If you happen to be friends with any avid animal lovers on Facebook, then there’s a decent chance that you’ve encountered more than a few unwelcome PETA links on your feed.And while the charity’s shock tactics are disconcerting, they’re not the only reason why this organization is problematic.
YouTube vlogger Calum McSwiggan took to Twitter to explain to his followers why they shouldn’t donate money to PETA — and the evidence is damning.
Here’s a thread about why you shouldn’t donate money to @PETA and why you should instead fund animal charities who deserve your support ?
— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) July 14, 2017
Calum pointed out the fact that PETA has an alarming history of euthanizing the majority of the “stray” animals that it takes in (which many people believe is due to the PETA philosophy that anything short of allowing animals to roam completely free is essentially animal abuse, so death is a preferably alternative).
While wasting thousands on absurd PR campaigns, they kill 97% of the animals they “rescue” because they “can’t afford” to take care of them.
— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) July 14, 2017
In the past decade alone PETA have killed over 30,000 healthy cats and dogs brought into their care because it’s the “kind thing to do.”
— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) July 14, 2017
If these claims seem a little far-fetched, they’re actually accurate. Last year, Huffington Post did a report on PETA members in Virginia who stole pets from rural properties and immediately took them back to their “shelter” to be put down. The outlet reported that, in 2014, “PETA killed 2,324 of the 2,626 animals it acquired.”
“PETA employees both take in and seek out, often through deception, theft and outright lies, thousands of animals every year, the vast majority of whom they immediately put to death with a fatal dose of poison,” HuffPo reported. “While PETA claims the animals it takes in and kills are ‘unadoptable,’ the facts do not support this claim.”
Taking these reports into consideration, it’s difficult to consider PETA as anything more than an unhinged, fanatical group, as opposed to a charitable organization — particularly when taking into account the amount of time and energy they spend on paranoid, antagonistic ad campaigns and harassing small businesses and individuals.
Calum illustrated some of the more egregious examples, which include alleging that Pokémon encourages “cruelty to animals.”
Some of the absurd ways they spend their money includes developing a mock video game to criticise Pokémon for encouraging cruelty to animals pic.twitter.com/raCmuRQbqB
— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) July 14, 2017
They even tried to claim that super mario was supporting the fur industry and further criticised him for supposedly being cruel to turtles. pic.twitter.com/uvaN1Vsexn
— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) July 14, 2017
And remember the guy the internet celebrated for saving his dog from that kangaroo? PETA tried to have him prosecuted for animal cruelty… pic.twitter.com/NJWP827lk2
— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) July 14, 2017
And they’re currently financially ruining a photographer by claiming the copyright of his famous monkey selfie belongs to the monkey ??♂️ pic.twitter.com/oXSCu1pBCV
— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) July 14, 2017
They even attacked everyone’s favourite ice cream dads @benandjerrys and tried to get them to replace their dairy products with human milk ?
— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) July 14, 2017
They advocate for people feeding their cats a vegetarian diet despite knowing full well that it is essential for cats to eat meat to survive
— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) July 14, 2017
And instead of targeting those who are actually cruel to animals, they instead try to shut down independent farmers and small businesses
— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) July 14, 2017
Even their work in trying to convert people to veganism is undermined by their insistence on trying to guilt people into giving up meat.
— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) July 14, 2017
PETA also regularly fills our social media newsfeeds with graphic images of animals being tortured or killed — a movement which elicits shock and revulsion, but rarely compels people to actually, say become vegan.
Instead of gently encouraging people to try a vegan diet, they instead fill our social feeds with videos of animals being tortured & killed.
— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) July 14, 2017
It causes a lot of people a lot of distress, it’s unethical to market to people in this way, and most importantly: it doesn’t work.
— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) July 14, 2017
Don’t support an organisation that cares more about itself than the animals it claims to protect. Support a worthy charity instead ❤
— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) July 14, 2017
The bottom line is that there are actual, kind-hearted organization dedicated to helping pets and animals out there. PETA might be the loudest by far, by that certainly doesn’t mean that it’s the most trustworthy.
If you’re considering donating to an animal welfare charity, consider sending your money to the Animal Welfare Institute or PetSmart Charities, both of which have received A+ ratings by CharityWatch.org.