PETA - People for Evil Taping of Animals

Wow, this is the top story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today. I guess news is a bit thin around here (for which we should not complain). I read the whole thing (in paper form), and I shook my head.

I consider myself an animal activist (low level). I do what I can, typically volunteer time to raise money to help with controlling the feral cat population. PETA makes animal activists look like left-wing insano nut jobs. It saddens me.

The "spy," in my opinion, didn't find much. I felt a twinge in my heart for the dog with the hurt paw, but the other bullet-point facts in this article caused me to utter a few audible "so?"s.

Gotta fisk it!

The videotape — mostly of Iams, Menu Foods and Isto study-related animals — was whittled down to snippets of riveting scenes:


• A beagle clawing maniacally at the metal bars of its cage; a dog circling wildly in its cage, another cowering quietly in back; and a meowing cat pacing back and forth inside its cage. PETA claims these are signs of distressed and bored animals.

Animals get restless, you know? Ever seen a restless human? Sometimes those are put on Ritalin. But, this is similar behavior to the animals I have seen in the Humane Society. Why isn't PETA banging down their doors and demanding that the animals be let free? I mean, really. I have skittish cats. You should see their behavior when it's vet time...

• A group of at least 10 beagles, slowly awakening from anesthesia, lined up on the floor of an exam room after having their bone density measured by an X-ray densitometer. PETA claims such unsterile conditions are unsafe. Bouchard said that the floor was clean and that beagles were placed close together to conserve body heat.

I have no authority by which to comment on this one. But, have you ever laid on the floor? I laid down on the grass to stretch after the Watermelon Ride today. I must be unsterile. I have to stop here, though - not sure what the test does or if it's invasive.

• A dog, asleep from anesthesia, strapped on its back during an X-ray. "When the dog is done, make sure they're breathing," an off-camera worker says, moving his hand over the prone animal's stomach. "When you see they've stopped breathing, give them (this)," the worker says, pantomiming a slap at the dog.

So, tell me, can you tell the difference between a slap and a tap by reading about it? Hmm, I sure can't. What would PETA have said if the advice is to laugh maniacally at and insult the mother of the the not-breathing dog? Pleh.

• A pig in distress, convulsing on its side in a cage. A worker tells the spy that the pig almost died, perhaps from the position of a heart catheter, but they managed to resuscitate the animal.

Wow - this stuff never happens, does it? Some unknown condition surfaces during some medical procedure, and the doctors (or veterinarians) have to take drastic measures to safe the life of the person/animal? Sorry, not enough info. No substance; only sand.

• Employees discussing their work with sheep, saying that surgeries were rushed and that there were problems with the medical equipment.

Again, problems arise, even in the medical field. (I think I covered this point quite adequately in the message above.

• Dogs walking gingerly on metal-slotted cage floors, the bars too narrow for their paws. In one scene, a beagle has its leg stuck in the slotted bottom. The dog is obviously in pain and can't move. Another dog is later shown after being rescued from having its leg caught. As the animal holds its left hind leg off the ground because of the pain, the camera zooms in on a severe red and green wound.

Okay, this one got me. I was upset. Score one for PETA.

But that's as good as it gets, baby. Riveting? Hardly. I was more offended by the fact that a cat yesterday that was hit (and killed) by a car remained in the road (and was likely hit by many other cars post mortem) was not removed by my municipality or a kind citizen.

The article was worth reading, and it carried the story around the allegations, so it held my interest, but, in the end, in all good conscience, I really have to stop using those PETA address labels they send while soliciting (ignored) donations.

Sigh, driven to that.

hln

Posted by hln at June 22, 2003 08:23 PM | Blogspot Blog