Heard on NPR this morning about PETA

[TXlib]

OK, I know PETA does some really great things, and as a carnivore, I'm grateful that they are working to end the abuses in the meat packing industry and make our food safer and more healthful.

But...

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/Southwest/02/18/offbeat.veggieville.ap/

This story is one of the things that makes PETA look like a bunch of pot-smoking hippies to mainstream America, and undermines the serious nature of their other work.

Apparently, they want the town of Slaughterville, OK to change its name to Veggieville. The town was named for James Slaughter, a prominent early citizen of that town.

[jimbo fett]

1. That's not nearly as bad as when they wanted the town of Fishkill to

change its name to Fishsave!!!

http://www.cnn.com/US/9609/06/fishy.name/

[Dogmudgeon]

2. PETA - what a chauvinistic name!

It privileges animals!

I demand it change its name to PETAL -- People for the Ethical Treatment of All Lifeforms.

--bkl
I want the world and I want it now.

[NoPasaran]

7. Salad is Murder!

What do we want?

Plant Rights!

When do we want it?

Now!

[hlthe2b]

3. Sadly their extremism drives off the masses of potential supporters...

Like their releasing hundreds of mink from a laboratory into the wild-- only to have them freeze and starve to death, (having lost their instincts to survive in the wild). I also remember a scathing report by PETA suggesting a published retrospective review study of injuries to cats from high rise falls in NYC was based on animal experimentation by the veterinarians authoring the study.... The study looked at predictors of significant injury based on the height of the fall, from a review of cases presenting to a major NYC veterinary emergency clinic over many years, and of course did not reflect experimental injuries of animals for study. To falsely slander veterinarians, who as a group should and could be among their key advocates, is really really stupid IMO-- beyond the blatant ignorance their action underscores....

PETA can be excused a few times for "having good intentions," no matter the tactics or outcome. But, I think that time has long since passed.

[DarkPhenyx]

4. My opinion on PETA. is well documented.

No need to repeat it all here again.

[Archae]

5. PETA is a bunch of whack jobs.

Simply put.

They've done practically NOTHING to end real animal abuse, and their ultimate goals include laws making having a pet illegal.
No, I am not making that up.

They also support "animal rights" terrorist groups like ALF.
(The numbskulls who every year set minks on mink farms free, even though those animals are too domesticated to live in the wild.)

This is the organization that equates farming to the Holocaust, and repeatedly has run campaigns on college campuses to tell students there to stop drinking milk, and drink beer instead.

In short, this group has a view of animals shaped by watching movies like "Bambi," not PBS' "Nature."

[Lisa0825]

8. you are absolutely right about PETA.

They want to end pet breeding, ownership, and all uses of animals. I once heard the either founder or leader or whatever she was say that if you were driving down the road and there was a boy and a dog in the road, and you had to hit ONE with your car, because you couldn't avoid both, you should hit the BOY because he'd get better medical attention. they are LOONIES!!! And all these silly Hollywood stars who sign up to promote them probably have NO CLUE about what PETA really supports. they totally misrepresent themselves to the public so they can rake in the bucks to promote their more radical agenda.

[PVnRT]

6. I don't know if PETA actually cares about ending abuses to animals

I mean, it seems to me that they just pull off whatever big-time publicity stunt they can to get their names into the paper. I know plenty of people argue that that is how they get their word out, but in reality, i tjust makes them look like kooks.