PETA: Hypocrisy, Corruption and Exploitation

Now, I am an animal lover and I consider animal abuse to be incredibly cruel. Despite the fact I do eat meat, the idea of harming animals turns my stomach. I have loved animals since I was very little and have always had one, whether it is a dog or a cat or even a bird. However, I utterly oppose People for, its actions, and what it stands for. From research I have found PETA to be utterly hypocritical, prejudiced, and corrupt.

One of the things PETA is most infamous for is how condoning it is of the use of violence for its cause. Members have been known to disrupt the lives of others by dumping buckets of ‘fake blood’ on fur-wearers, vandalize stores, and support Animal Liberation Front, an organization known for its use of terrorism. In 2001, Brude Friedrich, a member of PETA and a vegetarian campaign coordinator, was quoted to have said, “blowing stuff up and smashing windows is a great way to bring about animal liberation.”

One of the first things that wasn’t hard for me to notice is that PETA relies propaganda to aid its goal and rope in supporters. As quoted from the website peta2.com: “We make cruelty - free living super easy by offering advice from your favorite bands, a helpful community on our message boards, and our guides to show you exactly what to eat, what to wear, and even what to put on your face!” PETA grabs hold of the popularity of the said bands, such as Fall Out Boy and Rise Against, and uses them to rope in younger recruits, who naively assume, “Hey, if that guy who I utterly respect and spend my money on likes PETA, I should too!” Adolescents, who are stuck in confusing teenager years and struggle to ‘find themselves’, grab hold of some kind of cause, to figure out how to properly define themselves. PETA evidently takes advantage of this and markets their cause to rebellion-loving teenagers who want a cause to stand behind.

PETA also has another website where it spews biased claims to even younger children, PETAKiDS.com. It distributes disturbing propaganda aimed for kids, with a classic example being ‘Your Daddy Kills Animals’, depicting graphic imagery. The cover of the comic can be seen at the top of the article. It can be agreed that the comic is upsetting, especially for the kids that it is aimed for. The fact that PETA tries to recruit children as young as elementary school aged disgusts me. It brings to mind an almost cult-like image of brainwashing and instilling ideas when children are most likely to obey.

On PETAKiDS.com there is a section that says, ‘Stop Animal Exploitation at School’. It astounds me that PETA can seriously say this while they use exploitive and tasteless advertising. Along with the aforementioned, ‘Drink beer instead of milk’ campaign, PETA regularly uses nude or scantily clad women to be the face of their movement. The aptly named ‘lettuce girls’ wear bikinis fashioned from the leafy vegetation. PETA is infamous for using naked women in their advertisements - exploitation. They use beautiful women to attract male supporters the same way Axe deodorant uses women to attract buyers; the sheer sex appeal of advertisements.

PETA’s exploitation doesn’t end with women - it far surpasses it with advertisements offensive enough to make the creators of South Park cringe. I have seen advertisements comparing animals (be they caged, circus trained, or butchered) to: victims of the Holocaust and slaves. I was sickened by the images of the emaciated prisoners in concentration camps being compared to chickens inside cages. The title was ‘Holocaust on your plate’ and the caption was ‘To animals, all people are Nazis’. I would now like to point out that victims of the Holocaust was mercilessly torn from their homes and uprooted from their lives, blamed for the problems of Germany and regarded as vermin and scapegoats. Similarly, the slaves shipped to America were kidnapped from their communities and homes, and separated from their families to incessantly labor for years on a greedy man’s plantation. The emotional effect is incomparable, and the fact that PETA had such audacity disgusts me.

With all of this passion and hard work in mind, does PETA actually care about the animals it strives to liberate? This is where the hypocrisy is most prevalent: on more than one occasion PETA has euthanized animals that were rescued and admitted into their animal shelter, merely because there wasn’t enough room. In 2003, PETA euthanized 85% of the animals that had been in their shelter. Similarly, in 2005 two members of PETA were charged with 31 felony counts animal abuse, each, after they were caught disposing of dead animals in a Dumpster. Now, here’s the thing: how is it possible that PETA finds it okay to berate meat-eaters and those who support animal testing while they themselves are allowed to kill their own animals, simply because they ‘run out of room’. Never mind that the meat will feed hungry mouths, or the medicines being tested on animals can one day benefit human kind, they ran out of room. Looks like PETA’s taking a leaf out of Nixon’s book; it’s not illegal if the President does it.

I can’t help but think if PETA is allowed to make crude and offensive comparisons, can I in regards to them? Can it not be acknowledged that PETA uses violence, propaganda, terrorism, corruption, and the brainwashing of innocent minds to further their cause? Or, do you consider their actions justified?