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  • 2015-02-01 (xsd:date)
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  • Is PETA Stealing and Killing Pets? (en)
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  • People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an American animal rights organization often embroiled in controversy, even among animal lovers, because the group's practices and policies are viewed by many as too extreme and strident. One such subject of controversy is the organization's view on euthanizing unwanted pets: Rumors of pets' being kidnapped and put down by PETA-affiliated individuals have circulated on the Internet for years: In at least two cases, PETA workers have been arrested in incidents involving the taking of companion animals that were not subsequently surrendered to shelters On 28 January 2015, the Virginian Pilot published a full-page advertisement regarding one such incident which took place in October 2014. Animal rights advocate Nathan Winograd posted a scanned copy of the ad that detailed how a family's chihuahua, Maya, was taken and euthanized by PETA workers: The ad's claims were corroborated by a number of local news articles that reported the chihuahua's capture and death. The two PETA workers involved in incident were arrested but not prosecuted due to a lack of evidence they possessed criminal intent, according to a statement from Accomack County's commonwealth's attorney Gary Agar: In 2007, a PETA worker in Virginia was arrested and charged with a felony count of theft after she was found to be in possession of a sheriff's hunting dog. The charge was eventually reduced to a misdemeanor and dismissed entirely in 2008: Partially at issue in many of the claims regarding PETA's handling of companion animals appears to stem from their uncompromising stance on euthanizing shelter animals: Many critics contend PETA's policies extend to its putting down tens of thousands of healthy, adoptable stray and homeless animals without having made sufficient (or any) effort to find homes for them: While PETA's stance on euthanasia is controversial, we could find little evidence it has been extended to family pets with any frequency. PETA workers were arrested over pet theft incidents in 2007 and 2014, but the intent of the workers in those cases was not sufficiently clear to consider their actions unlawful. Aside from those two incidents, we've found no evidence supporting the claim that PETA regularly takes household pets from their homes and euthanizes them. PETA did not respond to a request for comment. (en)
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