# Anyone following the PETA trial in North Carolina? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 26, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629 "2007-01-26T21:51:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/1 "2007-01-26T21:51:09Z")
[Two PETA workers accused of euthanizing hundreds of animals](http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20070124-0533-petaarrests.html) and dumping them in a dumpster behind Piggly Wiggly. [This site](http://petakillsanimals.com/Trial_Day4.cfm) (obvious agenda, be warned) has a day by day recap of the trial. I know PETA has gone over the top on occassion, but yeesh. I wonder if these two were acting on their own or if their supervisors knew what they were doing. ---
**Author:** ![Mouse\_Maven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@Mouse\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mouse_Maven)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/2 "2007-01-26T22:04:00Z")
Good fucking gods! I had no clue about this. While my views on animal rights are different from PETA’s, I have respected the animal right’s movement for making researchers adopt more humane procedures. I sincerely hope that this was an isolated case. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/3 "2007-01-26T22:22:41Z")
The accounts of the trial are chilling. In some cases, they were in the parking lot of the animal hospital, euthanizing the animals they had just “rescued.” Also, apparently PETA is not licensed in the state of North Carolina to use the sodium pentobarbital they were using to kill the animals ---
**Author:** ![Mouse\_Maven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@Mouse\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mouse_Maven)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/4 "2007-01-26T22:47:07Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] Also, apparently PETA is not licensed in the state of North Carolina to use the sodium pentobarbital they were using to kill the animals [/QUOTE] From [this article](http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/16516613.htm), PETA’s lawery said: > [@](#): > > PETA’s choice is to allow those animals to be shot or gassed in a very cruel manner, or to euthanize them themselves and at least do it humanely I got news for this guy, getting injected with sodium pentobarbital \*\*does not \*\* guarantee a humane euthanasia. Working at an animal shelter, I’ve seen euth injections gone wrong many times ☹ . Frankly, there is no way to end a life without some discomfort to the subject - they’re fucking DYING. Ok, I’m logging off before I get into trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/5 "2007-01-26T22:59:08Z")
I tried looking on PETA’s site for their side of the story, to no avail. Would the animals have been euthanized anyway? I’m not a fan of PETA, but I can’t see this as their policy. It seems like the actions of a couple of well intentioned half-wits, who took on more animals than they could handle, and didn’t know what to do with them. Actually, checking out the article **Mouse Maven** linked to, maybe it is their policy. Words fail me. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/6 "2007-01-26T23:11:44Z")
I f\*cking cannot stand PETA or anything they stand for. They do not in my opinion stand for the ethical treatment of ANYTHING. Nearly a decade ago now a high ranking PETA officer was tried and convicted for [malicious](http://www.activistcash.com/organization_overview.cfm/oid/21) and radical crimes. > [@](#): > > In the past, PETA has handled the press for the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), a violent, underground group of fanatics who plant firebombs in restaurants, destroy butcher shops, and torch research labs. The FBI considers ALF among America’s most active and prolific terrorist groups, but PETA compares it to the Underground Railroad and the French Resistance. More than 20 years after its inception, PETA continues to hire convicted ALF militants and funds their legal defense. In at least one case, court records show that Ingrid Newkirk herself was involved in an ALF arson. If you, PETA supporter, do not want to wear a leather coat or eat animal products don’t, that is fine, but do not show me or my family pictures of mutilated calves, or chickens with their heads cut off, or any of the other propaganda you choose to use. The cause you seek is noble PETA, but the way you go about alerting the public, and at times, taking the law into your owns hands is bullshit! UHG! PETA’s website makes me sick… They don’t even support seeing eye dogs! ---
**Author:** ![Della](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c68b51/32.png) [@Della](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Della)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/7 "2007-01-27T01:38:12Z")
While PETA may not be entirely populated by dangerous nutjobs, I think that the vast majority of individuals on their payroll could be described that way. Especially when you consider their realtionship with the ALF. That, in my mind, elevates the entire organization from dangerous to criminal. Let me give some background for my beliefs. I am an animal researcher. A few years ago my lab was attacked by the ALF. They destroyed several labs, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage. They targeted individual professors, vandalizing their offices by pouring acid over their computers, papers and personal belongings. They stole all of our animals and released them into the wilderness, ironically guaranteeing their deaths. Since the initial attack they have conducted a systematic campaign of harassment against several professors. In the aftermath, our lab was specifically targetted by an ALF apologist on campus. She tried to get our research shut down for imagined violations. She invited the offical spokesman for the ALF to come and speak about animal rights during MLK week (lass than 3 months after the initial attack) She has since moved on to work for PETA headquarters. This has, shall we say, colored my view of the organization. In conclusion, I second everything **Phlosphr** said and then some. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/8 "2007-01-27T03:26:09Z")
