A few years ago, I used to donate monthly to PETA. Like so many animal lovers, I believed that PETA was an organization that fought to save the lives of all animals. However, I stopped my donations immediately after I read Redemption by Nathan Winograd in 2008. After reading this book, I was angry to learn that I had been donating to several organizations that were fighting against everything I believed in. And, not only was PETA actively fighting against No Kill sheltering, PETA itself was killing most of the animals in its own shelter. I was shocked to discover that PETA’s shelter has a 97% KILL rate! (That’s higher than BARC’s kill rate or the kill rate of any kill shelter in Houston).
Reading Redemption was my first, very eye opening, education into the world of the deception, spin and lies that so called “humane” organizations and animal shelters tell the public in order to keep doing what they have been doing for decades i.e. killing millions of animals every year while blaming the problem on us, the “irresponsible public”. My eyes were opened after reading this book. Unfortunately, that eye opening experience would not be the last. Over the last 2+ years, I have been repeatedly shocked and appalled at the mass killing and barbaric treatment that goes on in the name of our country's “humane” organizations and "shelters". I have also been repeatedly shocked and appalled at the political manipulation that is occuring that helps to keep these killing practices in place even when we now know that there is a way to stop the killing; and even when that time spent "manipulating" could be better spent by just putting the No Kill model of sheltering into place.
But, back to PETA. After I read Redemption, I immediately stopped my monthly donations, but I continued to get pleas for donations from them in the mail. I kept throwing their mail in the trash thinking that one day they would get the hint and go away. Two years later, I am still receiving pleas for donations.
Many of you probably know about Oreo's Law by now. After this law was tabled, I was angry. I was angry at every “humane” organization that should have supported Oreo’s law, but instead fought it. I was also angry at every large humane organization whose support could have made a difference but who ultimately failed to support this law---those who stood by absolutely mute, while this life saving legislation was being debated.
A couple weeks after Oreo's law was tabled, I got yet another plea for donations from PETA. So, I wrote across the front of the statement “Never again until you support Oreo’s Law” and I mailed it back to PETA. (I sent the same thing to a few other organizations--- more on that at a later date).
A few weeks later, I received this letter from PETA. Not only did PETA not publically support Oreo’s Law, it appears, from this letter, that PETA does not support the concept of giving shelter access to rescue groups. They instead support and defend shelters that kill. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised since PETA kills 97% of all the animals that enter their own shelter. Considering this astronomical kill rate, I’m guessing that PETA does not give access to rescuers to their own shelter either. Apparently, they prefer to kill almost every single animal that enters their doors instead.
This attitude by a so called “humane” organization is repulsive to me and below is my response to PETA's letter.
August 23, 2010
Ms. Megan Vasiles
Correspondence Assistant
PETA Foundation
501 Front St.
Norfolk, VA 23510
Dear Ms. Vasiles:
In response to your letter of July 28, 2010, thank you for removing my name from PETA’s mailing list however, please do not insult my intelligence by stating that there is a pet “overpopulation” problem that shelters lack the resources to address. If you would actually research statistics, you would find that there actually are enough homes for the number of animals being killed in shelters. In fact, there are more than enough homes. Statistics show that 20 million people will bring a new pet into their homes each year; 17 million of those people have not decided where they will get their pet and could be persuaded to adopt. And we know that 3-4 million pets are being killed in shelters. It is quite obvious that there are more than enough homes for the amount of animals being killed in shelters. But I also know that most shelters do not work very hard to get those animals out to the people who would adopt them.
If there truly were “too many pets and not enough homes” as we have all been told, there couldn’t possibly be any open admission, no kill shelters. Yet, despite your claim to the contrary, there are. In North America, there are at least 14 shelters that are open admission, no kill shelters or who are within a few percentage points of becoming no kill shelters. (I’m attaching a list of some of them since apparently you are unaware). In addition, there are other open admission, no kill shelters not on this list that I do not have save rates for yet; and there are open admission, no kill shelters in other countries, such as Australia.
It is also a lie to state that animals spend years in cages in these shelters. There may be people or shelters that are hoarding animals and claim that they are no kill, but that is not the No Kill model of sheltering that is working so successfully in the listed shelters. You would know this if you had researched any of these facilities. This research is something that I would expect from someone who works at a so called “humane” organization.
