People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA is known for their work for the welfare of animals. At least this is what most people think. However, the organization is under criticism for not showing backbone when it comes to criticizing Islamic or Christian rituals involving cruelty to animals. The organization is now in soup for associating with those who glorify meat-eating. Not one, but several examples have appeared that proves that PETA is a hypocrite and running the organization without having an iota of concern for the suffering animals.
PETA and its choice of “Person of the Year”
Every year, PETA chooses someone to be their “Person of the Year” for the work he or she has done for the welfare of the animals. In 2015, the organization selected Pope Francis as the person of the year. He was the first religious leader to be named as PETA’s Person of the Year. Celebrities and leaders like Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, and Ricky Gervais have enjoyed the title at some point in their lives. PETA claimed that they chose Pope Francis because he took the name of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of all animals, who said, “Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission—to be of service to them wherever they require it.”
All the glorious words sound beautiful. But the reality is grim. Pope Francis is fond of meat. He does not like Fish that much as reported by Business Insider in 2013. RSVP Live in 2018 reported that his breakfast generally has cold meat cuts. According to Earth Beat, Genesis Butler, a young activist, wrote to Pope and challenged him to shift to a vegan diet. In return, she promised she would donate $1 million to the charity of his choice. Pope replied to her and sent blessings but never promised that he would turn vegan.
Every Hindu/Jain religious leader is a vegetarian but has @PetaIndia @peta ever declared @SriSri or @SadhguruJV or a Jain monk as their Person of the Year? They chose @Pontifex though, even though he eats meat. Sonam Kapoor, @PetaIndia #POTY uses python n cow leather handbags. pic.twitter.com/B1CMQu7lyQ
— Shefali Vaidya. (@ShefVaidya) July 22, 2020
PETA India’s associates eat meat or use animal products
PETA India has associated with several celebrities who either eat meat or use animal products. In 2018, they declared Sonam Kapoor as PETA Person of the Year. Sonam Kapoor, who stopped eating meat a few years ago, has been seen several times with products made out of animals. Shefali Vaidya, who got into a fight with PETA India and the organization tried to mock her in every derogatory way possible, shared a tweet in which Sonam was seen with a bag by Prada made of snakeskin. PETA’s association with Shilpa Shetty has been questioned on social media several times. Only a few days after she became PETA’s Person of the Year, she had shared a turkey recipe on her Youtube channel.
And finally, Q 5 – @PetaIndia trolled me for 2 days calling me a snake and saying #SnakeLivesMatter. Yes, they DO. But have you given this gyan to your Person Of The Year @sonamakapoor who proudly flaunts a python leather Prada bag worth 1900 USD? pic.twitter.com/KZTSOcH58d
— Shefali Vaidya. (@ShefVaidya) July 22, 2020
PETA’s track record of offensive campaigns
When President Reagan died, PETA ran a campaign using his photo on a billboard that said, “Eating meat increases a person’s risk of developing degenerative Alzheimer’s disease.”
PETA used clipart of a fat woman on billboard fat-shaming meat eaters saying, “Save the Whales, lose the blubber, go vegetarian.”
PETA has used porn stars on several occasions in their campaigns in the lewdest way possible. Jenna Jameson, Ron Jeremy and several others have appeared in their campaigns.
In 2008, after the Manitoba Greyhound bus beheading, they posted an ad using the incident in the context and compared it to animal slaughtering.
PETA once released graphic comics that had titles “Your daddy kills animals”, and “Your mommy kills animals” and distributed those among children when they were alone.
PETA advocacy of euthanization
PETA does not shy away from accepting that they kill thousands of animals every year because no one would have taken them home. They claim that they kill only those animals (in a “humane” way of course) that are suffering and do not have any chance of survival. On their website, PETA says, “Because of the high number of unwanted companion animals and the lack of good homes, sometimes the most humane thing that a shelter worker can do is give an animal a peaceful release from a world in which dogs and cats are often considered “surplus” and unwanted.” A website, petakillsanimals.com that claims to expose the organization states that PETA kills around 10,000 animals every year. As proof, they posted some documents that can be accessed here.
In short, the organization that claims to be raising voice for the animals is continuously in the soup for supporting the wrong people or taking support from the wrong people.
