PETA Piper Ends Up in a Pickle and Who Are These Animal Rights Organizations?

Kerry L. Marsala

Quick hide your kittens!

As two People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) workers were arrested recently, in North Carolina, for illegally dumping animal carcasses (supposedly a mother cat and her healthy kittens as well) into a store trash bin, my vision of who and what PETA was motivated me to investigate just who this and other animal rights organizations really are.

Most of us are animal lovers. We love our pets, for many they are like our children. We indulge them, love them, and care for them sometimes better than we care for ourselves. Unfortunately, there is a minority who are abusive to their pets… without question there are cruel and abusive individuals. It is a small sect of human beings that commit these heinous acts of disrespect and violence towards innocent animals. Apparently, some members of the radical animal rights movement fit into this category too.

PETA is an animal rights organization whose mission as an activist group is to promote a complete end to the use and ownership of animals… indoctrinating our youth via public education has been their best tool in their warfare. Honestly though, how many people knew that PETA actually euthanized animals? In general most of us didn’t know this fact, that is why when our old faithful pets become to ill and are suffering needlessly we take them to our trusted vets to have them humanely put to rest and disposed of properly. The majority of animal lovers views PETA with a weary eye of over zealous activism, and understood that they “spoke” for animal rights, but never knew they euthanized healthy pets and at times discarded them into store dumpsters. Question is how often within the animal rights organizations has this actually occurred? A case of -caught in the act- usually means there are others.

To be fair, most of the animals PETA euthanizes are ones that are two sick to recover. PETA has radical members within their framework and they appear to have ties to various militant groups- i.e. the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the North American Earth Liberation Front (ELF). Some of these extremist organizations of activism have torched research clinics and reeked havoc on industries who utilize animals for bio-medical research. Causing at times harm or death even to animals caught in the mist of their fanatical chaos. According to, petakillsanimals.com, PETA has given- “tens of thousands of dollars to convicted arsonists and other violent criminals. This includes a 2001 donation of $1,500 to the North American Earth Liberation Front, an FBI-certified domestic terrorist group responsible for dozens of firebombs and death threats. During the 1990s, PETA paid $70,200 to an Animal Liberation Front activist convicted of burning down a Michigan State University research laboratory. In his sentencing recommendation, a federal prosecutor implicated PETA president Ingrid Newkirk in that crime.” As well, petakillsanimals.com stated that, ‘”PETA vegetarian campaign coordinator Bruce Friedrich told an animal rights convention in 2001 that “blowing stuff up and smashing windows” is “a great way to bring about animal liberation.”’

Unbelievable, it isn’t only the wacko militants that sat in the compound unit of the Waco, Texas incident, but even within the far left, we have loose screws running around with fire bombs… guns aren’t the only thing used to destroy, insight fear and kill large numbers are they?


So often the public only receives surface information from activists organizations, we are meant to believe that only good intentions are taking place and we are coerced by superficial shock value propaganda into believing we must join their cause and support their efforts financially. All the while, we believe our donated dollars are being spent directly on the fronted cause. This is not always the case.

According to ActivistCash.com, an organization that calls itself The Human Society of the United States leads you to believe that they are like your local animal shelter that takes in stray, neglected, and abused cats and dogs. They purportedly promote animal adoption to new homes, and run spay/neuter programs so that fewer discarded animals will end up mistreated or euthanized, at least that is what HSUS is hoping we will believe.

HSUS appears to be misdirecting, for HSUS is the richest animal-rights organization on earth. HSUS has over $85 million in assets. It produces an abundant flow of cash, more than enough to finance animal shelters in every single state, with money to spare. Yet, HSUS is not affiliated with any local humane societies, nor does it operate a single animal shelter.

Generally, we do not think there is a difference between animal welfare organizations and animal rights organizations but there is. One works for humane treatment of all animals, the other works for the complete annihilation of work and ownership of animals. The HSUS was originally established to work for animal welfare, and it was called, the National Humane Society. In 1954, HSUS split from the American Humane Association (AHA). The founders of the NHS (now called HSUS) desired a faintly more radical group. (The AHA evidently did not oppose either the use of pound animals for biomedical research or sport hunting). Animal welfare groups have been around for years- activists groups such as PETA and others rose radically during the 1980’s.

Ever since this split, HSUS has been profiting from their resemblance in name only with their more legitimate cousin.

The founding history of HSUS has an interesting connection to a religious cornerstone, founded as a “ministry” for animals by Coleman Burke. Burke was then president of the American Bible Society; Cleveland Amory, an author who went on to found the Fund for Animals; and Helen Jones, who had earlier left the AHA. Presbyterian minister John A. Hoyt was president from 1970 to 1996. Paul G. Irwin, a Methodist minister, joined HSUS in 1975 and now serves as President and CEO. Both attended Colgate Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, NY (www.activistcash.com).

