Yes - THAT PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals).
Okay, this isn't really a horse post... unless you consider that PETA would probably consider any use of horses, other than a pasture ornament, "unethical".
I support animal rights, to an extent. I still want to eat meat, drink milk, eat cheese and eggs. I do however think the factory farming has gotten out of control and the closer to natural we can keep our livestock the better. I think it makes for happier animals and healthier food.
I also think that if PETA had their way they would be a little shocked at the results. Take cows for example. Does PETA really think that if we all went vegan and no longer ate beef or drank milk that all those cows would now be pets? Ummm, probably not.
But I digress... today I have a whole new reason to be pissed at PETA. They had applied for a newspaper ad that was turned down. IMO the ad was extremely tasteless, not that PETA is usually subtle and tactful in their advertising... but this was WAY beyond the limits of decency.
They wanted to run an ad in the Portage la Prairie newspaper, which the paper refused. The ad equated the slaughter of animals for food to the Greyhound bus stabbing & decapitation!
(For those who haven't heard about this tragic and extremely shocking story you can find info on it here: National Post or CBC But be forewarned, this was extremely gruesome and bizarre)
Portage la Prairie is the town closest to where the murder took place. But to me that's not the real issue. PETA could take that ad out in any paper in Canada and it would still be extremely classless, tasteless and pathetic.
I am not standing up for animal slaughter (although I do eat meat). I am simply saying there is no way someone in their right mind would compare the two and say they are equivalent. Not to mention that the "friends and family" of Bossy the cow would not be reading the ad and having to deal with still more imagery and emotion that would be brought up. But I'm pretty sure the family and friends of the young man murdered would be upset to be reminded, in yet another way, of his tragic death.
I'm not going to get into an argument about slaughter... and I'm not going to even go in the direction of horse slaughter. Unlike cows I think horses have a place in this world besides the food chain.
I don't have a problem with PETA using ads with nude celebs to protest wearing fur. That is not too bad. But when they think an ad like this one is suitable... well they're a few clowns short of a circus.
Some people are saying that even talking about this is giving PETA the attention they want, that we're promoting PETA and getting their message out. To me all this does is give PETA a bad name and make the people who want respect and proper treatment for animals (in a less crazy way) have to work harder to not be associated with PETA's "crazy" status.
Okay, I'm done ranting... tomorrow I'll post on ponies again!
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OUCH! Actually, not really... it was Mrs Mom that kicked me. lol She passed on the "Six Things You Don't Know About Me" tag. ...
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Yes Heaven has a new horse joining the herd... This big, strong, loyal buckskin galloped over the bridge tonight I know his cowboy will mi...
oh wow - that is just low. How much more tasteless and inconsiderate could you be to try and further your agenda in a town that was recently struck by an awful tragedy? Ugh. Thanks for sharing that though - good to know that these organizations that claim to try and do good things aren't so honest all the time.
ReplyDeleteI have a funny PETA story - my cousin had a dairy farm. He owns about 150 acres. He had about 40 cattle and in the summer, they were turned out on pasture all day between milking. Not too bad, right?
A PETA lady drove in the driveway - onto private property and started yelling that he was cruel to the animals to use them like that, etc. etc. He pointed out to the cows grazing in the nice pasture and mentioned that grazing on nice grass didn't seem to cruel to him. She continued to go on and on and on...
He offered to let them all run loose and become feral - he asked her if that was a good solution... She got angry at that...and through laughter he then told her he would gladly give them away to her if she wanted to take them. He would even trailer them over to her place.
Apparently she ran back to her car totally speechless. LOL.
(sorry for the long comment!)
Don't be sorry at all! I love when comments :)
ReplyDeleteThat is soooo damn funny.
I remember a few years back PETA was targeting elementary schools :O
They would sit outside and tell kids how awful drinking milk is and how cruel the cows are treated to get the milk.
I mean, how frickin low can you get? Those were CHILDREN. I really despise PETA. I think what they consider "rights" for animals is far too extreme (I have been told by a PETA supporter that riding horses is a form of abuse) and I think most of their tactics do nothing to draw attention to their issues... that instead it makes them look like wackos.
CDN-
ReplyDeleteI second your opinion on PETA, I too absolutely despise. They take tragedies such as this one and spin it into something to advance their own wacky agenda. They thrivce on the shock value and I find it appalling- I remember back around 2002-2003 they ran an ad campaign comparing laying hen operations to concentration camps. I'm sorry, that didn't keep me from eating eggs, it repulsed me that some group would stoop that low.
It's interesting to note that PETA does not condone animal ownership of any kind, that they have the same right to be free as a human, yet the average member of PETA is a middle age, middle class woman with 2 pets... wonder if they are willing to turn their pets out to be free in the wild as PETA wishes??
