# Why do YOU hate PETA?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [March 22, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367 "2010-03-22T18:26:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 7
### Author:  [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/121 "2010-03-28T03:40:14Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#):
>
> Simply untrue. I linked to specific examples of the expertise they offer. Did YOU look at these cites? They’re not propaganda, they’re advice on increasing adoptions.
They are advice on making sure that people only “rescue” pets, and have them all spayed/neutered. It is part of their overall goal to get rid of pet animals, other parts being things like BSL and impossible to deal with breeder legislation.
> [@](#):
>
> As near as I can tell, this is a lie. I only see three cites from you:
As I said at the time, those were a beginning and you had to spend the time to look further. There were plenty of links to other cites there, but you just choose to believe what you want to, much like all of the folks who believe that PETA actually cares about pets.
Here, try this. PETA ads and HSUS ads are almost identical. Both say that all pets should be spayed/neutered, breeders are all evil puppy mills and the only ethical place to get a pet is to “rescue” it, preferably from a shelter. Mixes good, purebreds bad. Etc. Both of these organizations have made life more and more difficult for the average responsible hobby breeder, which is the group they both should be supporting if they actually cared about dogs and cats. HSUS may have gotten smart and started sending a small tiny amount of the money they raise to local shelters, but that in no way makes up for all of the damage they do otherwise.
---
### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/122 "2010-03-28T16:41:44Z")
Riigght, so I give you specific cites to specific pages on HSUS, and you don’t bother to read them (as evidenced by your summary above). You give me cites, and I’m not only supposed to read the entire page you link to–I’m supposed to follow all the links from that page? Yeah, good luck with that debate strategy.
Some PETA ads are almost identical to some HSUS ads. I’ll wager that those PETA ads are the ones that most folks find least objectionable. When people object to PETA ads, they’re objecting to the ones that compare eating chicken to the Holocaust, not to the ads that ask people to spay and neuter their pets.
And the idea that HSUS wants to get rid of pet animals is tinfoil hat territory.
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### Author:  [@RedWood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedWood)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/123 "2010-03-28T22:27:23Z")
PETA angers me by picketing the circus every time it comes to my city and _targeting small children with their handouts_. C’mon guys! Don’t trash a 6-year-old’s day!
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### Author:  [@toodlepip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toodlepip)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/124 "2010-03-28T23:02:10Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#):
>
> Seal hunters have stopped hunting juvenile seals at least 20 years ago because of protests. Of course, that won’t stop PETA or other extremist groups from still making this claim, as young seals are “cute”.
>
> And of course, most of the opposition to seal hunting is based on cuteness in the first place.
Cute **from a distance**. I occasionally have to treat sick or injured baby seals at work. I often wish I had a club for self defence.
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### Author:  [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2010, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/125 "2010-03-29T10:33:58Z")
> [@DianaG](#):
>
> That’s what happens when people won’t have you.
Heh.
😃
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### Author:  [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2010, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/126 "2010-03-29T12:09:54Z")
Sorry, I’m a little unimpressed with your tale of woe.
I am trying to imagine what led up to these decisions…
Manager: “Hey, guys, I’m trying to think of something cool for the restaurant. Any ideas?”
Dude: “I know! Sharks! Everyone loves sharks!”
Manager: “That’s a great plan. I’ll call up 1-800-SHARKS first thing tomorrow and place an order.”
Voice of Reason: “You know, I was just looking on the internet- the greatest research tool in the world at your fingertips- and it says sharks are big animals. It seems like our sharks will probably outgrow our aquarium in a year. These guys grow to 14 feet long. Maybe we should get some koi or something.”
Manager: “Koi?! Do I look like some kind of sushi chef. Sharks or nothing!”
Voice of Reason: “It looks like there are not even appropriate facilities in our state to take care of these things when they outgrow their tank, which will be in only a year.”
Manager: “SHARKS!”
---
### Author:  [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/127 "2010-03-29T13:58:29Z")
> [@even\_sven](#):
>
> Sorry, I’m a little unimpressed with your tale of woe.
