In 2009 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) put a few more notches on its belt—2,301, to be exact. That’s how many cats and dogs met their demise at the hands of this radical animal rights group last year, according to PETA’s own “Animal Record” filings with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. That’s 97 percent of the pets that were in PETA’s care, the vast majority of which would have been happier as someone’s in-home companion than as the latest dog-sicle in PETA’s freezer. PETA’s kill count is now 23,640 since 1998. As we told the media about PETA’s status as a doggy and kitty Grim Reaper:

PETA hasn’t slowed down its hypocritical killing machine one bit, but it keeps browbeating the rest of society with a phony ‘animal rights’ message. PETA is more concerned about funding its advertising and media antics than finding suitable homes for needy cats and dogs.

Since killing pets is A-OK with PETA, why should anyone listen to their demands about eating meat, using lab mice for medical research, or taking children to the circus? Virginia regulators should reclassify PETA’s headquarters as a slaughterhouse. This is shockingly unethical behavior.

On Wednesday CNN host Jack Cafferty asked his blog readers if they agreed that PETA’s death squad is indeed hypocrisy. Here’s some of what they wrote:

Chris: Perhaps if PETA spent some of the money they currently throw at celebrities posing nude, on the actual health and well-being (read: placement) of the animals they're allegedly "rescuing," this would not be an issue.

Reynard: PETA is so critical of anyone one [sic] accused of unethical treatment of animals even before due process is granted. For them to have euthanasia rates that are so out-of-sync with other agencies makes me question their ethics. … They should protest outside of their own headquarters.

Jim: Local animal shelters struggle to raise money to provide a valuable service to people and animals. Does PETA? No, they would rather kill adoptable pets and toss them in a dumpster.

Rich: PETA cares more about cutting into their advertising budget than finding homes for the six pets they kill on average, every single day. Hypocritical is way to [sic] kind a word for these money hungry people.

Diane: This is the reason I left PETA 25 years ago. They seem to think dogs and cats have no right to even live. They don't like that we 'use them' as pets. … They would rather kill cats and dogs than to have people have them as pets.