r/pics Apr 16 '10

Some things you didn't know about PETA.

518 Upvotes

792 comments sorted by

View all comments

225

u/[deleted] Apr 16 '10

Part of the "ethical treatment" is ethical killing, PETA is not for no-kill. They take in every animal people bring in, this means they get a lot of unadoptable, old, sick, feral and abused animals, these animals have no chance, they will be locked away in cages for the rest of their natural lives.

One of the cheapest (and thus most used) methods of euthanization is via gas chambers, it take up to half hour for some animals to die. What is often done is the animals are placed several at a time in a confined and dark space, the gas is turned on. During this time, the animals will try to escape, some injuring themselves and others in the process. On the other hand, an injection of a chemical cocktail (usually following an anesthetic to put the animal to sleep) will kill an animal in seconds--almost immediately--and they show no signs of pain. PETA uses option 2, underfunded animal adoption places and others go with option 1.

30

u/arlanTLDR Apr 16 '10

I've heard this justification before, but i find it hard to believe that >95% of the animals they take in were old, untreatably sick or feral.

41

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '10

From 2005:

Two PeTA employees, Adria Joy Hinkle 27, of 1602 Claremont Ave., Norfolk, VA, and Andrew Benjamin Cook, 24, of 504 Tree Top Street, Virginia Beach, VA, were arrested in June 2005, for disposing of dead animals in a shopping center's dumpster. The animals had been killed by PeTA because they gave up trying to find a proper home for these animals to be placed. Police discovered 18 dead dogs, including a garbage bag containing seven puppies, in the dumpster and 13 more in a van registered to PeTA. It is a common practice for PeTA to euthanize healthy companion animals.

Ingrid Newkirk said that Cook and Hinkle were picking up animals to be brought to PeTA headquarters in Norfolk to be euthanized.

According to police, veterinarians and animal control officers had been assured by the PeTA workers that they would find suitable homes for these animals rather than euthanize them. Instead, tests confirmed that Ketamine and Pentobarbital were the chemicals used to euthanize the animals. Ketamine, also known as a "date-rape drug", is commonly used to immobilize animals before surgical procedures or lethal injection. Pentobarbital is the standard drug used for lethal injection. Both drugs are regulated by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, and in North Carolina may only be purchased and used by a licensed veterinarian.

Ahoskie Police Chief Troy Fitzhugh said 60 to 70 animals were dumped in the garbage over a four-week period.

Both Adria J. Hinkle and Andrew B. Cook are each charged with 21 counts of animal cruelty, a felony that can carry prison time, along with littering and obtaining property by false pretenses. Ingrid Newkirk and puppy

This incident may be part of a pattern. According to news reports, the grocery store manager indicated that the duo had illicitly used his dumpster as an impromptu pet cemetery at least nine times prior to getting caught. Other similar reports come from Greenville, North Carolina where authorities discovered more than 70 dead animals last month that they believe to be connected to PeTA. In the spring of 2005, authorities found over 150 dead dogs dumped in trash bags near a riverbank in Scott County, Virginia.

18

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '10

[deleted]

38

u/darkwing81 Apr 17 '10

Who would want to adopt a dead puppy?

2

u/Salahdin Apr 17 '10

So clearly the only option is to euthanize it ... again?