The next time a bomb goes off in an American city, the police would certainly have to consider PETA people as prime suspects. Does PETA advocate violence? Not too much. Does it encourage people who are willing to do violence? You betcha. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/9 "2007-01-27T03:57:49Z")
I remember the original story, I think I saw it on Fark. They were arrested a couple of years ago, if memory servers. There just going to trial NOW? 😕 If I remember the original story correctly, PETA was horrified. The charge members were actually supposed to be _rescuing_ the animals and were most definitley NOT supposed to be euthanizing them at all. I don’t like PETA, by the way. But I do remember these assholes were considered rogue nutjobs. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/10 "2007-01-27T16:18:20Z")
Time to get some red paint to throw on PETA people as a counter-demonstration… ---
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/11 "2007-01-27T16:20:15Z")
[QUOTE=lawoot] Time to get some red paint to throw on PETA people as a counter-demonstration… [/QUOTE] I agree ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/12 "2007-01-27T20:49:15Z")
[QUOTE=lawoot] Time to get some red paint to throw on PETA people as a counter-demonstration… [/QUOTE] H2SO4 might be better? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/13 "2007-01-27T23:35:29Z")
[QUOTE=Swallowed My Cellphone] I remember the original story, I think I saw it on Fark. They were arrested a couple of years ago, if memory servers. There just going to trial NOW? 😕 [/QUOTE] \*Law & Order \* notwithstanding, I think one to two years is the norm for criminal trials. It can take several weeks to get DNA results back, despite what you see on _CSI_. 😉 I plan to check back on that website on a daily basis to see how the trial is going. I also read somewhere that the PETA-run animal shelter only adopts out 6% of the animals, while a nearby county-run facility in Norfolk, VA, adopted out nearly 73% for the same year, but I can’t find the cite now. I would imagine at the least, PETA is hugely embarrassed by this. I wonder if they’re paying for the attorneys, or if Hinkle and Cook are on their own? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/14 "2007-01-27T23:43:15Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Borgia] I tried looking on PETA’s site for their side of the story, to no avail. Would the animals have been euthanized anyway? [/QUOTE] I don’t think so. The animals were picked up at a veterenarian’s office. I believe the staff was too busy to take the animals to a shelter, and were relying on the PETA folk to transport them. According to the trial recap, they even told one little girl who had adopted a kitten that they would find a good home for the kitten’s mother and litter mates. Spoiler, be warned, ending is sad. That cat and her two kittens were found dead, in the dumpster, less than an hour later. [Link](http://petakillsanimals.com/Trial_Day3.cfm) ---
**Author:** ![Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Long_Time_First_Time)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/15 "2007-01-27T23:52:02Z")
There is a mindset that is not exclusive to PETA that generally believes that most animals are better off dead than housed in a kennel, left alone while their owners are working, or in any life situation that less than ideal in any way. There are many humane societies out there that would rather put a dog to sleep than let a working person adopt them. The whole thing centers on loss of control, fear of the unknown, and being generally paranoid, IMHO. I’m not sure how they can honestly believe a dog is better off dead than in a crate half the time - but they do. What the PETA folks did in NC is just a natural extension of that mind set. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/16 "2007-01-28T00:10:52Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to Great Debates. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/17 "2007-01-28T01:25:06Z")
Thread from the time of the arrest: [PETA: Doas I say, not as I do](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=321586) (Original news story link now dead/removed.) ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/18 "2007-01-28T11:48:39Z")
[QUOTE=Long Time First Time] There is a mindset that is not exclusive to PETA that generally believes that most animals are better off dead than housed in a kennel, left alone while their owners are working, or in any life situation that less than ideal in any way. There are many humane societies out there that would rather put a dog to sleep than let a working person adopt them. The whole thing centers on loss of control, fear of the unknown, and being generally paranoid, IMHO. I’m not sure how they can honestly believe a dog is better off dead than in a crate half the time - but they do. What the PETA folks did in NC is just a natural extension of that mind set. [/QUOTE] In Britain, the RSPCA will kill birds rather than rehome them with somebody who will keep them indoors in a cage - it’s outdoor aviaries or death. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/19 "2007-01-28T15:18:00Z")
[QUOTE=Della] They stole all of our animals and released them into the wilderness, ironically guaranteeing their deaths. [/QUOTE] As opposed to your plan to keep them alive forever? ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629/20 "2007-01-28T16:33:06Z")
[QUOTE=duality72] As opposed to your plan to keep them alive forever? [/QUOTE] I think the ironic part is supposed to be that releasing the animals into the wild actually ensured that they would die much sooner, and in great distress-- from starvation, exposure, and predation, in a strange environment which they had never learned to survive in. Presumably this is not what the vandals who released them had in mind, although who really knows? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-following-the-peta-trial-in-north-carolina/389629.md?page=2)