[Sarah Hall]

Ok, so I keep getting e-mail from PETA people in Orlando (which I'm SOOOO Fing sick of) saying dog training and dog breeding is CRUEL. They say to go adopt a dog from a shelter, but it's cruel for a dog to be confined in a kennel, so don't you dare do it. But, shelters are also cruel, so only go to the shelters PETA likes. Oh, and shelters give animals for vivisection, so nevermind about the shelter. Oh, and no more police and seeing eye dogs, actually no pet dogs. Oh, and make your dog eat veggies and fruits ONLY, and oh, don't wear wool, because sheep suffer. No fish tanks, those are PRISONS for FISHIES! Oh, and don't throw any non-biodegradeable trash away, instead make a nice stinky composte heap behind your house so all the rats and mice and other animals can feast on garbage. They're slaves to human beings, and should be set free.....
---But wait, wasn't PETA the one caught dumping "saved" dogs and cats into dumpsters?
---Wasn't PETA the one who euthanized feral cats that were supposed to be part of a "capture, neuter, and release" program, then condemned livestock owners that humanely killed the animals for human consumption?
---Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, during his last meal, decided to not eat meat. PETA’s response to this was given by Bruce Friedrich, when he told reporters “Mr. McVeigh’s decision to go vegetarian groups him with some of the world’s greatest visionaries.
---PETA's 2001 Form 990. PETA payed lawyer fees for animal rights criminals involving the North American Earth Liberation Front, an FBI-declared domestic terrorist organization.
---Claim that if research on just one animal could save 50 Million human lives, they would be against it.
---After September 11th, PETA issued a press release accusing Mayor Giuliani of "poor record when it comes to animals" claiming that he should be setting up a task force to retrieve nearby cats and dogs that have been "high traumatized and left orphaned" Keep in mind that all human resources were focused on rescuing humans from the debris, what rescue personnel who weren't killed in the collapse of the towers, were working days with little or no sleep; rescue personnel from around the country flew to NYC to help. PETA also mentioned the search and rescue dogs used to help save lives and bring closure by finding bodies are abused because they are "unwillingly forced" to work.
I could go on and on, but that is the end of my ranting for now....

 

[Mike Schoonbrood]

So should I have my PETA membership revoked????? I'm so confused... :lol:

 

[Sarah Hall]

LMAO.... you're worse than me: you have 2 SLAVE dogs that you feed ABUSED meat!!! AGGHH! :lol:

 

[Woody Taylor]

So should I have my PETA membership revoked????? I'm so confused... :lol:

That's what I couldn't figure out? Sarah, tell us how you really feel about it! Having a hard time making out words as I munch all this delicious lettuce. And post your email to all these hardcore animal rights groups. Being a mod now has really helped boost membership!

Never eat anything with a face! Unless it's a vegetable that looks like a famous face. Then sell it. But only to vegetarians. Hitler Potatoes and stuff like that. Big demand for veggies with faces. Like dogs with fight drive.

 

[Connie Sutherland]

LMAO.... you're worse than me: you have 2 SLAVE dogs that you feed ABUSED meat!!! AGGHH! :lol:

Mike's *dogs* have a slave *human*..... just like mine do.

Who's carrying the poop bag, huh?

 

[Sarah Hall]

