Death toll up to 17,400; overdue report describes PETA's deadliest year ever



WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An official report from People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), submitted nine months after a Virginia government agency's deadline, shows that the animal rights group put to death more than 97 percent of the dogs, cats, and other pets it took in for adoption in 2006. During that year, the well-known animal rights group managed to find adoptive homes for just 12 pets. The nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) is calling on PETA to either end its hypocritical angel-of-death program, or stop its senseless condemnation of Americans who believe it's perfectly ethical to use animals for food, clothing, and critical medical research.

Not counting animals PETA held only temporarily in its spay-neuter program, the organization took in 3,061 "companion animals" in 2006, of which it killed 2,981. According to Virginia's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), the average euthanasia rate for humane societies in the state was just 34.7 percent in 2006. PETA killed 97.4 percent of the animals it took in. The organization filed its 2006 report this month, nine months after the VDACS deadline of March 31, 2007.

"Pet lovers should be outraged," said CCF Director of Research David Martosko. "There are thousands of worthwhile animal shelters that deserve Americans' support. PETA is not one of them."

In courtroom testimony last year, a PETA manager acknowledged that her organization maintains a large walk-in freezer for storing dead animals, and that PETA contracts with a Virginia cremation service to dispose of the bodies. In that trial, two PETA employees were convicted of dumping dead animals in a rural North Carolina trash dumpster.

Today in Southampton County, Virginia, another PETA employee will face felony charges in a dog-napping case. Andrea Florence Benoit Harris was arrested in late 2006 for allegedly abducting a hunting dog and attempting to transport it to PETA's Norfolk headquarters.

"PETA raised over $30 million last year," Martosko added, "and it's using that money to kill the only flesh-and-blood animals its employees actually see. The scale of PETA's hypocrisy is simply staggering."


[ via PRNewswire ]

This so interesting to know.what hypocrites.all those people with ruined fur coats should go after them

I read this and was absolutely mortified. I don't even know what to say. Very disappointing and very disturbing.

I'm shocked. Only 12 were adopted out???? Twelve out of 3,061!!!!!!!! That is outrageous.

Why are they taking animals in if they can't find homes for them? I don't mind that they are getting donations. I've always thought that they were an advocacy group. I didn't think they actually took animals in.

Then what the heck are shelters for?

First, CCF's headline is inaccurate. It implies that 97% of pets in the United States (or in the world) were killed.

Second, most of the animals that Peta takes in are unadoptable or are going to be euthanized by shelters that use gas instead of injection to euthanize the animals. (Injection is quicker and more humane.)

Third, it's important for people to know what the Center for Consumer Freedom is. It's a deceptively named group that was founded with money from the tobacco industry. (For more information, visit SourceWatch or ConsumerDeception.org.) The CCF's goal was to put a positive spin on smoking. When that failed, they moved to other industries and are now funded by the restaurant, alcohol, meat and dairy industries.

The CCF opposes Mothers Against Drunk Driving. And their MO is to try to discredit those groups that oppose the CCF. Peta is one of those groups because it cares about animals and doesn't want people to murder them for food.

Hey, nice to have someone from PETA here. I have a really nice fur coat that will really piss you off. Come throw some fake blood on me and I'll pretend I'm CT.

These numbers are not suprising, I know PETA euthanized quite a few animals that they could not adopt out to "help control the population" however I didn't know the numbers were so high. I am really disappointed in them regardless of what either companies goal is (PETA or the CCF).

I agree Stacee. Even if the CCF is a paid lobbyist group, that does not forgive the astronomical mortally rate in Virgina PETA shelters. Maybe now that this information is out there, people can make more informed decisions in that State when giving up an animal. Unless you feel the cat or dog should be put down, highly consider other shelters in the region!

"Animal Lover" even gave us all sorts of spammy links at the end of her post to different web pages about dieting and a bunch of other random junk. I take a PETA approach on this website to external links and kill 97% of them.