PETA has a dark and unethical side
There have recently been a number of letters published regarding the activities of the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), with members or supporters of that organisation seeking to burnish its credentials by highlighting its activities in China and elsewhere.
However, there is another, disturbing, side to this organisation which its supporters won’t want you to know about: the numerous proven links between PETA and extremists in the UK and US who advocate arson and other forms of what is euphemistically described as “direct action” in the name of animal rights. Although PETA denies that it engages in such acts, it has frequently donated funds to those who do, and has also funded legal costs for those charged with violent acts.
I did not obtain this information from some dodgy “conspiracy theory” website, but from the Guardian, a respected UK-based newspaper with tedious and irritating “liberal lefty” credentials. Some of PETA’s declared aims seem to me to verge on the extreme, and tactics used in some of their demonstrations could be construed as being morally and ethically questionable. I wouldn’t donate a satang to its already overstuffed coffers. The Soi Dog Foundation seems like a much worthier recipient of charitable donations, and what’s more, the folks in charge there seem to have a sense of humour, something which is sorely lacking at PETA.
Robin Grant