Yes, I do blame the “tragic state of affairs” on the kill shelters themselves, because I know that all of the shelters, that are still killing, could stop if they chose to do so. To state that “euthanasia” is the most humane option might be true, if what was going on in our nations’ shelters actually was euthanasia. But it is not euthanasia. Shelters are ending the lives of millions of healthy or treatable and perfectly adoptable pets. That is killing, it is not euthanasia.
If, as you claim, the Humane Society of the United States says that a quick and painless death is preferable to a life of loneliness, frustration and misery, then they are blindly ignoring the fact that there are other alternatives the same way PETA is ignoring facts. Death or misery in a small cage are not the only options available. I’m sure you would like to believe that these are the only options so that you do not have to face the fact that your employer is responsible for the deaths of thousands of animals every year despite the existence of life saving alternatives. Perhaps this is the only way that your conscience will allow you to think. But that doesn’t mean that this is true.
You also claim that mandatory spay/neuter laws are working to reduce shelter killing. Apparently, you have not done your own research and are simply regurgitating tired clichés which have been passed down from your superiors, but have ultimately been proven to be false. You listed several cities/counties that have passed MSN laws and you state that these areas have reported significant reductions in the numbers of animals taken to their shelters and subsequently killed. But if you had looked at the actual statistics, you would see that this is not true. I have looked at kill rates before and after MSN laws were passed and can assure you that kill rates have not gone down. In fact, they have risen and are continuing to rise. I am attaching an article that I wrote listing many of the communities where MSN laws were passed and their subsequent kill rates. I would urge you to do your own research before spreading more lies that will lead to more animal deaths in shelters.
Your letter is the height of hypocrisy. You claim that PETA wants to save shelter animals, yet PETA’s own shelter kills 97% of all animals entering its shelter. In fact, PETA’s kill rate is higher than almost any shelter in the U.S. And I know that PETA has killed many animals before they could get to PETA’s shelter… some were killed in the back of vans in the parking lot. I also know that PETA kills mostly dogs and cats but also has no aversion to killing other species such as chickens as well. How can PETA claim that there is pet “overpopulation” or that there were no homes available for these animals when they were never given a chance to be adopted? PETA simply killed them and dumped them in a garbage bin.
It is despicable and beyond absurd that PETA claims to support animal protection while simultaneously advocating for the deaths of millions of animals or killing them in PETA’s own shelter. It repulses me that I was ever sucked into PETA’s web of lies and that I ever sent one cent to the killing machine that is PETA. With friends offering “protection” like PETA, shelter animals certainly do not need enemies.
Bett Sundermeyer
* To receive an email alert each time I post a new article here on Examiner.com, click the “Subscribe” button at the top of this page.
* If you wish to receive periodic e-newsletters from No Kill Houston, click on the link on the right side of our website to register.
* Also follow No Kill Houston on Facebook and Twitter.
*Examiner.com is currently upgrading its website. Therefore, there may be periodic glitches in reading articles or trying to post comments.
Comments
The fact is PETA is only looking out for PETA. They are great at making a name for themselves at the expense of the animals they supposedly are defending. No other "humane" organization receives so much money without actually using it for the purposes the donors believe it will be used for.
Hard to believe - I need to look into this further in order to deal with my shock
Woody, just google "PETA kills". You will be shocked at what comes up.
Thank you very much for this article. I didn't know....but now I certainly do. Disgusting.
You go girl!!!
Bett, by chance we wrote about the same issue in Let's Adopt! today... I have linked your post at the end of the article...
http://blog.myletsadopt.com/2010/08/23/the-trouble-with-peta/
Cheers
Viktor, great article, and thanks for the link. Keep spreading the message. People need to become aware of what PETA is really all about. I, too, was once naive and supported PETA. Never again. They fight against everything I believe in.
So glad to see more truth coming out. It's been long coming that some light was shed on the true agendas of PeTA, HSUS, ASPCA, etc.
BARC lets rescues pull animals- we beg them to in fact- and we plan to begin publishing our ASILOMAR stats from Chameleon on our web site in the next few months too - no more lies. This is just one of many exciting changes going on at BARC in 2010.
