# PETA is not just a punchline. They are EVIL

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [May 30, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675 "2013-05-30T02:10:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\
**Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/81 "2013-06-01T18:14:32Z")

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I’ve seen a report about someone trying to get government officials to reclassify that “shelter” as a “slaughterhouse” but that didn’t work.

There’s supposedly a statement given by Ingrid Newkirk during an interview in which she explicitly states that animals “are better off dead than in a shelter” but I can’t find the original source, which is why I had dropped out of the thread.

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**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\
**Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/82 "2013-06-01T23:18:32Z")

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> [@billfish678](#):
>
> So, the average person that gives an animal to the PETA animal shelter is IMO reasonably thinking “those people love animals, they’ll do their best to save the animal”, not that they have no adoption facility or even adoption hours, and the animal has a snowballs chance in hell of getting adopted out.

This is speculation, though. The only reports we have of anyone surrendering an animal directly to PETA is in Ahoskie, in which some veterinarians made an oral agreement with some dumbshits who worked for PETA with a vague understanding that the animals were to be adopted out.

If you demonstrate–via, say, a copy of a surrender contract at the PETA shelter, or a few different people who surrendered their animals to PETA directly, or even anyone who’s surrendered their animal to PETA in the last couple of years–that PETA is misrepresenting themselves to people who surrender their animals, then I’ll be persuaded.

But my understanding of what they do is that they don’t advertise themselves as a shelter to the general public, that they don’t seek animal surrenders.

**drew** , for me it’s difficult to see how anyone can pay attention to what PETA actually says and conclude that PETA thinks death is preferable to pethood for animals. Did you bother to read my link to PETA’s own posts about animal shelters and companion animals? If not, I encourage you to do so. If all you’re doing is getting information from astroturf lobbyists, you’re doing yourself a disservice.

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**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\
**Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/83 "2013-06-01T23:32:39Z")

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> [@drewtwo99](#):
>
> But I don’t see how any rational person like you, Left Hand of Dorkness, can look at PETA practices, look at the statistics, look at the quotes and the overall mentality, and come to any other conclusion that PETA is pure evil incarnate

> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#):
>
> OK, let me get back to why I pitted PETA in the first place. I certainly agree with their stance that “no kill” shelters aren’t really the way to go. I also like how they are fighting for these dogs to be put down humanely. Absolutely I am on board with that.

Then according to **drewtwo99** , either you are not a rational person, or else you are deliberately endorsing some aspects of “pure evil incarnate”.

:dubious: Some elements of this conversation are making PETA look positively sane by comparison.

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**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\
**Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/84 "2013-06-01T23:46:40Z")

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> [@A Monkey With A Gun](#):
>
> I know it’s the pit and we all love to argue here, but come on, look at the actual data. I gave raw numbers in the O.P. and I really don’t think you can excuse PETA if you actually look at those.

Well, PETA [explains the numbers](http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/03/peta-a-shelter-of-last-resort/254372/) by saying that the vast majority of adoptable animals they deal with never enter their shelter at all:

> [@](#):
>
> PETA refers adoptable animals to the high-traffic open-admission shelters rather than taking them in ourselves, thereby giving them a better chance of being seen and re-homed. As for the “no-kill” shelters, their figures are great because they slam the door on the worst cases, referring them, in fact, to PETA. We operate a “shelter of last resort,” meaning that when impoverished families cannot afford to pay a veterinarian to let a suffering and/or aged animal leave this world, PETA will help, free of charge. […]
> 
> The vast majority of the animals with whom PETA interacts are not part of that count. They do not enter our custody at all, because we do everything possible to ensure that they remain with their families. In addition to free veterinary care, including sterilization surgeries, PETA provides bedding, shelter, food, and counseling so that low-income families can keep their dogs and cats instead of abandoning them at shelters. We do this for tens of thousands of animals every year, but the state of Virginia only counts the animals who are given into our custody – often, specifically so that we might grant them a peaceful death.

Those evil bastards, encouraging and helping people to keep their pets instead of disposing of them to shelters because they can’t afford to maintain them. :dubious:

Like I said originally, I have plenty of disagreements with many of PETA’s positions and plenty of objections to specific things they’ve done. But I simply can’t get worked up about the fact that they euthanize a very high proportion of pets in their self-described “shelter of last resort”, unless you can show that they’re doing so under false pretenses.

