PETA’s Controversial Side
‘Cruelty Doesn’t Fly’—Learn More at PETA.org.
Made famous by a red spandex swimsuit and hit-series Baywatch, Pamela Anderson’s latest role may never see the light of daytime TV.
The celebrity animal activist plays the part of an airport security guard in Reno 911-style shorts. She strips down plane-bound passengers of fur, leather and animal skins in the newest PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) commercial, Cruelty Doesn’t Fly.
Ironically, the commercial—co-starring funnymen Steve-O and Andy Dick—may never get off the ground. It’s now banned in airports and on planes, according to the New York Post.
No publicity is bad publicity, right? Not necessarily. As its latest, and perhaps raciest of all campaigns continues to ripple across the Internet, another controversy continues to fester, like a boil, at its headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia.
Another watchdog group is calling PETA’s record into question. Based on papers PETA filed with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, now public record, Petakillsanimals.com argues the nonprofit is more interested in funneling the millions of dollars in donations into advertising than the upkeep of the thousands of animals placed in its care every year.
The stats show some 95 percent of rescues and owner-reliquished animals left in PETA’s care were euthanized in 2008, a new record. A mere four miles down the road, a nearby SPCA managed to re-home most the pets that passed through its doors, even on a shoestring budget, according to petakillsanimals.com.
“That’s not an animal charity. It’s a slaughterhouse,” alleges petakillsanimals.com.
Against the no-kill movement, PETA has never made its stance a secret. The records mention nothing about the physical condition of the domestic animals put down (only wildlife), but here’s some numbers:
In 2008, PETA headquarters received a total of 3,317 dogs. Of these, 2,716 were reclaimed, four adopted, 27 transfered to other facilities, and one was D.O.A. That leaves 569 pooches, and 555 of them were euthanized. PETA kept the remaining 15.
The stats for cats are even more grim. Of a total of 1,592 unreclaimed cats, 1,569 were put to sleep, and only three adopted. A full accounting is available here.
Founded in 1980, PETA is no stranger to headlines. Backed by Hollywood A-Listers, the outspoken organization goes to extreme lengths to further its causes worldwide, including the eradication of meat eaters, fur farmers and animal testing. Not a traditional animal shelter, PETA asserts “most of the animals we receive are broken beings for whom euthanasia is, without a doubt, the most humane option.” [1]
Is that true? That’s the million dollar question. Or, in PETA’s case, a multi-million dollar question.
Questions like this have been raised before, both in a court of law and public opinion. In 2005, two PETA employees in North Carolina were charged with 31 felony counts of animal cruelty after dumping the carcasses of 18 animals in a dumpster—animals picked up from an area shelter under the pretense of finding them homes—reported the San Francisco Chronicle in an article titled “Better dead than fed, PETA says.”
Unquestionably, PETA has made greats strides in the social and political arena for animal rights. A superpower among animal welfare agencies, PETA is endorsed by a slew of celebrities including Sara Jessica Parker, Alex Baldwin, Paul McCartney and Christy Turlington; the list goes on. Its reach is far and wide. And it’s big enough and powerful enough even to strong-arm fast-food mega-chains Wendy’s and McDonald’s into offering vegetarian menu items,[2] and make faux fur fashionable.
What’s next on the agenda? One can only guess, but armed with a $32-million-annual budget, perhaps PETA’s next big campaign will be to rescue its own image. Not just from being too racy.
