People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

PETA's creative ads counter massive industry advertising that promotes consumption of flesh from animals raised in cruel factory farms. PETA is simply asking that people think about the roles their eating habits play. We can all help reduce the amount of pain and suffering in this world by going vegetarian. Please visit http://www.PETA.org/issues/Animals-Used-For-Food/default.aspx for a free vegetarian starter kit for yourself or a friend. Clearly, you don't volunteer with a local open-admission shelter. Millions of homeless animals are euthanized in animal shelters and veterinary offices across America because of simple math: too many animals, not enough suitable homes. As many as 8 million animals flood U.S. animal shelters annually, and half of them must be euthanized. Even if those 8 million animals could be placed with loving families, there would be 8 million more the next year and the year after that. To read about what PETA is doing to help unwanted animals in their own backyard and why they must euthanize some animals, please go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ingrid-newkirk/euthanasia-we-wont-run-fr_b_3036311.html, and visit the following links: • http://www.PETA.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2012/02/20/a-gentle-hand-for-the-toughest-cases.aspx • http://www.PETA.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2012/02/17/meet-some-of-the-animals-peta-helped-in-2011.aspx • http://www.PETA.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2012/02/16/pepper-s-story-justice-for-a-forgotten-victim.aspx • http://www.PETA.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2011/02/03/an-open-door-for-animals-in-need.aspx • http://www.PETA.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2011/02/01/the-stories-behind-the-statistics.aspx • http://www.PETA.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2010/02/11/will-you-nip-just-one-birthing-machine-in-the-bud.aspx •http://www.PETA.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2010/02/12/placing-the-blame-where-it-belongs.aspx As for the websites you cite, a lot of the misleading and outright false rumors that are spread concerning our efforts are the work of the deceitfully named “Center for Consumer Freedom” (CCF), 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. To learn more about CCF—whose website USA Today said should be renamed “FatforProfit.com”—please see the following websites: • http://www.ConsumerDeception.com • http://www.citizensforethics.org/legal-filings/entry/irs-complaint-against-center-for-consumer-freedom-tax-exempt • http://prospect.org/article/bermans-battle • http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/us/politics/18berman.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1310490040-rGzoElznpxXMPZtmzw6L2g • http://bermanexposed.org/facts#consumerfreedom

Your comment doesn't ring true since it would be against PETA policy to respond to this matter as you claim. At a minimum, you would have receieved a response similar to this one that was provided to a person in need recently: "I’m sure you’ll understand that we frequently get requests of this sort. Unfortunately, because PETA is a nonprofit organization that works to help as many animals as possible, we simply don’t have the means to provide financial assistance for every animal in need of costly veterinary care. However, some organizations do provide this sort of assistance. The following is a list of some such organizations. Please keep in mind that each organization is independent and has their own set of rules and guidelines. Therefore you will have to investigate each one separately to determine if you qualify for assistance: IMOM Inc., IMOM.org http://imom.org/ Help-A-Pet, help-a-pet.org http://help-a-pet.org/ The Pet Fund, thepetfund.com http://thepetfund.com/ Angels for Animals, angels4animals.org http://angels4animals.org/ Brown Dog Foundation, browndogfoundation.org/home http://www.browndogfoundation.org/home Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program, fveap.org http://fveap.org/sys-tmpl/door/ Feline Outreach, felineoutreach.org http://felineoutreach.org/ Cats In Crisis, catsincrisis.org http://catsincrisis.org/ The Perseus Foundation (Cancer specific), PerseusFoundation.org http://theperseusfoundation.org/ Canine Cancer Awareness, caninecancerawareness.org http://caninecancerawareness.org/ Cody's Club (Radiation treatments), codysclub.bravehost.com/ http://codysclub.bravehost.com/ Diabetic Pets Fund, petdiabetes.net/fund/ http://www.petdiabetes.net/fund/ The Mosby Foundation, themosbyfoundation.org http://themosbyfoundation.org/ Magic Bullet Fund (Cancer Specific), themagicbulletfund.org http://themagicbulletfund.org/ The Binky Foundation, binkyfoundation.org http://binkyfoundation.org/ God's Creatures Ministry Veterinary Charity, http://www.all-creatures.org/gcm/help-cf.html Please also try asking your local humane society about programs in your area that may be able to help you. Also, ask your vet about the CareCredit program (http://www.carecredit.com/practices/veterinary/), which is like a credit card for vet bills that charges no interest so long as you make your payments on time and pay the card off within a set timeframe." But please consider this: caring for a dog adequately is incredibly expensive. They require food, routine vet care, vaccinations, spay/neuter surgery, flea and heartworm preventative (every month), not to mention toys and other things that will enrich their mental state. If you aren’t able to afford China’s first vet visit, how will you provide for her other needs? The bills are bound to pile up over the years (having a dog is a commitment of up to 15-20 years, depending on their lifespan). Additionally, you’ll be in trouble (and so will China) when she inevitably becomes sick or injured. Sadly, there is no such thing as free vet care. We hear from numerous people who are turned away from vets when they can’t afford the life-saving treatment their animals require. We hope that you did find support and didn't allow your dog to suffer without veterinary care. PETA does provide free and low-cost spay-neuter services in an area where the homeless animal problem is severe; see http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2013/04/02/month-for-the-record-books.aspx

Your post doesn't make sense, but consider the following: PETA is an activist organization working to educate the public about the horrors of animal suffering through totally peaceful means; we do not engage in activities in which anyone, human or other-than-human, is injured. PETA works very hard to stop cruelty to animals through pamphlets, billboards, letters, ads, articles, peaceful protests, humane education in schools, and colorful campaigns. We also operate three low-cost and no-cost mobile spay/neuter clinics, which have altered almost 88,000 animals since 2001. PETA has stated repeatedly that humane societies across the United States have the unfortunate and often thankless task of resolving problems created by an irresponsible society. Too many people continue to dismiss the need to spay and neuter their animal companions, and their negligence results in the births of millions of homeless and unwanted animals every year. Animal shelters open their doors to these “disposable” animals, acknowledging the problem that so many others do their best to ignore. It is very sad that many animals who end up in shelters never find homes, but we can hardly blame this tragic state of affairs on the shelters themselves. Unfortunately, euthanasia is sometimes the most humane option for animals born into a hostile world. It is administered by kind, courageous people who don’t want animals to suffer. See PETASaves.com for examples of how PETA helps animals.

Your claims are without merit. It is true that PETA states that it does not have the funds to take all of the 4 million dogs and cats who will be euthanized this year (and next). That's why PETA is a leader in promoting spay-neuter and shelter adoptions at a national level, and providing spay-neuter surgeries in the indigent south. While PETA, local animal shelter professionals, and activists are frustrated that some 15,000 animals had to be euthanized in 2011 at the 10 animal shelters that are within 45 minutes of our headquarters, our united work has decreased that sad figure by more than 10,000 in the last 10 years. Since starting our first mobile clinic in 2001, PETA has sterilized more than 87,000 animals, including more than 9,200 in the 2012 fiscal year alone! One local animal shelter compared its intake of puppies to the same period in a previous year and reported that it took in 100 fewer puppies and attributed that decrease almost entirely to PETA’s spay-and-neuter program. Of course when guardians bring their unadoptable (often suffering) animals to PETA the humane thing to do is euthanize them (using the same method veterinarians use with our own beloved cats and dogs when we must say goodbye) immediately not hold them! For the facts on PETA's lifesaving work for animals, see PETASaves.com Finally, how odd that somebody who supposedly cares about animals puts their energies into two "anti-PETA websites." One wonders what your priorities really are.