Poor, Pathetic PeTA Does it Again
By Jeff Shultz
I hate wasting good column space on a group such as PeTA. You remember them don't you? They're the group of animal lovers who encouraged college students to drink beer instead of milk. They're also the ones who tried to get the name of Slaughterville changed to Veggieville. Most recently they made allegations that The Garold Wayne Interactive Zoological Park in Wynnewood was mistreating the animals they care for. The allegations prompted a surprise visit by the Department of Ag, who, after the pop quiz visit, said PeTA's allegations were baseless because they found nothing wrong at the park, So, I really hate taking the time and effort to give PeTA any type of mention in the Daily Democrat. But PeTA has shown their true colors in their most recent gaffe. By now you've heard of the plight of Colorado and Oklahoma Panhandle ranchers during the most recent snow storms. The winter weather blast has left thousands of cattle stranded in the cold with no way to get food to them, at least by land. The same goes for some of the beautiful wildlife in Colorado such as elk and longhorn sheep herds. So the National Guard has been dropping bales of hay to the cattle and wildlife in an effort to keep them from starving. The operation is an expensive one, especially considering the price of hay these days. Hay is a precious commodity due to the drought. So, a Denver classic rock station decided to start raising money to help defray the costs of the hay drops. Their fund raising efforts were going good, but they needed more.
That's when someone suggested they call PeTA, who, they thought, would come to the rescue of the cattle and wildlife with a hefty donation. After all, PeTA isn't some poor charity. They got lots of donations from some very wealthy people who believe in their cause. Imagine the radio disc jockeys' shock when a spokesperson for PeTA not only turned down their request for aid, but debated with them why they shouldn't give money to this worthwhile cause. When she was told about the huge cattle herds that were starving to death, she said those ranchers should have built a shelter for the cattle.
First, no barn in the world could hold 340,000 cattle. Second, the disc jockeys weren't talking about protecting the cattle from the weather, they were talking about feeding them. Even if there was such a huge shelter to house the cattle, ranchers still couldn't get in there to feed them. Her response was, "You're going to save them, and then in six months they're going to be killed and end up on someone's plate. So I don't know that it's really the most noble cause."
The spokesperson added that wild animals caught in the blizzard's wake -- the same animals PeTA routinely criticized hunters for bagging--also weren't worth spending PeTA's money to save. "It's an act of God," she said. "There's really nothing to be done." In response to PeTA's refusal to send aid to the cattle and wildlife, Colorado's governor called PeTA "a bunch of losers" and "frauds." He added, "Don't send your money to PeTA." I couldn't agree more. |
