Category Archive: Other

  1. PETA and the Vaccine

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    Of all the outlandish viewpoints held within the animal liberation movement, its opposition to medical testing on rodents may be the most dangerous. 

    Almost all human medicine is developed in part by using studies on animals, typically mice and rats. Researchers have operated for decades under the principle to “reduce, refine, and replace” the use of animals in research where possible, but in many areas, it simply isn’t possible. That’s because there is no practical or accurate alternative–computers cannot simulate a living organism well. Universities and other research centers have Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees to oversee research and ensure animal welfare. 

    Against this background, we were curious to see how animal liberation groups were treating the COVID-19 vaccine. Would groups like PETA take a principled stance against the COVID vaccines, which were developed using animals? 

    Apparently not. Groups like PETA have cleared the way for their staff and supporters to get vaccinated–while acknowledging that the vaccines were tested on animals.

    “While science is changing, we still live in a world in which tests on animals are a legal requirement for many medicines and animal-friendly substitutes aren’t available,” the organization stated. “If we were to refuse medical treatment for ethical reasons, it could lead to a decline in our health—and our ability to speak up for animals in the future might be limited.”

    So PETA allows its staff to use animal-tested vaccines to keep themselves safe and healthy so they can continue to fight for what they believe in. Yet they are actively working to stop the use of animals in medical testing for the development of new drugs that could also keep their members–as well as the citizenry at large–safe and healthy. 

    By the same logic, we have to wonder: What if a PETA staffer said that eating meat increased his ability to advocate? High-protein diets are often recommended for people looking to lose weight and live healthier lives, and obesity significantly increases one’s chance for a severe reaction to a COVID-19 infection. 

    Would PETA be down with that? We doubt it.

    Naturally, hypocrisy from PETA isn’t new. After all, this is a group that kills pets at its headquarters.

    A former vice president of the organization, Mary Beth Sweetland, was very open about the fact that she needed insulin to control her diabetes. She used the same reasoning that current executives are using with the vaccine: she needs it to keep fighting for animals.

    “I’m an insulin-dependent diabetic. Twice a day I take synthetically manufactured insulin that still contains some animal products — and I have no qualms about it … I’m not going to take the chance of killing myself by not taking insulin. I don’t see myself as a hypocrite. I need my life to fight for the rights of animals,” Sweetland said at the time. 

    The fact is that animal testing is an essential part of drug development. The reason Pfizer and Moderna were able to rapidly develop mRNA vaccines to fend off COVID is because they had spent decades testing this science on animals. Since the 1990s, scientists have slowly improved the safety and efficacy of mRNA vaccines based on data collected from mice, rats, golden Syrian hamsters and rhesus macaque monkeys. 

    They did not know at the time that the data used to improve mRNA treatments would be needed during an emergency pandemic, but luckily for us, it was all there. The same may not be true for future generations if animal testing is outlawed. 

    If PETA supporters are okay with the use of the animal-tested COVID vaccines because it could keep the next generation of animal rights activists healthy, they shouldn’t obstruct animal testing. After all, no one knows what pandemic PETA supporters of the 22nd Century may face. 

  2. PETA’s California Circus Bill is a Trojan Horse

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    PETA: Ethical? No. Deceptive? Yes.

    In what seems to be an episode in its misleading campaign to ban animals, PETA is pushing California lawmakers to ban any facility from traveling with wild or exotic animals.  The bill, so-called “Circus Cruelty Prevention Act,” isn’t meant to target circuses but rather small groups that exhibit animals for educational purposes.

    The bill, introduced by accused drunk driver State Sen. Bill Hueso, would seek to limit anyone who uses animals ranging from camels to kangaroos from being able to travel with their animals unless they’re accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums or the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries. Noncompliance with the act would result in a $25,000 fine, a detrimental price to pay for a mom and pop business.

    What does that mean?

    Do you enjoy seeing a realistic Nativity scenes? Too bad.

    Think animal outreach groups who bring animals to schools to educate kids about the beauty of nature are great? Sorry.

    Those are just a few examples of what will happen should this bill pass.

    The bill is unnecessary because it completely sidesteps the fact that the nearly 300 exhibitors are licensed, accredited, and monitored by the US Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

    Forcing them to join one of two accreditation programs reeks of collusion. Regarding the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, AZA members are typically large zoos. Forcing smaller exhibitors to join doesn’t seem appropriate. But AZA is likely included in the bill because its CEO, Dan Ashe, is sympathetic to animal rights extremists. He is longtime friends with alleged serial sexual harasser Wayne Pacelle of HSUS and gave Pacelle a prime speaking slot in 2017. AZA also allowed PETA to exhibit at its conference last year. (Even though PETA openly wants to shut down every zoo and aquarium, including AZA members. It’s mind-bogglingly naïve—at best.)

    The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, meanwhile, is little more than a front group for anti-zoo activists. GFAS is not exactly some kind of gold standard. GFAS accredited Chimps, Inc., a sanctuary in Oregon that was cited for alleged safety violations, for instance.

    PETA doesn’t care though. PETA is ultimately against animal ownership—including pets—and it will do whatever it can to advance that agenda bit by bit.

  3. PETA Loses Request for Chicken Memorial

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    Chicken-statue405tallThe City of Salem, Oregon has denied People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) request to erect a statue in honor of approximately 5,400 of chickens killed, wounded, distressed or missing in action from a truck crash earlier this month. The statue, designed by cartoonist Harry Bliss, stands over five feet tall and depicts a bloodied chicken on crutches.

    It’s a pointless stunt designed to gain free press. But it led us to wonder: Would PETA be so kind as to display a statue memorializing the thousands of animals deliberately killed by PETA every year?

    We know that PETA kills animals on purpose, but now, they want to memorialize a few hundred chickens that were killed during a simple truck driving accident. Their argument is, “We hope that our statue will let people know that the best way to prevent crashes such as this one is to go vegan, because chickens shouldn’t have to make the terrifying trip to the slaughterhouse at all.” That same rationale from PETA’s vegan activists did little good preventing “adorable” and “perfect” homeless pets from going under the syringe in the back of a PETA van some years back.

    This wounded Chicken Little statue is yet another scheme for attention by PETA. The reality is that PETA cannot be taken seriously because they do not do serious things. They barbecued a topless woman, tried to give vegetables sex appeal, kill animals they claim to protect, and sell breast milk cheese, among other antics. Erecting a cartoon statue of a bloody chicken on crutches will only add to the list of forgotten larks by PETA.