>
> I am trying to imagine what led up to these decisions…
I actually expect that was quite close to the real discussion. :smack:
---
### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/128 "2010-03-29T20:37:39Z")
Glad someone else sees that. Very cursory research shows that nurse sharks grow up to 14 feet long; 360-gallon aquariums are apparently about 4’ long. This is called Not Planning Ahead, my friends–and if the press in Miami made y’all look foolish, well, they didn’t have to do much. Of course the PETA rep was nice to you: she was trying to get you to give up the sharks, and you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Once she’d gotten them out of there, she had no incentive not to speak her mind.
That said, what a ridiculous issue for them to focus on, even if you accept the premise of animal rights. The money they spent flying two sharks to Miami could have been spent to save many, many more animals.
---
### Author:  [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/129 "2010-03-29T21:41:17Z")
> [@RedWood](#):
>
> PETA angers me by picketing the circus every time it comes to my city and _targeting small children with their handouts_. C’mon guys! Don’t trash a 6-year-old’s day!
I have protested the circus, but not with PETA. We specifically would not give to children and if a child asks for some literature we do not give it to them, we give it to their parents only. But, I have worked side-by-side with PETA at these events and I actually concur with you, I would see them giving to children and it made the rest of us cringe and quite angry.
What is interesting is how often we would give it to a parent who would, without even looking or giving it a second thought hand it to their child.
---
### Author:  [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/130 "2010-03-29T21:44:50Z")
> [@even\_sven](#):
>
> Sorry, I’m a little unimpressed with your tale of woe.
>
> I am trying to imagine what led up to these decisions…
>
> Manager: “Hey, guys, I’m trying to think of something cool for the restaurant. Any ideas?”
>
> Dude: “I know! Sharks! Everyone loves sharks!”
>
> Manager: “That’s a great plan. I’ll call up 1-800-SHARKS first thing tomorrow and place an order.”
>
> Voice of Reason: “You know, I was just looking on the internet- the greatest research tool in the world at your fingertips- and it says sharks are big animals. It seems like our sharks will probably outgrow our aquarium in a year. These guys grow to 14 feet long. Maybe we should get some koi or something.”
>
> Manager: “Koi?! Do I look like some kind of sushi chef. Sharks or nothing!”
>
> Voice of Reason: “It looks like there are not even appropriate facilities in our state to take care of these things when they outgrow their tank, which will be in only a year.”
>
> Manager: “SHARKS!”
Yeah, clearly shortsighted and not all too smart. But my impression from the OP is that they were being accused of being satanical malicious jerkfaces. No, they were ignorant (w.r.t. the sharks) and shortsighted and then tried to do the right thing after they realized they had made a mistake.
---
### Author:  [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/131 "2010-03-30T02:58:16Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#):
>
> Riigght, so I give you specific cites to specific pages on HSUS, and you don’t bother to read them (as evidenced by your summary above). You give me cites, and I’m not only supposed to read the entire page you link to–I’m supposed to follow all the links from that page? Yeah, good luck with that debate strategy.
:rolleyes: So if I don’t come up with the same conclusions as you do, it must be because I didn’t read the cites. Uh, no. I have far more background on the issues than you do, so obviously I am going to respond differently.
As for “supposed to follow all the links” - well, I didn’t say that did I? Lying isn’t exactly a great debate strategy you know.
> [@](#):
>
> Some PETA ads are almost identical to some HSUS ads. I’ll wager that those PETA ads are the ones that most folks find least objectionable. When people object to PETA ads, they’re objecting to the ones that compare eating chicken to the Holocaust, not to the ads that ask people to spay and neuter their pets.
When was the last time you saw a PETA ad that compared eating chicken to the Holocaust? PETA got smart about those sorts of things a long time ago. All I ever see now are the spay/neuter ads, and the “adopt from a shelter” ads. And they might as well have been put out by the same person.
> [@](#):
>
> And the idea that HSUS wants to get rid of pet animals is tinfoil hat territory.
Yet the idea that PETA wants to isn’t? What is the difference? The name?
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### Author:  [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/132 "2010-03-30T04:00:02Z")
> [@curlcoat](#):
>
> :rolleyes:
> Yet the idea that PETA wants to isn’t? What is the difference? The name?
HSUS would prefer/like/enjoy it if people adopted shelter animals (which can or cannot be purebred) vs continuing to adopt purebreds. Particularly since many people don’t do background checks on breeders.
PETA does advocate more strongly against pet ownership.
