People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, commonly known as PETA, is one of the largest and most powerful animal rights organizations in our country. Since 1980, they have led many campaigns to shed light on animal issues and by doing so they have become masters at garnering media attention.
There’s no debating the fact that PETA knows how to get people talking. In 2011, PETA made headlines when they filed a lawsuit against SeaWorld, in which they named five orca whales as plaintiffs, claiming a violation of their thirteenth amendment.
Unfortunately, a lot of the good work that PETA has been able to achieve has been overshadowed by their controversial advertisements and over-the-top public demonstrations.
What many people, including PETA’s own supporters, do not realize is how poor of a job PETA is doing at finding homes for animals. Their headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia euthanizes so many animals that the Center for Consumer Freedom has previously filed petitions to Virginia’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to reclassify PETA as a slaughterhouse.
PETA’s annual report was released recently and it shows that they euthanized 89.4% of the animals in their care during 2012. Out of the 733 dogs that they took in last year, only 12 ended up being adopted out. 602 dogs were euthanized while the others were reclaimed by their owners or sent to other facilities. Overall, PETA adopted out a measly 23 of the 1,877 animals they took in during 2012.
There are many humane societies that regularly adopt out more animals in a single week than PETA adopts out in a whole year.
PETA has plenty of supporters and rakes in over 30 million dollars each year, so why can’t they put more effort in to finding homes for the animals in their care? Are the celebrity photo shoots and publicity stunts really more important than the lives of animals?