According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, ‘Cats smell, they are a nuisance, make too much noise, are a public health and rabies threat, transmit disease and parasites, including “roundworms, hookworms, and even plague,” and “terrorize and kill” 15 billion other animals a year.’ The only thing missing is a claim they are in league in witches.
Why is PETA demonizing cats? They are trying to stop Camden County, NJ, officials from embracing TNR even though doing so would improve their lives and save the cats from the threat posed by killing at the pound.
Instead, PETA is telling Camden County officials to do what they themselves do: round them up and plunge a needle full of poison into their bodies.
PETA may be a hypocrite by calling itself an “animal rights” organization when they “do not ‘advocate right to life’ for animals,” but they do practice what they preach. Not only does PETA itself kill roughly nine out of 10 animals it takes in every year, including healthy kittens. Not only does PETA itself round up to kill animals (sometimes illegally). But PETA functionaries specifically target healthy community cats for destruction.
In 2015, for example, PETA staff rounded up cats in the neighborhoods surrounding its Virginia-headquarters and took them to local kill pounds. Among those killed in Virginia Beach were community cats as young as six weeks old, two six-month old kittens in “good” health, an eight-month old kitten in “good” health, and a 10-month old also described in “good” health. Eleven of the 17 cats killed were one year old or younger, five were between two and three years old, and the oldest was only six years old.
The same occurred in Norfolk, VA. Among those killed were two months old, three months old, and four months old kittens who needed socialization, but were otherwise healthy and had their whole lives ahead of them.
When you donate to PETA, you not only pay to round up and kill animals, you pay to demonize cats and undermine efforts to save their lives.
Note: In my response to Camden County freeholders, I provided them with studies that show community cat sterilization programs reduce intakes, reduce killing, save money, allow shelters to do more to help animals without increasing staff, reduce DOAs and overall numbers, reduce rates of illness in shelters, reduce perceived “nuisance” complaints, and are supported by Health Departments across the country.
I also told them that given PETA’s history of illegal and unethical conduct, including the fact that they kill over 90% of animals while only adopting out 1%, no one interested in saving lives should be listening to them.
————-
Have a comment? Join the discussion by clicking here.