This is an attempt to summarise in an infographic what PETA stands for based on their literature given to me. I wholly support PETA. I believe that there are a lot of misconceptions expressed on the internet about PETA by well-intentioned people who may have got the wrong end of the stick. And I am unhappy with Nathan Winograd running his personal war against PETA as it is extremely unhelpful for animal welfare in general. All animal advocates must work together.
A point worth making is that when an animal advocate organisation campaigns for something as radical as equality between humans and animals as is the case for PETA you are bound to make enemies from the many millions who make millions from exploiting animals made possible by inequality.
I have always failed to understand why humankind in general has regarded animals as lesser beings. To me they have always been equals. Entirely equal. No differences. This guides me. It guides PETA.
Even that is not enough as humans treat other humans who they regard as ‘outsiders’ appallingly. There is a lot of speciesism on the planet practiced by humans and also a lot of racism. These concepts overlap I feel.
When I see animal abuse, I see pain; pain suffered by the animal. I feel this pain. I am in empathy with the animal which is why I avoid images of animal abuse. They scar me.
I have always stated that we must ‘respect the cat’. This means treating them as equals and well while recognising that they are not little humans despite firmly being regarded as members of the family by most cat caregivers.
RELATED: Watch this video and think of animal sentience not ‘us and them’.
Peter Singer is one of today’s arch exponents of human-to-animal equality.
Peter Singer’s foundational work on animal rights, Animal Liberation, argues that we must give moral consideration to the interests of animals. Here are the key points:
- Speciesism is prejudice: Singer compares discriminating against animals based on species (speciesism) to racism or sexism. He believes it’s just as unjustified to disregard an animal’s interests simply because they aren’t human.
- Focus on sentience, not rights: While the book’s title is Animal Liberation, Singer argues for considering animal interests based on their capacity to suffer, not necessarily legal rights.
- Utilitarianism for animals: Drawing on utilitarianism, Singer believes morally right actions maximize happiness and minimize suffering. We should consider the suffering of all beings, including animals, when making decisions.
In the interests of promoting PETA’s concepts I always refer to cats and dogs as ‘she’ and ‘her’ and not ‘it’. Exceptionally rarely do I use the ‘it’ pronoun but only for a specific reason. ‘It’ denotes a lesser being. It fosters animal injustice as do many current phrases such as the ‘dead cat stategy’ used in business.
It is true that the way we treat animals reflects on the level of sophistication and civility in a society. If we see animal abuse in a country we can make the fair presumption that the country is less well developed than one where there is a superior treatment of animals.
That said the world as a whole has a long way to go before it can be said to be truly civilised as there is a ton of animal abuse and unacceptable exploitation on this precious planet also abused by humans.
RELATED: Exploitation of hairless cats for self-aggrandizement
The reason why PETA has so many detractors who can be quite vociferous in condemning PETA is because PETA tells the truth and the majority of people prefer the truth to be hidden from view which is why nothing really changes for the better. Another reason is that PETA gets in the way of the commercial exploitation of animals which annoys business. PETA makes enemies but it is bound to happen as they do such a good job in fighting for animal welfare.