PETA

[Gearhart 1st MRB]

PETA sent a letter to a girl who was just mauled by a bear and suffered severe injuries. They ask her "To take the perspective of the bear"

Really PETA?

http://video.foxnews.com/v/2943489209001/p...of-bear-attack/

[Kirkendall 1st MRB]

PETA still has Ingrid Newkirk's will on their website:

Clicky

Highlights:

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;

That's really all I ever needed to tell me PETA is a horrible place. That and they put down well over 90% of the animals they take in.

[Mullaney]

I am pretty into the whole animal activist thing but I do not like PETA.

[Guest]

Yep. I was a vegan and will be again. Don't paint us all with the crazy brush.

[Griswold]

PETA still has Ingrid Newkirk's will on their website:

Clicky

Highlights:

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;

That's really all I ever needed to tell me PETA is a horrible place. That and they put down well over 90% of the animals they take in.

I read this, and I actually can't believe that this was written by a human being.

[Candy 1st MRB]

Wow, thats a Shocker! I love animals, but to a point!

[Perrone]

PETA is nothing short of a domestic terrorist organization. They have well known ties to both the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Earth Liberation Front (ELF). They've been linked to front rolling members of these organizations before and after they've committed crimes, such as bombing research labs and logging camps, threatening doctors and scientists, etc. etc.. PETA's vegetarian campaign coordinator Bruce Friedrich in 2001 said:

"If we really believe that animals have the same right to be free from pain and suffering at our hands, then, of course, we're going to be blowing things up and smashing windows. For the record, I don't do this stuff, but I advocate it. I think it's a great way to bring about animal liberation, considering the level of suffering, the atrocities."

PETA has never condemned, censured or apologized for his statement and even stood by Friedrich.

They also spend more money on defending ALF/ELF members who've been arrested for bombing, threatening, physically assaulting people, etc. etc., then they have on the animals they supposedly work to protect. In fact, PETA kills about 85%+ of the animals that are put under their care to find other people's homes every year according to the records they give over to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. http://www.petakillsanimals.com/ Yes, it's an anti-PETA site, but it has the VDACS documents; as of 2012, they have killed 29,398 animals, most of whom were perfectly adoptable.

And yes, I'm very biased against PETA. A good friend of mine back in high school family had money issues back in 2003. His mother gave Wilhelm, the family's German Shepard, to PETA and was assured they'd find a good home. The money issues ended a few weeks later when a relative passed away suddenly and left them as his primary beneficiary, so she went to PETA to try to get him back and was informed that he was already in a home and they cannot do anything about it. A few days later, a woman who worked for PETA came over and told her that she was in the van that picked up her dog, and that she was the one who put Wilhelm down right after bringing him into the van. When she was asked why Wilhelm was put down, she simply stated "That's what they told me to do, put the animals down after we get them into the van." She even gave them a copy of the file they had for Wilhelm, which stated he was euthanized in the van after picking him up.

I used to hang out at his place a lot... Wilhelm was always at the door when I got there to welcome me. I learned a lot about PETA after that, and the more I read, the more I grew to hate the group, and feel sorry for the people who donate to them thinking they are helping animals.

[Parker 1st MRB]

I wonder if T-Rex's had an organization like PETA when they were at the top of the food chain?

[Gardner2]

The only good PETA has done, is that they keep having hot naked women walk around in protest.

Other then that they are useless.

[Quarterman 1st MRB]

Wow PETA is such a joke.

[Teachey]

I love animals, but PETA can go fuck themselves.

Unless they are my version of PETA which is People Eating Tasty Animals.

[evo-lution ßÄЯ]

I love animals, but PETA can go fuck themselves.

Unless they are my version of PETA which is People Eating Tasty Animals.

+1

PETA has always been about the publicity and sadly too many people just don't see that.

[Lafy BAR]

If you want a cow that I'm planning on eating to live a long healthy life, then earn some money and buy the cow before it gets to my butcher. You are entirely welcome to buy some land as many cows as you want and let them frolic in your meadow.

[Mullaney]

Some of you think what this person is saying is crazy but honestly some of what Ive heard you guys say in regards to being opposed to being a vegetarian or vegan is just as crazy and sometimes insulting...

Who cares who eats what - you like what you like.... maybe we should be more respectful of each others decisions...

Unless of course you are being preached to about which side is better (which I dont bother doing) and then go for it and say what you want!

[Teachey]

Some of you think what this person is saying is crazy but honestly some of what Ive heard you guys say in regards to being opposed to being a vegetarian or vegan is just as crazy and sometimes insulting...

Hey now, vegans and vegetarians are awesome. The more of them means more meat for me! Now I am against fairly extreme groups like PETA and the NRA, but I still love animals and guns. Nothing is wrong with liking both, but you should never go to the extreme on one end. I agree that people can eat whatever they want.

[Gearhart 1st MRB]

I'm not expert nor do I have a problem with vegans but I would think that you would lose a lot of nutrition and stuff.

[Mullaney]

Thing only thing you really miss out on by being vegan is B12.... you can find it in small amounts in crazy things like nutritional yeast but most vegans take supplements. There are many people that have to get monthly B12 shots but I was told they arent always available out of the US.

