Top 12 Lies of Animal Rights

  1. Animal rights groups are mainstream. PETA is against zoos and aquariums, black pudding, and even pet ownership. Ingrid Newkirk, PETA’s president, has said, “Pet ownership is an absolutely abysmal situation brought about by human manipulation.”
  2. Medical research using animals is unnecessary. Kausik Datta, a biomedical researcher in immunology, goes through several instances of PETA cherry-picking quotes for its propaganda and calls PETA out. While scientists are always looking to “reduce, refine, and replace” animals in research, there’s still no substitute in some instances.
  3. Undercover videos tell the truth. An appalling video appeared over a decade ago from rural China that showed an animal being skinned alive. The video was used to attack the fur industry, yet the animal rights group that surfaced it refused to cooperate with Chinese authorities who were investigating, leading some to suspect that the video was a set-up. (Hear from a former undercover videographer for the Humane Society of the U.S.)
  4. Animal rights activists are as docile as a bunny rabbit. Animal rights activists have a history of illegal tactics, including the Animal Liberation Front, a group considered by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to be a domestic terror group. PETA’s president has said, “I will be the last person to condemn ALF.”
  5. Animal rights activists don’t profit from their work. The Humane Society of the U.S. bring in over $100 million a year and spends over $40 million of that on salaries and employee benefits. A startling 42 people earn six-figure compensation packages, and its CEO is paid close to half a million dollars. Who says animal rights isn’t lucrative work?
  6. A vegan diet is the only humane and sustainable diet. A professor with the University of New South Wales calculated that a diet of free-range beef is responsible for fewer animal deaths than a vegetarian diet, and red meat is more eco-friendly than producing grains.
  7. The Bible says we should go vegan. PETA and other animal rights activists have argued that good Christians (and those of other faiths) must go vegan. Not only have religious leaders called this hogwash, but Jesus himself ate fish. (Read a more detailed take-down in the “Holy Cows” report.)
  8. It’s OK to target kids. PETA has handed out propaganda with graphic, violent images to elementary school children. However, PETA’s campaigns have been met with serious blowback from parents and educators.
  9. Wool kills animals. A PETA ad campaign depicted a man holding up a bloody lamb with the words, “Here’s the rest of your wool coat.” The problem? Wool is sheared from a lamb much like a man getting a close haircut. The lamb is very much alive, and, much as we do with hair, grows more wool.
  10. Animal rights activists are pro-life. PETA has killed 35,000 animals at its headquarters in America, about 85 percent of the animals it has taken in. PETA’s president has also advocated the mass killing of stray cats in America.
  11. Animal rights groups are worthy of your donations. Consider that CharityWatch calculates PETA spends up to 33% of its budget on overhead, including $9 million a year on salaries and benefits. Meanwhile, PETA’s German office spends 42 percent of its money on staff costs. And a lot of “program” expenses at PETA are just silly street theater stunts.
  12. Animal rights are morally sound. While caring about animal welfare is a universal value, animal rights groups make abhorrent comparisons. PETA created a campaign called “Holocaust on Your Plate” comparing farms to Nazi death camps. The Anti-Defamation League denounced the PETA campaign for its preposterous trivializing of lost human lives, and PETA was even fined in Germany.