It was not until 1980, HSUS formally transformed its focus from animal welfare to animal rights. During the national conference in San Francisco a vote was taken to determine that the group would, follow on all fronts the comprehensible verbalization and establishment of the rights of all animals within the complete collection of American culture.

In Animal Rights and Human Obligations, the published proceedings of this conference, HSUS stated, “there is no rational basis for maintaining a moral distinction between the treatment of humans and other animals.”

In the 1990’s, HSUS completed its animal-rights conversion, altering its personnel in their progression. Establishing and assimilating dozens of staffers from PETA and other animal-rights groups. HSUS even hired a former Animal Liberation Front member and representative, John “J.P.” Goodwin. Goodwin has a lengthy arrest record, which includes a history of promoting arson to accomplish animal liberation. This change brought about what HSUS was desiring, more money, and media attention.

How do the current goals of this misnamed “Humane Society” assist animal shelters? It does not and neither to many of the other activists groups. HSUS even wants to put an end to lifesaving biomedical research: as early as 1988, the group’s mailings demanded that the U.S. government “eliminate altogether the use of animals as research subjects.” HSUS has never budged from this extreme position. Since its launch, the HSUS drive has been to limit the choices of American society.

Contrary to their cheap painted façade, HSUS does not help local humane societies save dogs and cats. However, it has not any problem pouring in thousands of dollars to change our laws. According to the report by Rich Landers of the Spokane-Review, “HSUS was the financial clout that rammed Initiative 713, the anti-trapping measure, down our throats.” Marching with similar national animal-rights groups, HSUS has learned that pouring vast sums of money into ballot initiative campaigns produces better results than normal public relations and lobbying work. In lock step with other militant organizations, the Fund for Animals and Farm Sanctuary, HSUS scored a big victory in Florida in 2002 when a ballot initiative passed that gave constitutional rights to pregnant pigs.

Many of these activists groups have harassed research organizations such as the March of Dimes, the Pediatric AIDs Foundation and other medical research organizations… where would PETA stand if one of the aforementioned research organizations found a cure for all the AIDs victims suffering world-wide? (Hollywood entertainers who support such militant organizations in their animal activism next time you want to blast American bio-medical research think twice. You cannot defend not using animals to a certain degree in bio-medical advances and then criticize the current administration of the United States for not doing enough to help the AIDs victims in countries such as Africa. In order to find a cure for this millenniums deadliest disease we may need to use impounded animals).

This is but a small peek of insight into these activist groups. HSUS and other militant groups will not stop at initiatives aimed at just livestock farmers and trappers. It was in the HSUS annual meeting 1996, that Wayne Pacelle announced that the ballot initiative would be used for all manner of legislation in the future. This would include “companion animal issues and laboratory animal issues.” (Pacelle, has personally been involved in at least 22 such campaigns, 17 of which HSUS scored as conquests. These maneuvers, he says, “pay dividends and serve as a training ground for activists” www.activistcash.com).

Animal activist are working deep within the governmental system, utilizing their large bankrolls of donated dollars to lobby congress. The tremendous currency of power they have within their fortress vaults is used regularly to indoctrinate our youth, through our public educational system. Children who are young, impressionable, and not yet apt to make sound judgments based on all facets of information available are joining the cause of militant activism. According to petakillsanimals.com, One PETA vice president told the Fox News Channel’s audience: “Our campaigns are always geared towards children, and they always will be.” Misinformation and single myopic opinions given to our youth about animal rights only causes an imbalance of perception. We all need education on how we need to treat and raise our animal population with the respect that they deserve- that is called animal welfare, a legitimate need.

Sources:

http://www.activistcash.com/organization_overview.cfm/oid/136

http://www.petakillsanimals.com/

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=87978&ran=119183&tref=po

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K. L. Marsala is a commentator on social, cultural and political ideologies. She is co-publisher of Sarah's Seed Journal and has published one book, with number two waiting in the wings. Ms. Marsala tries to use a bit of satire every now and then in her writing. She has been praised by many of her readers for saying it "like it is" and speaks for the common person who believes in American ideals, especially our freedoms. Stating the way she sees it with "punch," her philosophy remains that no matter the event, you can always find a bit of humor or the human element of hope somewhere amongst the cracks. Ms. Marsala holds a master's degree in ancient history and Biblical studies. She is currently working on her degree in bio-ethics and political science. You can visit her web-site for archived and current articles: http://www.right2think.8m.com

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