While animal shelters are diligently rescuing pet animals and uniting them with families, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is killing animals–by the thousands.

According to new data from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, PETA euthanized 2,092 dogs and cats in 2022 (along with 30 other animals). The numbers come from PETA itself; animal shelters in Virginia are required to report animal disposition figures.

Over two decades, PETA has killed nearly 50,000 animals in its purported “shelter” at its Virginia headquarters, which a state inspector once compared to a “euthanasia clinic.”

PETA’s killing is going in the wrong direction. PETA’s kill count grew by 23 percent in one year, and the last time PETA killed more than 2,000 animals was back in 2014.

PETA also euthanizes far more animals than other Virginia pet shelters: 74 percent compared to a mere 8 percent.

Worse yet, PETA employees have even been charged for putting down adoptable pets. As one example from 2014, workers seized a Virginia family’s Chihuahua from their home; the owner then reported that the culprits returned with a fruit basket and news that the dog had been killed. The county sheriff ultimately charged the PETA workers with larceny.

And despite PETA’s staff of hundreds and millions of dollars in revenue, its track record with animal adoption remains appalling. It has an adoption rate of barely 2 percent for dogs and cats.

Why would PETA–a “humane” organization claiming to protect sentient beings–take such inhumane and deadly actions?

Simple. PETA has told us all along it doesn’t care about pet ownership, a concept Ingrid Newkirk calls “an abysmal situation.”

In interviews and other public statements, PETA’s leadership has supported abolishing the human-pet bond altogether, suggesting that people should instead look to inanimate objects for companionship. PETA has also argued it’s better to euthanize an animal than allow it to face a hypothetical threat in the future. Talk about twisted logic.

While PETA gladly pontificates about the “unethical” treatment of animals, it shows no remorse in putting down healthy, affectionate pet animals. Make sure others know the truth about PETA.