SG: I thought that I had heard PETA didn't condone pet ownership but I wasn't certain.
ReplyDeleteAnd ya know, it really is a good idea... turn all the domesticated animals "free" to be "natural" and live on their own. Because in todays world that is possible. And because soooo many of these animals would stand a chance in the wilderness. *sarcasm intended*
We got a new cat last year, Lola's a purebred Ragdoll. Most of the places I looked for information strongly suggested keeping this breed of cat indoor because they basically have "no natural survival instincts".
You know i heard about that too and was sickened - those poor people on the bus they will scarred forever...
ReplyDeleteMade me wish something would've happened like on the 911 plane? Where all the passengers ganged to together and said - you know what? Where not going to let this happen, we can overwhelm them and defeat them with numbers.
But I am not judging because I can't honestly say what I would do in that situation - and I don't know how many other passengers where in there or if they were all women and kids or what not.
But yeah! Nasty - what a freakin nut case. At least he is in custody now.
Agree with you on PETA - there is just no good in that group, and you are correct they believe riding horses is cruel...We had the local county fair protested once when I was younger in 4-H - we woke up and all the horses were turned out of their stalls and roaming the baseball field next to the barns! Can you believe that! They could've been run over and killed, some of the town many stay dogs could've run them off!
How is that better than being in warm stall with food and water?
Oh, I'll jump on the PETA hate wagon. Not only does PETA think that owning pets is bad, they are fine with allowing extinction. They are against conservation efforts to protect endangered animals too.
ReplyDeleteI did a research paper in college on the "true" foundation of PETA premises and come to find out-they don't believe we should have pets, eat meat or consume any animal products. O.M.G!!! They are perfectly fine with turning ALL animals loose and "letting nature take it's course". Yea, nature is so kind and gentle-LOL.
There seems to be no middle ground anymore...we have to deal with Animal Shelters that are willing to put an cat to sleep rather than let you adopt it as a barn cat and on the other end, there's PETA who says we shouldn't have or consume animals at all. The freakin world is full of wackos!!!
Steph: even without having to worry about traffic and dogs, how smart is it to turn a bunch of horses out that are "strangers"?
ReplyDeleteBECG: wow, I didn't know they were anti-conservation... but I guess conservation isn't "natural".
Have they ever stopped to consider how long we humans would last in a "natural state"? I mean, if we expect our animals to live without the comfort and aid of modern conveniences (ie heated/cooled shelter, medicine, etc) isn't it hypocritical to expect us to not do the same? lol
If you ever want to watch something interesting, watch the episode of Penn & Teller's BS where they take a look at PETA, it was interesting to say the least.
ReplyDeleteThey are supposedly linked to ELF (Earth Liberation Front)and ALF (Animal Liberation Front), those are the folks who firebomb houses of scientists and burn down housing developments. That's pretty heavy duty stuff right there... and the guys on the show asked her about resorting to violence in the name of animal rights and Ingid (the founder of PETA) basically said it was OK.
They also found out that they took in 1,500 from shelters but only 100 or so can be confirmed alive and shortly after the adoption PETA purchased a huge fridge like they use at morgues. And they caught that PETA lady dumping dead dogs in a dumpster behind some shopping mall... its all so creepy.
And then there's the thing about her want to have her skin tanned when she dies, so people can see how horrible it is to make leather...
Ok... enough ranting!
PETA is a little out of control with some of their rantings. I can not believe they tried to equate anything to that horrible bus story. I have a friend that lived outside of Portage La Prairie and her family is still there. What a crazy and horrifying story.
ReplyDeletePETA disgusts and horrifies me. Just think, most of the stars that support PETA all have a bunch of pets themselves!
ReplyDeleteSG: you just totally freaked me out!!! *shudder* PETA seems even freakier now, didn't think that was possible.
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing this to everyone's attention; treating animals ethically is on its face a great idea, but it seems to me that every good idea gets sidetracked by a bunch of lunatics who basically turn everyone against their cause. I have four beautiful bulldogs ( one is Canadian LOL) and imagining them being left to fend for themselves horrifies me, as does the idea of letting horses run wild; there are wild horses out there and many are ill and in need of help; to add more to the mix seems to be a stupid and cruel thing to do; that does not seem ethical at all. And anyone who advocates violence to promote their "cause" is a raving idiot. I give money to no kill shelters and to animal rescues; not to PETA. I used to have a fur and if my hubby weren't so cheap I would love to have another and PETA can go bugger off! I am a "meat=a=tarian! I heard that on a fast food commercial and thought it was hysterical. Merrie
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