, due to malicious intent from the Nazi regime. What is the aim of a farm? To provide food to a mass-consumer base. There is no emotion in a farm. None whatsoever.
And now for the finale, my friends. Did you know that PETA holds a policy on animal euthanasia? Our good old friend Newkirk tells us that
“Our service is to provide a peaceful and painless death to animals who no one wants.”
One has to question her dedication to animal rights. Why doesn’t PETA take it upon themselves to find homes for these animals? Why kill them? There is no logic in this act whatsoever. And do the animals have a say? No, of course they don’t. For an organization who prides themselves on the ethical treatment of animals, they sure enjoy having the last say. But instead, PETA blames people not spaying their animals. Well, fuck me.
One well known case of unnecessary euthanasia concerning animals was in 2005 when the police found over 80 animals had been euthanized and thrown in dumpsters. Among one of these animals was a cat and her kittens. According to veterinarian Patrick Proctor, who had seen the cats before their death, they were adoptable and the PETA employees had specifically stated that they would have no problem finding homes for them.
So are PETA destroying the credibility of the animal rights movement? Here’s my slightly biased evidence. Don’t be content just with what I’ve said, though. Look around the net, find out for yourself and make your own damn mind up. I’m just presenting my point of view.
Stay Sane,
Jay
