Sunday, April 26, 2009

It’s The Pitts

Exposed

One of my favorite self-help programs in the beef business is the Beef Ambassador program which trains the next generation of cattlewomen and cattlemen to speak up and, on behalf, of beef. Our best and brightest young people compete each year for the chance to become one of five members of a Beef Ambassador team to travel the country on behalf of all cattlemen. The competition features mock media interviews, classroom presentations, response to issues and consumer promotion.

I wonder if our enemies have any such program to brainwash future vegetarians and animal rightists, and if so, how do they train their spokesidiots? Surely they would place their emphasis on other things than public speaking and rational writing. Here is how I imagine the scorecard for young PETA Ambassador contestants would looks like. (100 points possible)

Balloon Toss Accuracy- Because one of the main functions of PETA members is throwing paint filled balloons at anyone wearing fur it’s important that they be able to hit their target. You wouldn’t want them hitting a reporter for USA Today or one of their own woolly haired members. They should also be able to tell what is real and what is fake fur or whether the target just needs a haircut and a shave.(5 Points)

Animal Identification- This phase of the competition would involve the identification of a pig, cow, circus elephant, seeing-eye dog, lab rat and Sean Penn, because you really need to know who it is you are protesting on behalf of. (5 points)

Gag Reflex Test- If you are going to be a sincere PETA member you must be a vegetarian and if you are going to be a vegetarian it means you are going to have to survive on squash muffins, tofu pasta and soy milk. In the gag reflex test contestants will be fed a variety of vegetarian dishes to see if they have a strong enough stomach for the job. (5 points)

Background Check- This is to determine if you or any of your relatives have ever had a life threatening disease and, if so, did any drugs or medical procedures that were tested on lab animals save your relative’s life? If so, turn in your PETA badge. (5 points)

Lie Detector Test- Contestants will be asked questions to determine if they have led a “cruelty free lifestyle”, such as, have you ever eaten a cheeseburger? Have you ever worn a pair of shoes? (5 points)

Pet Care- In light of recent charges leveled at PETA by the Center for Consumer Freedom this test has recently been added. The Center alleges that PETA killed 95% of the adoptable pets in their care during 2008. They say that public records from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services show that PETA killed 2,124 pets last year while placing 7 in adoptive homes. Since 1998 they allege that 21,339 dogs and cats have died at the hands of PETA workers. In light of this report PETA is going to want to know if their spokesidiots know how to do simple, life saving tasks such as opening a can of cat food or pouring water in a dog’s bowl. (1 point)

Accounting Skills- Let’s face it folks, when it comes to PETA it’s all about the money and they are going to want to know if you can count the cash. (40 points)

The Nudity Test- Really, about the only thing PETA members do well is take off their clothes for the protest pictures, so they are going to want to see what you look like in your birthday suit. (Their philosophy is that people won’t be interested in facts if they are busy looking at nude bodies.) If you look like ancient PETA members Angelica Huston and Cloris Leachman don’t worry, PETA will cover you up with lettuce and cabbage leaves. But you WILL NOT become a PETA Ambassador. (40 points)

Editor’s Note: You may note that the total score does not add up to 100 points. Hey, we never said these were the smartest centerfolds in the book.

1 comment:

Lianne said...

It’s disingenuous, to say the least, for the deceitfully-named Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) to complain about the number of unwanted and suffering animals whom PETA has been forced to euthanize because their guardians requested it, or because no good homes exist for them.

CCF is a front group for Philip Morris, Outback Steakhouse, KFC, cattle ranchers, and other animal exploiters who kill millions of animals every year, not out of compassion, but out of greed. CCF promotes meat-eating and defends corporations that send billions of cows, chickens, pigs, and other animals to terrifying, gruesome, and painful deaths in slaughterhouses.

PETA handled far more animals than 2,124 in 2008. In fact, we took in more than 10,000 dogs and cats, spaying and neutering all of them at low to no cost. We gave them shots, fixed their wounds and treated their illnesses, and returned them to the community. Most of the animals we took in and euthanized could hardly be called "pets," as they had spent their lives on heavy chains, for instance. They were unsocialized, never having been inside a building of any kind or known a pat on the head. Others were indeed someone's, but they were aged, sick, injured, dying, too aggressive to place, and the like, and PETA offered them a release from suffering, with no charge to their owners or custodians.

Those figures also do not include the hundreds upon hundreds of dogs and cats whose suffering PETA works to alleviate by providing them with free food when their owners are poor, clean water buckets, sturdy dog houses, straw for winter, and more, or the hundreds of adoptable dogs and cats we will not take in but refer to walk-in animal shelters and adoption centers. Since 2001, PETA's low- to no-cost spay-and-neuter mobile clinics, SNIP and ABC, have sterilized more than 50,000 animals, preventing hundreds of thousands of animals from being born, neglected, abandoned, abused, or euthanized when no one wanted them. We also actively decrease the number of animals who end up in animal shelters only to be euthanized for lack of good homes by using star power to promote spaying and neutering in ads across the country.
On a national level, PETA is focusing on the root of the problem through our Animal Birth Control (ABC) campaign. The ABC campaign targets breeders, pet stores, and cat- and dog-breeding mills and in an active way through protests, PSAs, celebrity support, and investigations and puts the blame for the overpopulation crisis squarely where it belongs—with those who breed animals or allow their animals to breed. As long as animals are bred, homeless dogs and cats in animal shelters will die because there simply aren't enough good homes for them all.

As long as animals are still be purposely bred and people aren't spaying and neutering their companions, open-admission animal shelters and organizations like PETA must do society's dirty work. Euthanasia is not a solution to overpopulation but rather a tragic necessity given the present crisis. PETA is proud to be a "shelter of last resort," where animals who have no place to go or who are unwanted or suffering are welcomed with love and open arms.

You can read more about this in Ingrid Newkirk's last blog: http://blog.peta.org/archives/2009/03/why_we_euthaniz.php