Obviously this is my stand: Meat is good. Dogs are cool. and PETA sucks @$$.
But with all seriousness, I'm not 100% for animal testing, namely for testing of cosmetics and shampoos on them. I think if just one animal had to suffer and a cure to AIDS was found, I think that the suffering of the animal would be worth it to remedy the suffering of millions of humans.
As far as eating meat, I've been to a slaughterhouse. I've seen, first hand, how cows, pigs, and chickens are slaughtered. It's not pretty, and sure as hell isn't something I ever do, but it's a fact that we, due to our higher intelligence, are on the top of the food chain and cows, chickens, and pigs are our PREY. I think shooting a cow in the head is more "humane" than a lion out in Africa suffocating it's prey while other lions are already tearing into the hindquarters of the animal.
I don't wear animal fur, that is one thing I agree on with PETA. I sure would wear wool if I lived somewhere that it wouldn't be CRAZY to do so, though.
But when it comes to being "for" or "against" PETA, I am 100% against them. Not one of those people you see the "People Eating Tasty Animals" bumper sticker on the bumper of their dilapidated truck, but I still will voice my opinion against them if asked to do so.
PETA is a terrorist organization that uses ANY means to put animals above humans. PETA has contributed thousands of dollars to known activist extremists. Most of these extremist were involved in either ALF or ELF, two organizations under FBI watch. The FBI is monitoring these organizations for acts of terrorism in the United States. These acts include arson, bombings, cutting the brake lines on fishery trucks, breaking and entering, destruction of government and organizational research laboratories and murder. ALF, in one statement, has admitted to over 100 acts of terrorism, all in the name of animal rights and the economy.
Of course, you cannot overlook PETA's fundraisers, such as their most popular "Running of the Nudes". Now, what the HELL does women running around naked have to do with animal welfare? PETA claims that the display is both an anti-fur and running of the bulls protest. The organization raked in almost $14 million in 2001, however the only spent a little over $13,000 on campaigns against animal cruelty. The rest went on to purchase vehicles, renovate facilities, and (of course) fund these extremist "humane" organizations.

 

[Mike Schoonbrood]

My dogs are super abused, poor doogs, someone take them away from me.... I leave shrimp pasta on the kitchen counter so Cujo can steal it, n then a piece of cake on my desk, all so I take him into the back yard n run around with a whip n a sleeve n make him bite me, then prance around carrying a sleeve in his mouth while I force him to wag his tail. Then I take my puppy outside n run around with the whip n make her bite me too n laugh at her when I watch her stumble over herself trying to carry the puppy sleeve, then I take them inside n make them drink water n lock them in their crate prisons to eat their $10/day slaughtered dog food. PETA is gonna revoke my membership any day now, I think my neighbors are PETA spies, they'll be reporting back to the mothership when the planets align.

 

[susan tuck]

LOL! I heard a joke once - told much better than I can - but it had to do with how we would be perceived by "aliens from another planet", marching around behind our doggies holding our bags of poop like some sort of precious commodity.

That was kind of mean of PETA to say that after 9/11 no one did anything about the animals. I remember seeing the Animal Control officers spending a lot of time going in abandoned apartment buildings to rescue pets on a few episodes of "Animal Cops" (or whatever it's called) on Animal Planet. This was right after 9/11, & they worked as hard as they could to save animals. For Peta to say that is a slap in face of all those people. Also involved was the vets/employees/volunteers for the Humane Society.

 

[Sarah Hall]

:lol: @ Mike
PETA only says what is convinient to say when most people are uninformed of the truth. I remember actually getting into a fight with a PETA person when they flung a dead animal into my lap and told me not to drive my car because it kills animals. I, after about 30 mins, forced the tree-hugging hippies to leave. Didn't hurt that I had a partially-trained protection Rottie with me that just would've LOVED to chase these silly looking people with signs around.
This all happened, ironically, at a humane society fund-raiser I helped at a few years back.

 

[Mike Schoonbrood]

I remember seeing the Animal Control officers spending a lot of time going in abandoned apartment buildings to rescue pets on a few episodes of "Animal Cops"

Don't you know?? They staged those episodes to shut PETA up, but one of the producers was a super secret undercover PETA agent that leaked the information out so PETA launched an even bigger campaign to try and pass a bill that required all children between the ages of 12 and 16 in certain ZIP codes to participate in the animal rescue efforts, but it turned out this was a violation of child labor laws so the head of PETA was arrested and tried in front of a Jury, but 8 of the Jury members were also super secret undercover PETA agents so he was never convicted.