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**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\
**Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/85 "2013-06-01T23:51:20Z")

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I don’t like PETA because their stain rubs off on me.

I will confess to eating free veggie burgers when they used to hand them out downtown. I like veggie burgers, and it entertained me to be served by nice looking people wearing broccoli and plastic gloves.

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**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/86 "2013-06-02T00:14:24Z")

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> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#):
>
> If you demonstrate–via, say, a copy of a surrender contract at the PETA shelter, or a few different people who surrendered their animals to PETA directly, or even anyone who’s surrendered their animal to PETA in the last couple of years–that PETA is misrepresenting themselves to people who surrender their animals, then I’ll be persuaded..

I never knew **Bricker** had a long lost twin.

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**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/87 "2013-06-02T00:34:16Z")

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> [@billfish678](#):
>
> I never knew **Bricker** had a long lost twin.

Excellent point. You’ve convinced me.

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**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/88 "2013-06-02T00:58:16Z")

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**Kimstu** , you are quoting _PETA_. You can’t quote PETA in defense of PETA. Find me a third party.

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**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/89 "2013-06-02T01:03:06Z")

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> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#):
>
> Excellent point. You’ve\*\* convinced \*\*me.

That’s not particularly Brickeresque. Though I do suppose you were raised by a different family and all that 🙂

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**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/90 "2013-06-02T01:12:06Z")

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> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#):
>
> **Kimstu** , you are quoting _PETA_. You can’t quote PETA in defense of PETA. Find me a third party.

I’m going to call bullshit on myself on that. _The Atlantic_ is a third party.

However, I just do not buy PETA’s explanation for their “shelter”. I don’t really have a problem with a euthanasia clinic. JUST CALL IT THAT!

sorry for shouting.

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**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/91 "2013-06-02T01:45:45Z")

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> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#):
>
> However, I just do not buy PETA’s explanation for their “shelter”. I don’t really have a problem with a euthanasia clinic. JUST CALL IT THAT!

Is that a category under Virginia law? Because it’s my understanding that they don’t advertise their facilities to the public as a shelter; rather, folks who go digging into their registration papers find that term. If they’re using the closest term under Virginia law for their facility, but aren’t using that term in their advertisements or public relations materials, is it really a problem?

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**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/92 "2013-06-02T02:14:50Z")

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> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#):
>
> Is that a category under Virginia law?

Christ Jesus, do some research. Yes, yes it is a category.

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**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/93 "2013-06-02T02:38:02Z")

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> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#):
>
> I advise folks interested in the doggy-death-cult hypothesis to [check out PETA’s own statements about animal shelters](http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/tags/animal+shelters/default.aspx) rather than relying on astroturf articles about them. Sample quote from page 2:  
> Again, I’m not a fan of PETA, but honestly I think that one area where they actually do some decent work is with animal sheltering. If they’d shut up about comparing meat to concentration camps and getting attention-whoring celebrity endorsements, and spend more time putting pressure on low-quality shelters and helping out the good ones, they’d lose a lot of their idiot trendy shallow supporters, but I’d like them a lot better.

Yes, you are a fan. Or you wouldn’t be taking their word for what they believe over their actual actions. If you actually hated them or were even neutral, a disagreement of actions and words would lead you to fall on the side of actions.

Only supporters try to whitewash things by saying that somehow their words mean more than their actions.

What’s actually happening is that you have a preconceived idea that PETA has good shelters, and you are refusing to update that idea with new evidence. And what type of people do that? Fans. If you weren’t a fan, you wouldn’t have any investment in proving them good, and would just let the facts lie where they do.

It’s a pretty common tactic to point out the flaws in something so you seem unbiased, but it doesn’t prove anything. To an unbiased person, words mean next to nothing–actions means something. And shelters that don’t even let you try to adopt a pet, killing them instead, mean that you think it’s better for them to die than to be someone’s pet.

It doesn’t matter one whit if they claim otherwise.

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**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/94 "2013-06-02T02:44:06Z")

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> [@miss\_elizabeth](#):
>
> I’m kind of shocked more people on here aren’t outraged by this. I find it utterly disgusting; in other words, perfectly PETA. May they rot in hell forever.

I don’t think you’ve been reading the Dope long enough. The OP tells people to get upset about it. So there will always be those contrary people who have to come up with excuses not to be upset. And those people are much more likely to post in a thread about PETA, since everyone else sees the title and just thinks, “Duh!”–no need to read.