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### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/133 "2010-03-30T20:53:56Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#):
>
> HSUS would prefer/like/enjoy it if people adopted shelter animals (which can or cannot be purebred) vs continuing to adopt purebreds. Particularly since many people don’t do background checks on breeders.
>
> PETA does advocate more strongly against pet ownership.
Pretty close to the truth.
[Here’s what PETA says.](http://www.peta.org/campaigns/ar-petaonpets.asp)
> [@PETA](#):
>
> Contrary to myth, PETA does not want to confiscate animals who are well cared for and “set them free.” What we want is for the population of dogs and cats to be reduced through spaying and neutering and for people to adopt animals (preferably two so that they can keep each other company when their human companions aren’t home) from pounds or shelters—never from pet shops or breeders—thereby reducing suffering in the world.
I’m unclear (and don’t really care) whether they want to eliminate pet ownership or merely reduce it.
[Here’s the closest I could find to an HSUS statement on pet ownership](http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/pet_overpopulation/)
> [@HSUS](#):
>
> Four million cats and dogs—about one every eight seconds—are put down in U.S. shelters each year. Often these animals are the offspring of cherished family pets. Spay/neuter is a proven way to reduce pet overpopulation, ensuring that every pet has a family to love them.
>
> Many cats and dogs who die as a result of pet overpopulation could have made wonderful pets. Between six and eight million dogs and cats enter U.S. shelters every year; far too many to all find homes.
>
> A solution is possible and starts with each of us taking one small step: getting our own pets fixed. To help stop pet overpopulation further, consider adopting your next pet from an animal shelter.
Note the happy reference to pets, wanting every pet to have a family, wanting people to adopt pets, etc.
A clear difference.
And for anyone who couldn’t be arsed to click on my previous links, here’s an example of what **curlcoat** considers HSUS propaganda, and what I consider helpful advice to animal shelters:
> [@HSUS](#):
>
> Deal with the Bare Necessities
>
> While some agencies have had benches built into the walls of their visiting rooms during construction, plastic or metal chairs are easy to add and easy to disinfect. Make sure there are enough seats available for a family. If you’ve had couches or other furniture donated, you can use them in your visiting room, but you should consider adding plastic slipcovers that can be easily disinfected; the number of animals who come in and out of a visiting room can make the room a harbor for bacteria and strange, stressful smells, so you have to combine comfort with cleanliness. It’s great to have a disinfection station in the room—one that dispenses waterless antibacterial gels—so folks can wash up after their drool-inducing meet-and-greet. You should keep a mop and paper towels handy, too, in case an excited pup gets a little too excited.
Propaganda, or advice? You j udge.
---
### Author:  [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/134 "2010-03-30T22:14:18Z")
Clearly propaganda. Note the glaring reminder that puppies drool and tend to void their bladders inappropriately. Way more trouble than the little beasts are worth. Best to put them all down, I think.
---
### Author:  [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2010, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/135 "2010-05-14T07:02:07Z")
Not a PETA supporter or advocate here, just some thoughts.
> [@GESancMan](#):
>
> Some hippy-type would come up to me, all outraged, and start in about how I had to get those sharks outta there - as if I didn’t already know that. I would try to patiently explain that I was trying to find them a new home, but it was never good enough. I had to get them out RIGHT FUCKING NOW. I always wanted to throttle these idiots - what the hell was I supposed to do, drive the sharks down to Santa Cruz and toss 'em off the end of the pier?
Well, why didn’t you?
I don’t think “tossing” would be necessary, but given that a simple ocean release _was_ exactly what ended up happening… why did you have to wait for PETA? Why not take responsibility yourself?
> [@Alessan](#):
>
> No, it would make me angry at the people who showed me something so unpleasant, causing me to reject whatever they’re advocating. In other way, I’d treat them the same way I’d treat someone defecating on my doormat.
You’d eat the feces? :eek:
---
### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/136 "2010-05-14T15:30:08Z")
It’s not enough to have an enormous restaurant aquarium with nurse sharks.
You need at least one shark _and_ an octopus, so diners can be treated to a nature display like [this](http://www.boingboing.net/2010/05/13/video-octopus-kills.html).
That’ll please PETA even more.