 

[Sarah Hall]

ROFL... You're a riot, Mike! :lol:

 

[Connie Sutherland]

I remember seeing the Animal Control officers spending a lot of time going in abandoned apartment buildings to rescue pets on a few episodes of "Animal Cops"

Don't you know?? They staged those episodes to shut PETA up, but one of the producers was a super secret undercover PETA agent that leaked the information out so PETA launched an even bigger campaign to try and pass a bill that required all children between the ages of 12 and 16 in certain ZIP codes to participate in the animal rescue efforts, but it turned out this was a violation of child labor laws so the head of PETA was arrested and tried in front of a Jury, but 8 of the Jury members were also super secret undercover PETA agents so he was never convicted.

I knew that.

 

[Woody Taylor]

I don't wear animal fur, that is one thing I agree on with PETA. I sure would wear wool if I lived somewhere that it wouldn't be CRAZY to do so, though.

My wife's friend's brother raises Huskies in the Northwoods upstate. Really good ones. Those things are a joke to feed--expense, time, etc.--because you have so many dogs.

He came up with what I thought was a very creative solution. He feeds raw, and he gets carcasses from the local firm farm. Like, in bulk, ermine and god knows what else, just everything but the skins. Feeds those to the dogs and his food bill is CHEAP. He did say feeding time is a little bit like various scenes from the "Alien(s)" movies...apparently the de-furred critters look a lot like stuff that pops out of everybody's stomachs in those films.

I don't have a problem with PETA's underlying rationale. I'm an animal nut, I love all kinds of animals. I used to read up a lot of animal rights and animal ethics (Peter Singer, stuff like that)...fact of the matter is, there's a lot of plausible notions for not messing with animals in many cases. The problem, with most groups, is the zeal and lack of perspective they show. IMHO. I was a vegetarian for a long time. Makes a lot of sense to me on a lot of different levels. Now I have small kids, so I just eat whatever is on the floor and chairs after they are done. It varies.

Just for the record, fur bugs me a lot. I think it's pretty much obscene...hard on the animal and just really tough for me to even look at. But I wear leather and stuff. A lot of people I went to school with do not, lots of people in my red (like Soviet Red) neighborhood do not. All god's folks, I guess.

 

[Sarah Hall]

I don't mind leather.... obviously because I have a couch made of it... but I think it's a bit better because we're using the animal for more than it's hide. I did refuse to disect the cat in my advanced anatomy class in high school. People tried to call me a tree-hugger, but I don't think that was that extreme....

 

[Woody Taylor]

I don't mind leather.... obviously because I have a couch made of it... but I think it's a bit better because we're using the animal for more than it's hide. I did refuse to disect the cat in my advanced anatomy class in high school. People tried to call me a tree-hugger, but I don't think that was that extreme....

I guess that's the problem (?) with it, and why I'm partially sympathetic to their feelings (if not their positions). If you read a lot of animal ethics stuff, it can be pretty persuasive...that argument you use for not dissecting the cat becomes an argument for not dissecting anything...after all, a cat's a "cat" just because we choose to put value on the cat. A pig can be a heck of a pet, but used in lab experiments. What's the qualititative difference, and is that enough to justify dissecting a pig fetus but not a kitten? Go down that road one way, and you end up throwing fake blood on rich ladies in NYC (which again, I think is pretty cool) or this really horrible incident in 1997.

It makes my head hurt to think about it these days, but it was pretty interesting to me at one time. I got a degree in stuff that makes my head hurt now. ;-)

 

[Sarah Hall]

