PETA by Any Other Name – Still a Bunch of Nutbags
I think I’ve covered by now the grievances I hold against Peta (they’re all animal killing douches, among other things). Maybe you’re pretty sure that you don’t support Peta, and that your donated dollars aren’t rewarding their propensity for killing shelter animals and Pit Bulls like some kind of tofu snacking angels of death.
But.. are you really sure?
Check out this list of charities and groups that are rumored to be fronts and funnels for Peta, if not directly, then indirectly through moral support and sharing of key staffers. Supporting any of them could well be the equivalent of writing a check to Peta – and those guys already have a big enough dead dog freezer, thanks. Let’s not give them any more cash or support.
Center for Food Safety
Darcy Kemnitz, current executive director of the Wildlife Advocacy
Project, has served as a registered lobbyist for PETA, and as staff
attorney for the International Center for Technology Assessment (CFS’
parent organization).
Earth First!
In the spring and early summer of 1999, People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA) made three donations to the Earth First!
Journal. These grants were all made during the time convicted
arsonist — and PETA beneficiary — Rodney Coronado was editor of the
Journal. PETA has also sent money to various Earth First! chapters.
EarthSave International
PETA president Ingrid Newkirk sits on the advisory boards of both
EarthSave International and United Poultry Concerns.
Farm Animal Reform Movement
Farm Animal Reform Movement (FARM) and People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA) have co-sponsored several annual
gatherings of American animal-rights leaders. The most recent example
was a July 2001 conference held in the Washington, DC area, where
speakers included PETA’s Bruce Friedrich. PETA activists have also
participated in organized observances of FARM’s “great American
meatout” event “ in one case actually handing out free veggie burgers
in front of McDonald’s restaurants in order to discourage the usually
carnivorous lunch crowd.
Greenpeace
Michael Rodman, who runs Greenpeace USA’s human resources department,
previously held the same position at PETA.
Humane Society of the United States
Numerous former PETA employees have worked at the Humane Society of
the United States (HSUS), including Richard Swain, vice president of
investigations; Jonathan Balcombe, Cristobel Block, and Virginia
Bollinger, investigations section; Howard Edelstein, computer
programmer; Leslie Gerstenfeld and Kimberly Roberts, international
affairs section; and Leslie Ison and Rachel Lamb, “companion animals”
section. PETA “Humane Education Lecturer” Gary Yourofsky, a convicted
Animal Liberation Front felon, spoke at HSUS’s 2002 CompassionFest
for children. HSUS and PETA joined eight other animal groups to
demand that the U.S. Department of Agriculture restore to its website
documents concerning the use of animals in research. HSUS and PETA
are both active members of the International Council on Animal
Protection, which seeks to limit research on animals. And in 2003,
HSUS Vice President Martin Stephens was asked to recommend three
people to serve on an EPA “pollution prevention and toxics” panel.
Two out of his three choices were PETA employees. HSUS and PETA are
co-sponsors of the 2005 “Taking Action For Animals” conference in
Washington, DC.
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
PCRM president Neal Barnard is also the president of the Foundation
to Support Animal Protection (FSAP), which shares a mailing address
with PETA. Ingrid Newkirk, PETA’s president, is listed as
a “Director” of the same foundation. As of 1998, its assets were in
excess of $2 million, and its tax filings list both PETA and PCRM
as “supported organizations.” PETA has given PCRM over $850,000, most
of it funneled through FSAP. Barnard is PETA’s Medical and Scientific
Adviser. And PCRM’s Jerry Vlasak serves on the board of the Los
Angeles Animal Defense League with PETA’s Gary Yourofsky.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
PETA co-founder and former chairman Alex Pacheco started his career
with SSCS, in the late 1970s. He now serves on its Animal Welfare,
Humane and Animal Rights Advisory Board. Pacheco is rumored to be
a “commander” of the Animal Liberation Front and has been subpoenaed
in connection to ALF activities.
Sierra Club
Sierra Club board member Paul Watson’s violent activist group, Sea
Shepherd Conservation Society, has received funding from PETA. In a
2002, the Broward Sierra News promoted “a vegetarian lifestyle as a
way to counter the alleged abuse animals endure to feed a hungry and
growing global population.” The newsletter openly plugged PETA and
their mantra that meat-eating in general, and livestock operations in
particular, are a cause of world hunger and animal abuse. In 2002,
Sierra Club activists in Florida teamed with PETA to pass a ballot
initiative that extends constitutional rights to pregnant pigs.
United Poultry Concerns
PETA president Ingrid Newkirk sits on the advisory boards of both
EarthSave International and United Poultry Concerns. Activists from
both groups have collaborated on dozens of organized protests over
the years; this apparent collaboration has increased since United
poultry Concerns moved from suburban Maryland to southern Virginia,
following PETA’s similar geographical move. The two organizations are
presently less than 50 miles apart.
Let’s compile a list of sane and sensible animal or conservation minded charities! Then it could be distributed nationwide all over the internet and to all our non-doggie friends and family members.
While my personal motto is usually, “give locally” there are some international charities out there I don’t cringe to hard at.
As an alternative to GreenPeace and Sierra Club I vote for Nature Conservancy. They actually work with local residence and fishermen and hunters and ranchers to help maintain habitats and restore them (cattle make a good substitute for long gone bison on prairies for example) and they don’t yell at people to stop it or donate them land, they buy it and work with the local population to develop sustainable land use practices or ecotourism etc… rather than taking the “human beings are evil” approach.
I also like Heifer International for several reasons. First I love the concept. You donate, they use your money to provide appropriate livestock to people living in poverty and teach them good animal husbandry skills. The recipients agree to share their good fortune and pass on offspring and products and skills learned to other members of the community. There was a great picture on their website of Bill Gates leading a yak at on point. Plus I kind of hope Ingrid get a little tinge every time someone gives them money.
So why not a list of middle ground, sane and sensible charities? Sometimes easier than trying to keep up with who Peta HSUS and IDA etc own or have just bought or are on the board of because that’s a long list.
I think this is a really great idea. We’d also need to include hands on, grass roots animal WELFARE groups – ones that actually spend money to help animals, rather than to finance more mass mail marketing campaigns.
Let’s face it, people like things made easy. It’s why HSUS’ mailer campaigns work. If you make it easy and say, here’s a great list of on the ground in the trenches charities and links to how to give with just a few clicks, they will be much more likely to actually do it a toss the pretty mailers and address labels from the big “fundraising is our real mission” orgs.
My brother is on the BOD of a local SPCA that is getting fed up with ASPCA’s national fundraising for they’re NY organization. If all the independents got together and formed a website where all someone had to do was enter their zip and local organization links and how to give, made easy! popped up, you could redirect a lot of funding back to local causes and put a crimp in the mail-for-money big boys. I think I’ll see if they have thought of it or would be willing to make a start at least locally.
It is completely unreasonable to tar the Sierra Club with the PeTA brush.
I was extremely active with my state chapter when AR types tried to steal the soul of the national organization. Came to a member vote (on directors) and was resoundingly rejected from the grassroots.
I was one of the chapter newsletter editors who pushed hard for stronger ties to the conservationist hook & bullet organizations, and that has come to pass.
Sierra Club puts the environment first. It is not an AR or fuzzy bunny wabbit organization, never has been.
.-= H. Houlahan´s last blog ..I Didn’t Read the News for a Couple of Days, And This is What I Find When I Do =-.
Good info!
Thank you