People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (“PETA”) is a worldwide organization that seeks to establish and defend animal rights. The main premise of the organization is that animals are not to be eaten, worm, experimented upon or used for entertainment. PETA claims that animals have the same rights as humans. The organization concentrates on factory farms, laboratories, the clothing trade and the entertainment center with regards to the treatment of animals (PETA, 2016).
PETA has several strategies that it employs to accomplish its goals including research, education, investigation, rescue and legislation. The organization educates the public and policymakers about animal rights and animal abuse. Through cruelty investigations, the organization attempts to end animal abuse in particular situations. PETA holds special events to educate the public. The organization seeks to gain celebrity involvement as another way to gain public support. PETA engages in protesting at various organizations that it believes promotes animal abuse. Campaigning is used by the organization to promote the protection of animal rights. The group has campaigned throughout the world to urge the reduction of animal abuse and the increase of animal rights (PETA, 2016).
The website of PETA is organized in a manner to allow viewers to obtain needed information. On the home page of the website, there are news articles pertaining to animal abuse and animal rights. They offer a newsletter that a viewer can subscribe to, and there is an area in which a viewer can make a donation. The website provides several other areas that viewers may visit. These include features, videos and issues which all focus on educating viewers on the issues. There is also an area that viewers can visit that is called action. It also focuses on education but also provides information on how viewers can become involved in protecting and campaigns for the organization. On an investigation page, the organization provides further stories on animal abuse. This seems to particularly appeal to the emotions of the viewers. There are also several areas a visitor may perview while at the website. It appears that most of it is educational and informational. There does not seem to be a focus on any of the organization’s other strategies except action.
The group aims to target the public as a whole through the appeal of emotion. The website contains many pictures and videos of mistreatment of animals. The group admits to using “provocative and controversial campaigns” (PETA, 2016). PETA claims to have had impact on policy as it relates to animal abuse and animal rights. In an area of the website entitled Milestones, there is a list of years with excerpts about investigations of animal abuse that the group took part. The group alleges it was responsible for a lawsuit against a company that engaged in animal abuse (PETA, 2016)..
I do believe that animal abuse is wrong, and that animals should have rights. However, I do not subscribe to many of the groups ideas. PETA believes that birds should not ever be kept in a cage, claiming that birds are social animals and are meant to fly. Confinement of birds harms the mood and health of birds. I have no strong stance on this belief. I have had pet birds, and may or may not do so again in the future. PETA opposes catch and release fishing, alleging that it is harmful to fish. I happen to love to fish, and catch and release. PETA has many beliefs about dogs. I am a dog owner but do not feel as strongly as the group on the issues. PETA is opposed to placing dogs on chains, claiming it is harmful to dogs in many ways. It makes them more frustrated, lonely and aggressive. I do agree with this issue to a certain extent. Chaining a dog and leaving it out for several hours at a time is not right. However, if there is no fence and an owner wishes to place the dog out for a bit, it is okay. PETA also opposes placing dogs in crates. I have never used a crate for a dog. I never attempted housetraining with a crate. However, just like chaining, if it is necessary and it is not done for excessive periods of time, it seems okay to me. Finally, in regards to dogs, PETA opposes the use of electric shock training. I strongly agree with this idea. I believe there is no good that could come from the use of electric shock on a dog. PETA also has some stances on cats. They oppose declawing. I have had several cats and declawed all of them. I do not have the same stance on this as the group. The groups is also opposed to trapping feral cats in order to spay or neuter them. I do not agree with the group on this idea either. It is a good means of containing the number of feral cats. PETA believes that one should not eat any animal. I eat meat. The group opposes the wearing of an animal coat. I have leather that I enjoy wearing. The group opposes breeding animals, zoos and the circus. I do see the justification for the position that PETA takes on these ideas. (PETA, 2016). However, I think PETA tends to take the ideas to an extreme.
All human beings have a heart for the abuse and mistreatment of animals. PETA uses this innate sense of care to appeal to American society. Most of the issues the group supports are legitimate. However, I do not think that everyone has to agree with them. PETA does get a lot of bad press about some of its over-the-edge tactics. However, the groups predominate use of education to accomplish its goals is both legitimate and efficient.
References
PETA. (2016). Retrieved from www.PETA.org.