Yes, BARC lets some rescues pull animals and some of the employees do beg rescues/foster to pull animals. But, we also know that there are still serious issues at BARC. For example the very injured dog that rescuers were NOT allowed to pull a few months ago and who died at BARC because of it; or a couple weeks ago, the foster parent who tried to put animals on hold but was told by a BARC employee that he/she was too busy so the animals were k*lled; or the foster animals that were on hold but k*lled anyway; the lack of a lost and found program that actually works so many pets with owners who want them back are k*lled at BARC. As I said, there are still serious issues and it all comes down to leadership. If saving lives was the most important thing to BARC leaders i.e. Mr. Atencio and Mr. Moran, then BARC wouldn't have these issues.
Also, BARC could be posting its monthly Intake and Exit reports every month right now like they did last year. We shouldn't have to wait for Asilomar Accords numbers and we shouldn't have to do Freedom of Information Act requests to get them.
Also, BARC is still lying about Live Release numbers. BARC's website says you had 1,157 Live Releases in July, but I have July's records and they say 1,098 (which also shows a 64.5% K*LL rate). We have a right to expect complete and totally accurate numbers.
NOTE TO READERS: Examiner.com's profanity filter is catching comments that don't contain profane language. It is a glitch in the new system. In my comment above, I have substituted k*ll for the real word as the real word seems to be triggering the profanity filter.
Sorry about the inconvenience. We're hoping they get the bugs worked out soon.
Bett, what do you know about Actors and Others for Animals? I know Betty White is a heavy duty spokeswoman for them, but that is about all.
Melsi, sorry but I've never heard of them. I believe Betty White is also (sadly) a PETA supporter as are several actors. I would love to send them all a copy of Redemption so perhaps they too could become more aware of what is really going on.
The PETA letter is very contradictory and full of excrement.
Lets cut through the B.S.....the "humane euthanasia" of healthy cats and dogs is not "humane", it is murder. That is not open for debate.
The murderers say,: "We're not killing them, we're giving them a good death"...so nothing to worry about.
These lost souls need a lobotomy. Not one of them would consider it a "good death" if their backstabbing butts were poked with a lethal needle...they would cry bloody murder. Hence the hypocrisy. I guess they are ignorant of that whole "Do Unto Others" thingie.
A wise man once said: "To sin by silence when we should protest, makes cowards out of us". Another wise person once said: "Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented".
Whether by gun, knife, gas chamber or needle...mass murder is mass murder, and murderers dont deserve diplomacy. Diplomacy is their ally, because it permits them to continue to kill while the supposed "good guys" dive down the rabbit hole, with Alice, The Mad Hatter and a Cheshire Cat who lost his smile because Alice is taking him to a "rescue group" who wants to give him a 'good death'. We try to bury our heads in the sand like ostriches, and yet the reality is still there when we pop our heads out of the sand.
Cats and dogs are equal to you and I, and they deserve to live, love, and be loved equally as much as you and I do....our ignorant, arrogant, self praising human egos notwithstanding. That is the Ultimate Truth.
Cats and dogs share our homes with us, our hearts with us, our lives with us, our souls with us.
The act of mudering them under the "humane" disguise must end. It is one of the biggest injustices in the history of planet Earth.
We should treat any animal shelter in the process of "becoming no kill", as we would a children's shelter who have been caught killing children, who say that "we will change". We cant wait too long.....precious lives are coming to an end. Results must be seen, and fast. Yes, I'll speak the truth: Cats and dogs are living, breathing, thinking, feeling, living, loving, soul-filled Children of God equally as much as You, I and everyone else. That is the Ultimate Truth.
How long would you wait for a murderous children's shelter to become no kill? Especially if your child was a resident there? How much patience would you have, while they are "in the process" of changing?
Now, apply that to cats and dogs as you would your child.
PETA murders cats and dogs.....how unethical of them.
The HSUS murders cats and dogs....how in-humane of them.
The ASPCA murders cats and dogs....how cruel of them.
Kill 'shelters' murder cats and dogs......so much for 'shelter'.
Rescue groups murder cats and dogs....so much for 'rescue'.
These cat and dog murderers are part of the killing problem, not part of the No Kill, TNR solutions.
We must do two things:
1. Make it known to our local shelter directors/operators and the government officials (Mayors, City Council members, etc) who allow their killing, that they will be peacefully overthrown if they do not immediately, without any strings attached, join the No Kill Revolution and stop the killing immediately, not in "five years".
