Contrary to the implications made by columnist Bryan Stascavage, PETA operates under non-violent principles. We work to help animals by exposing cruelties in the entertainment, food, clothing, and animal-testing industries. Our campaigns are sometimes colorful, but everything we do—including working with law enforcement officials and bringing litigation against animal abusers—is peaceful.
By encouraging people to make compassionate choices—such as choosing veggie burgers instead of artery-clogging beef patties and funding and promoting the development and use of state-of-the-art non-animal research and testing methods—we are helping animals and humans.
There’s nothing wrong with shedding light on the ways that animals are abused in laboratories, and it’s illogical to imagine that progress must come from poisoning dogs, making mice grow tumors as big as their bodies, or infecting monkeys with debilitating diseases that they don’t contract in nature. In fact, relying on animals may be impeding scientific breakthroughs: According to a National Institutes of Health study, the average rate of success converting data from animal experiments to clinical cancer trials is less than 8 percent.
I invite readers to visit peta2.com to learn more about what we do and how they can help make the world a kinder place for animals.
Montville is the Senior College Campaign Strategist for PETA.
1 Comment
Bryan Stascavage
Dear Kenneth,
If PETA was non-violent then I wouldn’t have a mountain of evidence of just how violent your supporters are. I wouldn’t have every veterinarian within 100 miles willing to talk to me about just how much abuse and vitriol they receive from your supporters. I wouldn’t have researchers and veterinarians contacting me and thanking me for my article calling out your violent organization.
I spent 5.5 years in military intelligence, so I’m not an amateur in this arena, and I can say in my expert opinion that your organization works on the same lines as any insurgent or terrorist network in the world. You work for an organization that blatantly supports violence (as evidenced by the response to my questions about your support for ALF) and has been supporting violence and terrorism for years.
I will never stop speaking out against your deluded organization, and unfortunately for you, I have the facts and evidence behind me. Your organization stands against science, and unfortunately, are willing to use violence to promote your ideas.
– Bryan