The truth about PETA and those horrible photos?

This article is a rebuttal to Waylon’s The Truth about PETA & those horrible Photos.

I didn’t add the rest; chances are you may have already seen them on Huffington Post, The Daily Mail or any other news site covering the allegations against PETA. You don’t need to see them again. We don’t need to look at dead kittens and puppies over and over to realize what a horror this is.

Whether or not PETA euthanizes thousands of animals annually is not in dispute. They do, however, choose to justify these actions, with a little bit of truth—and a whole lot of misdirection and misinformation piled on top.

While PETA has raised awareness on many animal cruelty issues, the unfortunate (and misinformed) stance of their founder, Ingrid Newkirk on no-kill shelters is one reason they don’t get my support.

Help me sort this out because the logic eludes me:

1. PETA claims that no-kill shelters do more harm than good because they become filled to capacity and have to turn animals away.

2. PETA’s solution to this problem is to euthanize animals. They do not generally house animals for adoption in their facility, as their approach is to euthanize shortly after the animals arrive.

In fact, according the the Virginia Department of Agriculture findings:

90 percent of the animals PETA brings to their facilities are euthanized within the first 24 hours. Only 6 percent were ever placed in homes.

Their rates of euthanasia are so high, the Center for Consumer Freedom* petitioned the Virginia Department of Agriculture to reclassify their facility as a slaughterhouse. While they declined to make this classification, they will consider changing the facility’s classification to that of “euthanasia clinic,” as they do not seek to adopt out the animals they take in in this facility. Peta is transparent on this issue. They have not tried to hide the fact that they euthanize, but they remain closed to the idea of other alternatives.

Now clearly, as Waylon states in his response to the allegations against PETA, the low adoption rates are something we need to be active about. We need to choose rescue animals over designer pets. We need to be educated about this instead of having knee-jerk reactions—in either direction—towards sensational headlines.

But we cannot ignore repeated red flags either. PETA and their employees have been investigated on this issue again and again and again, and since their founder stands behind this model, it’s hard to believe that these practices will not continue.

This is important to note: As these recent allegations have come out, PETA maintains their stance that euthanasia is the best option for these animals.

As someone who has adopted many animals over the years, as well as volunteering in no-kill shelters, I cannot support PETA’s stance on euthanizing animals. What they neglect to mention in their position statement is that most no-kill shelters use networks of foster homes for any animals they cannot house on site. Through education and volunteerism, the no-kill model is sustainable.

According the No Kill Advocacy Center:

“If every animal shelter in the United States embraced the No Kill philosophy and the programs and services that make it possible, we would save nearly four million dogs and cats who are scheduled to die in shelters this year, and the year after that. It is not an impossible dream.”

The Companion Animal Protection Act has already been introduced in seven states and support continues to grow nationwide. In 2012, over one new no-kill community based shelter was established weekly in the U.S., with save rates between 90 and 99 percent.

The answer here isn’t massive euthanasia; it’s education.

1. Choose rescue pets, if possible from local no-kill rescues.

2. Spay and neuter your pets.

3. Support no-kill shelters with your donations and your voice.

And tell PETA that even though they sometimes get it right where animal cruelty is concerned, we will not support them due to their senseless and excessive euthanasia tactics.

*{CCF seems to have their own agenda on this front. The fact remains that the Virginia Department of Agriculture has numerous concerns about the facility. Thanks to our reader Asha for the head’s up.}

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