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**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/95 "2013-06-02T04:51:25Z")

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> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#):
>
> **Kimstu** , you are quoting _PETA_. You can’t quote PETA in defense of PETA. Find me a third party.

Seriously. When an organization has a definite reputation for dishonesty, you can’t take their statements at face value. So you look at their actions.

Sure, there’s an astroturf operation involved. But the Huffpo article was written by another animal rights maniac and it was vetted by a real reporter at a respected publication - the Atlantic magazine.

> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#):
>
> Is that a category under Virginia law? Because it’s my understanding that they don’t advertise their facilities to the public as a shelter; rather, folks who go digging into their registration papers find that term.

I was a little dubious about your posts, but there is some evidence for your claim. I looked up animal shelter norfolk, VA at yahoo local, google maps, yelp and [yp.com](http://yp.com) (yellow pages). Only [yelp](http://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=animalshelters&find_loc=Norfolk%2C+VA%2C+USA) showed them listed under animal shelters, assuming no error on my part. If PETA is truly acting like a subcontractor and not accepting adoptable animals, then their high kill rates are unsurprising and legitimate.

But it needs to be repeated that such an interpretation is inconsistent with the reporting of [The Atlantic](http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/03/petas-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-history-of-killing-animals/254130/).

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**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/96 "2013-06-02T05:03:55Z")

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Left Hand of Dorkness, you tell me to look at PETA’s mission statement and their stuff, which I have definitely read. I submit to you that reading their statements and such is about as valuable as reading the tourist page and listening to the state-run news of North Korea.

You have to look at their actions, and the overall mentality and the proof. It’s very easy for them to say nice things on one hand about loving pets and all that, but there is no evidence of it. In fact, all the evidence points to PETA hating pets and wanting them all dead. (Not to say they enjoy killing them, but just that they honestly believe that pets are better off dead then “adopted” out as slaves).

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**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/97 "2013-06-02T08:48:14Z")

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> [@Musicat](#):
>
> That’s logical only if you believe that keeping _any_ pet is slavery, which is PETA’s position. It shows how radical they are.

Even with this assumption, it isn’t consistent. If we assume that we must follow the same ethics with animals and humans, we’re in the following situation :

You’re sheltering several hundreds of former slaves without the means to support and feed them. Should you euthanize them or release them in a war zone with only scarce food available (the human equivalent of living in the wild for a pet), or give them back to slave owners?

Euthanasia doesn’t seem the morally correct choice to me.

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**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/98 "2013-06-02T11:20:11Z")

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> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#):
>
> Christ Jesus, do some research. Yes, yes it is a category.

Jesus Christ, I just did some research. Googling

> [@](#):
>
> “euthanasia clinic” Virginia -PETA

returns no useful results. The only references I can find to a euthanasia clinic is in articles about PETA, or about a single-day horse euthanasia clinic in California, or about a Dutch euthanasia clinic for humans.

I did find [this article](http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/pets/story/2012-03-01/PETA-says-exploiters-raise-euthanasia-issue/53315476/1), with this line:

> [@](#):
>
> At one point several years ago, the state considered changing PETA’s status from a shelter to a euthanasia clinic, says Elaine Lidholm, the agency’s communications director.

It doesn’t follow up to tell what this means, or why it didn’t happen, or anything else. You may be right, that it’s currently possible. But given that the state of Virginia apparently considered and rejected this course, I’m not sure you’re better qualified than them to make the decision.

> [@BigT](#):
>
> Y

Shut up, **BigT**.

> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#):
>
> Seriously. When an organization has a definite reputation for dishonesty, you can’t take their statements at face value. So you look at their actions.

> [@drewtwo99](#):
>
> Left Hand of Dorkness, you tell me to look at PETA’s mission statement and their stuff, which I have definitely read. I submit to you that reading their statements and such is about as valuable as reading the tourist page and listening to the state-run news of North Korea.

I think you both misunderstand. I’m not asking you to take a look at their statements about this case. I’m asking you to read their public-relations about animal shelters in general, in which they’re advising their audience how to relate to animal shelters.

If they genuinely thought that animals were better off dead than adopted out, you’d expect to see them encouraging their fans not to adopt from shelters, constantly telling people how terrible all animal shelters are, talking constantly about how animals do not benefit from being adopted.

