PETA Responds To Charges Of Animal Cruelty

PETA issued the following press release in response to the arrest of two of its employees on animal cruelty charges:

It is against PETA’s policy to put the bodies of animals in dumpsters, and we are appalled that a member of our staff apparently did that. There is no excuse for that and, despite the fact that she is a caring soul, we have suspended her from work.

PETA has always supported and spoken openly about euthanasia. It is easy to throw stones at those doing the dirty work for society, but euthanasia is a necessary evil until the massive animal overpopulation problem can be solved. We invite anyone who can offer a home to any animal, pay for one or a hundred spay/neuter surgeries, or persuade others not to go to a pet shop or breeder, to please join us in doing these things. In the last year, we have spayed/neutered more than 7,600 dogs and cats, including feral animals, many free of charge and all others at well below our own costs. Support for this program is much needed.

To clarify, we do not run an adoption facility, although we do place animals, approximately 360 in the last year, despite having run out of friends and family members to approach. We are a “shelter of last resort,” taking in and giving a painless death in loving arms to animals who would otherwise have been shot with a .22 or gassed in a windowless metal box, which is what happened in North Carolina before PETA offered free euthanasia services to agencies there. North Carolina has the second highest rate per capita of euthanasia in the country—35 animals killed annually for every 1,000 residents—and most do not die a humane death. Sadly, the shelters we work with have no adoption programs or hours set aside for adoption. At the Bertie County dog shelter, residents were throwing unwanted dogs over an 8-foot-high fence, where they became infected or injured by other sick or aggressive dogs from whom they could not escape. Bertie County also had no facility for cats and used to let them go to breed in the woods and fend for themselves until PETA built a shelter for them this year. PETA has begged for years, through formal proposals and numerous meetings to have the county allow PETA to implement an adoption program as part of a larger picture of sheltering that would also include a spay neuter program, a humane education program, 24/7 emergency services, and rabies clinics.

We try never to take in adoptable animals unless we know we have a home for them—only those who are mange-covered, have parvovirus, are injured, old, unsocialized from life on a chain, or unwanted and for whom there are no good homes available. We also work at the roots, spending more than $240,000 in one North Carolina county alone, to provide shelter in winter for animals left out in the cold, to spay/neuter, to get vet care for animals in dire straits, to send Bertie County’s one animal control officer to professional training, to pay a cleaner to maintain two shelters, and much more.

We have always outspokenly advocated fixing the problems of overpopulation through practical methods. Sadly, those stories don’t get coverage in the media.

We urge you to look closer and do your part to help us help these animals. For information and resources on how to do that, visit HelpingAnimals.com.

Note that PETA immediately suspended the employee. In contrast, neither the OU, KAJ or any other kosher supervising agency has yet to reprimand, let alone suspend or fire, employees involved in the Rubashkin throat-ripping scandal. That means that Rabbi Otto "Chaim" Kohn, the man who allowed throat-ripping, is still employed by KAJ, has not been reprimanded, and still has his job overseeing kosher supervision at Rubashkin.

Comments

[Crazy Guy]

in fairness... nobody from agroprocessors was arrested. its a little different, huh?

[Shmarya]

No. The USDA is investigating Agriprocesors. If found culpable, Agri will be fined tens of thousands of dollars – perhaps more.

Criminal charges must be filed locally. Iowa's AG is refusing to do so OR to investigate – no surprise in a state heavily dependent on agriculture.

I knew the Shmarya spin would come

[Steve Gross]

Having volunteered at a shelter for six years, I can only thank PETA for being both caring and courageous, something more than we have seen from Agriprocessors.

[Crazy Guy]

having eaten beef, I can only thank agroprocessors for being productive and for contributing to society, something more than we have seen from PETA

to each his own, right Shmaryoo-hee

[Neo-Conservaguy]

"having eaten beef, I can only thank agroprocessors for being productive and for contributing to society, something more than we have seen from PETA"

You don't have to give up eating beef. Consumer choice is a powerful tool; purchase other kosher beef and send an important message to Agriprocessors that Jews that eat meat care about the kashruth of their food. Besides, the smaller kosher beef companies are offering much higher quality organic, free range meat. Beef Cholent: it's what's for Shabbos lunch.

[curious]

what companies are you talking about? free range meat? pardon me, but, who cares?

[Not curious]

"what companies are you talking about? free range meat? pardon me, but, who cares?"

Atta boy- nice job making Jews look like shmucks, one comment at a time.

[Neo-Conservaguy]

"what companies are you talking about?"

So far I've found:

Texas Kosher Beef
Wise Kosher (poultry and now beef too)

There are also other small companies offering kosher bison, deer, and other interesting products. A quick google search for "kosher free range" or "kosher organic" would be a good starting point for your research. Local product availability can be an issue, but some of the companies will ship larger orders direct.

"free range meat? pardon me, but, who cares?"

People that enjoy the highest quality meat from the most healthy animals would care. It's how Jews raised their animals for thousands of years, and it's the approach most likely to not transgress Tzaar Baalyei Hayyim in the time before slaughter.

[Curious]

I don't know if you're familiar with all of the components of Tzar Ba'alei Chaim. But, I can safely say that free range doesn't taste any different from the other kind, and I doubt its healthier.

The fact is that its hard to find all the stuff you just mentioned. There's Rubashkins, Vineland, Empire, Ables and Hyman, Mealmart, International Glatt, etc. Some of those have more or less universal hashgachas and others don't. But where does a guy find Texas Kosher for cheap? Not in my neighborhood Koshermart...

[Neo-Conservaguy]

While I have a decent amount of cooking and eating experience, I don't eat enough meat often enough to have performed a side-by-side comparison of the free range, organic, etc. products with the "normal" products. Many chefs, however, have expressed a clear preference for the free range, organic products, stating they prefer the taste and characteristics of the meat.

Tzaar Baalyei Hayyim may certainly be an issue for cage-raised animals; see Rav M. Feinstein's ruling regarding caged veal calves. I don't know if you are aware that the reason that caged or confined animals are given large doses of antibiotics and other drugs is exactly because such conditions are not healthy for the animals. I would prefer to receive my antibiotics when the doctor says so, not when the farmer says so.

I agree completely about the lack of availability of the smaller meat (and other) kosher products. I found, however, that a local (well, less than 1 hour away) Waldbaum's supermarket with a large kosher meat section now carries the Wise Organic beef. I am rejoicing, because now we can have beef cholent/hamin/dafina again!