Oh yes, they can be QUITE persuasive. They throw dead animals in people's laps to make them against the fur trade. They put hidden cameras in bags and record puppy mills, testing labs, and slaughterhouses. Then they post these videos online for shock value to uninformed consumers, and it works. Like I said before, I've been in a slaughterhouse more than once, and have seen what they do to cows, sheep(once), pigs, and chickens. Yes, PETA's videos are PARTIALLY correct. But one must remember these videos are from LONG ago. You can tell by the quality of the video, and sometimes by clothing worn by the offenders. When I did go into the slaughterhouse (owned by my half-uncle in Alabama), I was shocked at how humane most of the slaughter is. For one, the animals are killed quickly (usually, as brutal as some people think it is, with a quick shot from a large caliber gun to the brain). Chickens are still sometimes killed in ways PETA loves (grab chicken by head, a couple quick wrist flicks, and snap goes the neck), but other times they're sedated to the point that their heart stops. Both techniques listed are used with pigs. Yes, there are still some slaughterhouses that , I'm sure, still use the old method. If you watch the PETA videos on this, you'll see. Basically, cattle have their heads restricted and their throats cut. Sheep are hung upside down by their hind legs and thier throats are cut. Chickens are knocked senseless/neck's broken and then dipped in scalding water to de-feather (sometimes they're still alive). Pigs are electrocuted to death. These are the slaugtherhouses that supply to chains like Food Lion, Bravo supermarkets, and other less-popular supermarket chains.
Oh, and I wouldn't have disected anything, cat, pig, dog... I just don't like the idea of killing an animal for a high school class. Granted, it was an AP class, but I guarantee 99.9% of the students DIDN'T ever need to learn what the insides of a domestic animal look like. Now, I know this could be taken to "well, why is killing an animal slowly for research different?!" and I understand that there are more humane ways to test things. Hell, I'd love to take that position, but I know there's nothing to do about it. Because there are those who go "it's just a cat (dog, monkey, etc.)" and those people just so happen to fund and supply these labs. Nothing I could do to change it. Maybe Gates or Trump, those people that have QUITE enough money to throw around, but not me. Kind of like the election, there always are some uncounted, lost ballots and hanging chads to get in your way. :twisted:

 

[Sarah Hall]

Oh, and BTW, great article! :lol:

 

[Connie Sutherland]

Humanely-raised and -slaughtered animals are not the norm in the country. Big ag is about battery hens, indescribable methods for producing "milk-fed" veal, and feed lots that I don't want to talk about.

I wish PETA did not harbor the crazed extremists in with the well-meant and often misguided people who join with the hope that they might prevent some of the misery that the huge food corporations (and others) perpetrate, but it does. I could never support the org because too many awful things have been done in its name (as awful as, and even worse than, the lives of misery and terror that so many slaughter animals live, from birth to death).

But it's not just part extremist terrorists; it's also part "regular" people who are horrified at much of the food industry's practices and may not be making the best choice when they sign on to support a group that's out of control.

The people I admire in all this: The farmers and producers who have changed the way they do things. They offer an alternative to the people who understand that the deaths of some creatures are always part of the price for the lives of others. They are changing the landscape of the food industry with slaughter animals raised in relative cleanliness and with some freedom of movement and even decent nourishment, and with slaughter methods that they work hard at refining so that animals aren't "processed" while conscious.....

It costs, and I understand that not everyone can afford the cost. But at least there are more and more choices, and more and more people are demanding that that alternatives be made available to them. I admire them, too.

It's too bad PETA and the offshoot terrorists obscure the real good that's brought about by people who *really* care and who are working to make changes.

JMHO.

 

[Bob Scott]

!!Wimmens runnin around nekid!! What did I miss? :lol: :lol: :wink:
On a serious note. I fully understand folks wanting livestock to be "humanely" killed but I find it hard to use that word in the instance of lions killing their prey. It's natural, expected, even fasinating to a point. Just not inhumane.

 

[Woody Taylor]

Hippie! :lol: (Connie, that is)

We have some great organic meat that's local to the area. Grass-fed organic beef is awesome...best burgers I ever had...hard to even explain. But hard to buy that gray paste posing as "lean ground beef" after you have had it. Good stuff.

Sarah and the rest of the thread, I don't want to upset anyone, but you should probably also read this horror story about animal rights nutjobs:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28724