Instead, [we’ve got PETA telling its followers the following things](http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/tags/animal+shelters/default.aspx):

> [@PETA](#):
>
> [Telling a story about a stray dog and her puppies they helped rescue]The little ones were whisked off to a veterinarian. After several days, the volunteers managed to trap Halley, and she was spayed and reunited with her pups. The family—minus two puppies who have already been adopted—is being boarded while permanent homes can be found. (You can see more photos of them on Unchain Oklahoma’s Facebook page.)  
> …  
> How You Can Help Animals in Shelters
> 
> Volunteer to help your local animal shelter screen potential adopters and placement partners. Animal shelters can contact PETA for placement-partner applications and agreements. Please also be sure to spay or neuter your animal companions and encourage others to do the same—it’s the best way to end the need for animal rescues altogether!  
> …  
> Since we refer healthy, highly adoptable animals to traditional, well-trafficked animal shelters, the animals we focus on with our hands-on work are the most abused, neglected, and underserved, usually the “unadoptables.”  
> …  
> How You Can Help Dogs Like Pepper
> 
> If a dog is kept penned or chained in your neighborhood, please take action. Urge the homeowner to allow the dog indoors and make him or her a part of the family. Offer to take the lonely dog for walks. Report abuse and neglect. Get the dog fixed, vaccinated, and dewormed. Look for other medical needs  
> …  
> One of the perks of working in PETA’s offices is that we get to share our work space with the dogs who go to work with their guardians. As enjoyable as it is for us, though, the dogs are the ones who benefit the most because they aren’t left home alone all day.  
> …  
> If a family member or friend is genuinely ready and willing to adopt an animal, wait until the holiday hoopla is over and offer to accompany them to your local animal shelter where you can help pick out a wonderful companion for life, not just for Christmas.

There’s a lot more where that comes from.

What’s the theory? How does a desire to see animals dead rather than be pets square with them having pets (excuse me, “animal companions” :rolleyes:) of their own, that they bring to the office? How does it square with encouraging their followers to adopt animals from shelters? How does it square with them helping get a dog and her puppies adopted to a new home? How does it square with them helping shelters with adoption contracts?

I’m not talking about what they say about their own case. They may be the lyingest liars about their own case. I’m talking about what they tell their followers to do, and it ain’t “stop having pets.”

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**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/99 "2013-06-02T12:44:46Z")

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I guess it just comes down to the fact that PETA realizes they can only be _just_ so radical, so they pay lip service to their pet-owning supporters by giving them such instructions, stories, etc.

But anyhow, there’s really nothing else for me to add to this discussion. It’s obvious we’ve both seen the same evidence, and we’ve drawn different conclusions, and we don’t understand why the other can’t see things the way we do. To me it’s as clear as day that PETA as an organization would rather see all pets humanely killed than to continue in their servitude as pets to us terrible human beings. To you, they encourage pet ownership and love pets and that while they may think in some abstract sense that pets would be better off not existing, it doesn’t mean they want them all to die.

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**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-is-not-just-a-punchline-they-are-evil/659675/100 "2013-06-02T13:29:52Z")

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> [@drewtwo99](#):
>
> I guess it just comes down to the fact that PETA realizes they can only be _just_ so radical, so they pay lip service to their pet-owning supporters by giving them such instructions, stories, etc.
> 
> But anyhow, there’s really nothing else for me to add to this discussion. It’s obvious we’ve both seen the same evidence, and we’ve drawn different conclusions

The last sentence is definitely true. It’s very hard for me to see how someone can come to your conclusion based on the evidence, but it’s certainly possible, I can tell that :).

As for your first sentence, I’ve never seen evidence that PETA realizes they can only be _just_ so radical. I’ve been defending them in this thread from charges I consider unjust, but overall on the board I’ve repeatedly dismissed them as dishonest trolls and attention whores. I actually think their work with animal shelters is their best work (and their work with fast food restaurants is pretty good, if diminished by rampant dishonesty). But a lot of their public campaigns are just pitiful people saying, “Look at me! Look at me!” with very little concern for the practical effects of the campaigns. Again, they’re often very dishonest in the factoids they promote about vegetarianism and other animal rights issues, and I think that speaks to a lack of confidence about the evidence for their position.

I dislike most of PETA intensely. But that doesn’t mean I think any charge against them is fair game.

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