---
### Author:  [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/137 "2010-05-16T04:34:56Z")
> [@spark240](#):
>
> Well, why didn’t you?
>
> I don’t think “tossing” would be necessary, but given that a simple ocean release _was_ exactly what ended up happening… why did you have to wait for PETA? Why not take responsibility yourself?
See, that’s the problem with most folks that support PETA - they don’t know enough about animals to know what they are talking about. One doesn’t take even fish that have lived their whole lives in captivity and just release them into the wild. They aren’t going to have much of a clue as to where to find food and/or how to stay away from predators. So just releasing these sharks into the wild without any sort of segue just means they are likely to starve to death or get eaten.
> [@](#):
>
> You’d eat the feces? :eek:
Huh?
---
### Author:  [@Bookworm77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookworm77)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2010, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/138 "2010-05-17T07:50:19Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#):
>
> Glad someone else sees that. Very cursory research shows that nurse sharks grow up to 14 feet long; 360-gallon aquariums are apparently about 4’ long. This is called Not Planning Ahead, my friends–and if the press in Miami made y’all look foolish, well, they didn’t have to do much. Of course the PETA rep was nice to you: she was trying to get you to give up the sharks, and you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Once she’d gotten them out of there, she had no incentive not to speak her mind.
>
> That said, what a ridiculous issue for them to focus on, even if you accept the premise of animal rights. The money they spent flying two sharks to Miami could have been spent to save many, many more animals.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
I was thinking that the money saved if the OP and his boss did the research first, would be used to help many animals.
---
### Author:  [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2010, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/139 "2010-05-17T09:04:31Z")
> [@curlcoat](#):
>
> See, that’s the problem with most folks that support PETA - they don’t know enough about animals to know what they are talking about. One doesn’t take even fish that have lived their whole lives in captivity and just release them into the wild. They aren’t going to have much of a clue as to where to find food and/or how to stay away from predators. So just releasing these sharks into the wild without any sort of segue just means they are likely to starve to death or get eaten.
That’s probably true, though there’s considerable variance among species in how much survival behavior is instinctual and how much learned. But in any case, that’s what _did_ happen with these sharks. So the OP _could have_ done as well himself without PETA ever coming into it. (Again, I don’t support PETA. Maybe you didn’t mean to say I did.)
> [@curlcoat](#):
>
> Huh?
Jokes are only funny when unexplained. But since there was sort of a point here, I’ll indulge.
> [@BluePitbull](#):
>
> Wouldn’t pictures of slaughterhouses and animal cruelty make you feel guilty enough to be a vegan?
> [@Alessan](#):
>
> No, it would make me angry at the people who showed me something so unpleasant, causing me to reject whatever they’re advocating. In other way, I’d treat them the same way I’d treat someone defecating on my doormat.
So **Alessan** is saying that, yes, the images of slaughterhouses are unpleasant–like feces on the doormat–and that therefore he’d _want_ to eat meat. I’m pointing out that being angry at the people responsible for confronting him with unpleasantness doesn’t mean that one should reactively embrace the unpleasant thing.
---
### Author:  [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-hate-peta/533367/140 "2010-05-17T22:05:19Z")
> [@spark240](#):
>
> That’s probably true, though there’s considerable variance among species in how much survival behavior is instinctual and how much learned. But in any case, that’s what _did_ happen with these sharks. So the OP _could have_ done as well himself without PETA ever coming into it. (Again, I don’t support PETA. Maybe you didn’t mean to say I did.)
It rather sounds like it. Anyway, I don’t remember - did PETA tell the OP up front that all they were going to do was dump the sharks in the ocean, or did they “forget” to tell him that, along with the media circus they were going to bring in? I find it difficult to believe that you feel the OP is more at fault than PETA here. Nurse sharks don’t necessarily grow all that big in aquariums, and even if it were true that they always do, it’s a freaking fish ferchrissakes. Nobody deserves PETA problems because they didn’t know that a fish in their business aquarium might grow too big.
> [@](#):
>
> So **Alessan** is saying that, yes, the images of slaughterhouses are unpleasant–like feces on the doormat–and that therefore he’d _want_ to eat meat. I’m pointing out that being angry at the people responsible for confronting him with unpleasantness doesn’t mean that one should reactively embrace the unpleasant thing.
Still doesn’t make any sense.
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