2. We must stop donating to and supporting the killers. Hit 'em where it hurts the most..in the wallets and pocketbooks. If they start losing millions upon millions of dollars per year, I guarantee, they will change their killing ways real fast.
P.S. Saving lives is cheaper than ending them.
No more games. No more excuses. No more silence.
The No Kill train needs to steam roll these killers and peacefully take them to the curb where they belong. Time to put the killers out of business.
Time to take "Murder Inc." and tell them to take a hike, and if they dont listen, time to take action and demand that true animal lovers, No Kill ones, replace them.
o my gosh!!!! I really thought PETA was a humane group!!! It really makes me sad on how many places you believe to be awesome with animals, tend to be the worst :'( To not even give the animals a chance at life, is extremely cruel. In my city, there is an animal services (run by the CITY), and a humane society (non profit). In the one run by the city , it is a no kill animal rescue. the HUMANE society isn't. I have actually heard of someone being told that the humane society was full , so if my friend had brought the stray kittens she found in, they would probably be killed. I understand that they have no space, but euthanasia is not the answer!! thank you for informing of PETA, I was donating to that lost cause as well.
1. Betty White does not support PETA, HSUS or similar organizations. In fact, she has spoken out against animal rights organizations and for animal welfare groups. She testified in support of the Los Angeles Zoo regarding their elephant exhibit, while PETA and other groups/individuals testified against it. She directs most of her donations and fundraising efforts to the Morris Animal Foundation, which works on animal health research.
2. Best Friends has become something of a direct mail mill lately. I'm a $50 a year donor but I've been getting a flurry of solicitations in recent months. Last week, they sent me a fancy certificate congratulating me for my compassion and support. The departures of Michael Mountain - and especially former CEO Paul Berry - have changed Best Friends' priorities.
3. Alley Cat Allies has also been bombarding me with requests for money in the past year or two. The return envelopes are addressed to a P.O. Box in DC (a caging service many groups use). When they sent me information recently about including ACA in my will (with their street address on the return envelope), I let them know I would never support them again because of the Oreo fiasco (I live in NYC) and I put "Oreo" in the return address part of the envelope.
4. Finally, I agree that PETA is a hypocritical organization not worthy of our support. In addition to their kill philosophy and hands on killing, their lawsuits against Primarily Primates are outrageous and should be exposed and condemned. I called to tell them that.
PETA is not, however, the biggest fundraising scam and money pit. That distinction goes to biggest ripoff of them all - the odious Humane Society of the United States. HSUS CHOOSES to waste tens of millions of dollars enriching itself because it would rather throw money down the drain than support any animal they cannot control via their own programs/subsidiaries. I believe the Wilkes County massacre resulted, in part, from a desire to prevent the competition - Best Friends in that case - from helping those dogs, thereby garnering favorable publicity and donations as they did in the Vick case. That is why Chris Schindler and Amanda Arrington testified that it would cost close to $200,000 per dog for Best Friends to rehab them and that the county couldn't afford to subsidize the care.
And let us not forget that HSUS co-wrote and sells the euthanasia training manuals - and videotapes - that animal killers have been utilizing for too many years.
Thanks Anonymous. My mistake on Betty White. I thought I had seen her in PETA ads. Turns out I probably did, but now she is not a fan. Found this: http://vegetarianstar.com/2009/06/30/betty-white-criticizes-peta-doesnt-...
Maybe she is learning the truth like the rest of us.
I agree about HSUS. Did you notice that they stayed completely out of the discussion about Oreo's Law i.e. they did not support it either? I find it very strange that this organization spends millions on legislative efforts regarding animals, but had no public comment whatsoever regarding Oreo's Law.
To Bett:
I know this thread is really old, but I'll throw this out there anyway. Like you, I gave to PETA a few times before I really realized just how deceptive they are. When I decided I no longer wanted to support them, I started mailing them requests to remove my name from their mailing list. After numerous requests, they just keep sending me more donation request mailings. How did you get them to remove your name? It's not just that I want the mailings to stop, I want my name REMOVED fully from any list of members/donors that they keep. I do not want to be associated with their shady organization in any way.
Anonymous, I don't blame you for not wanting to be associated with them.
They did the same thing to me. It wasn't until I sent them a letter attaching my article about them did they finally stop begging for money.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!