In my opinion its a good argument for people against veganism because clearly its not natural for our bodies to not eat meat....

There is so much contradictory information out there about what is good to eat and what is bad to eat... kinda annoying.

And Teachy? Word...

[O'Gara 1st MRB]

P.E.T.A= People eating tasty animals!

[A. Martin]

Peen & Teller did a bullshit! episode dedicated to PETA. I don't remember the exact numbers from that episode, but essentially PETA euthanizes more animals than it finds homes for every year.

Edited December 20, 2013 by A. Martin 1st MRB

[Captain Giraffe BAR]

It might not be healthy, but it's more environmentally responsible to be a vegetarian or a vegan. I'm neither, but I have cut down on the amount of meat I eat considerably over the last two years.

What people don't tend to think about is the environmental cost of the industry required to produce all the meat people consume. As the planet's population grows, and the per capita GDP of countries like China increases, more and more people start eating meat. That means more and more cows, pigs, etc. need to be produced, which, in addition to contributing considerable amounts of greenhouse gasses such as methane, also leads to the destruction of ecosystems. In places like the Amazon, one of the leading causes of deforestation is to make way for fields for grazing, which is largely unsustainable. So not only does big agriculture contribute methane to the atmosphere, it also removes trees that could help mitigate that greenhouse effect.

So, if you cutting down on your consumption of meat is just another thing you can do, like investing in fuel-efficient cars/light bulbs/etc., to ensure there's still some planet left over for your descendents.

[Captain Giraffe BAR]

But of course, most people don't give a shit, because steak tastes better than conservation. Which is fucked up

[Holland 1st MRB]

It might not be healthy, but it's more environmentally responsible to be a vegetarian or a vegan. I'm neither, but I have cut down on the amount of meat I eat considerably over the last two years.

What people don't tend to think about is the environmental cost of the industry required to produce all the meat people consume. As the planet's population grows, and the per capita GDP of countries like China increases, more and more people start eating meat. That means more and more cows, pigs, etc. need to be produced, which, in addition to contributing considerable amounts of greenhouse gasses such as methane, also leads to the destruction of ecosystems. In places like the Amazon, one of the leading causes of deforestation is to make way for fields for grazing, which is largely unsustainable. So not only does big agriculture contribute methane to the atmosphere, it also removes trees that could help mitigate that greenhouse effect.

So, if you cutting down on your consumption of meat is just another thing you can do, like investing in fuel-efficient cars/light bulbs/etc., to ensure there's still some planet left over for your descendents.

Though I do not disagree with your intention, I can't help but correct, or elaborate, on the point about methane emissions.

You are not incorrect in saying that livestock produce methane. However, the amounts which they produce are estimated to contribute less than 2% to global warming over the next 100 years. Considering other factors, such as heavy industry, emission producing vehicles, and even people themselves, this is a fairly insignificant number.

Furthermore, most trees do not absorb methane. In most cases they do quite the opposite. Forests, specifically tropical or wetland are massive contributors to methane concentrations in our atmosphere (decomposition of dead material). They do not play a role in terms of an argument against livestock production, other than that the land where the forest was, will still be producing emissions from the livestock.

Obviously, the forests contribute elsewhere (CO₂, habitats), but in terms of methane emissions, they are not helping anybody out.

Farming, is where environmental cost comes into play with some more significance (run off, pesticides, herbicides, various soil/crop modifications), which neither vegetarians, vegans, or meat-lovers are innocent of contributing towards.

Edited December 21, 2013 by Holland 1st MRB

[Captain Giraffe BAR]

Where'd you get that 2% number? Because it seems there are some scientists who disagree with you. In fact, the UN has estimated that livestock account for nearly 15% of all human-caused greenhouse gasses. The EPA even puts agriculture as the primary source of methane emissions, globally. Forests' methane emissions are the biggest natural source of methane -less than 1% of the globe's methane emissions-, but this is mitigated by chemical processes in the soil, that cattle grazing can also affect, through soil-degradation from overgrazing. Deforestation for grazing releases CO2 stored in trees, which contributes much more to the greenhouse effect than the methane they naturally produce.

But the damage of cattle farming extends beyond greenhouse gasses. The livestock sector is one of the biggest contributors to air and water contamination, biodiversity loss and land degradation. I'm not saying you have to go vegetarian or vegan or anything like that, but if you cut meat and cheese from your diet for one day (1 day!) of the week, it would be the equivalent of taking 7.6 million cars off the road. Just think about that for a second.

[Mullaney]

It would also help if you get your meat from local farms! I REALLY hate factory farming. :/

[Armstrong 1st MRB]

I haven't kept a eye on PETA, I just know I haven't heard a lot of particularly good things about them in the past. In terms of animal advocacy groups, I've only seriously examined Sea Shepherd

and I consider them to be a worthy group to support. People may not agree with them ramming ships and firing water cannons at vessels or sinking whalers at the docks, but I believe its the only

way to police the oceans since the UN, nor any other singular government is working to enforce no fishing within the wildlife preserves that have been marked on the oceans. Not to mention the fact

that numerous fishing practices are grossly inefficient and end up senseless slaughtering animals under the umbrella of "scientific" research. Oh well, I'm ranting on and going off track so don't mind me.