1. Animals are skinned alive.
The biggest myth of all.
An appalling video appeared over a decade ago from rural China that showed an animal being skinned alive. The video was used to attack the fur industry, yet the animal rights group that released it refused to cooperate with Chinese authorities who were investigating, leading many to suspect that the video was a set-up. The legitimate fur industry would never condone this practice.
Not only is skinning an animal alive illegal and utterly immoral, it would also be dangerous for the operator, would increase the risk of damaging the pelt, and would take longer than skinning an animal that was euthanized.
2. Animal rights groups are worthy of your donations.
Who says animal rights isn’t lucrative work?
CharityWatch calculates PETA spends up to 33% of its budget on overheads, including $9 million a year on salaries and benefits. Meanwhile, PETA’s German office spends 42 percent of its money on staff costs. And a lot of “program” expenses at PETA are just silly street theater stunts.
The Humane Society of the U.S. bring in over $100 million a year and spends over 40% of that on salaries and employee benefits. A startling 42 people earn six-figure compensation packages, and its CEO is paid close to half a million dollars.
3. Animal rights groups are mainstream.
They are radical and their rage is focused at law-abiding members of society.
PETA is against zoos and aquariums, black pudding, and even pet ownership. Ingrid Newkirk, PETA’s president, has said, “Pet ownership is an absolutely abysmal situation brought about by human manipulation.”
4. Medical research using animals is unnecessary.
It is vital and saves millions of lives.
Kausik Datta, a biomedical researcher in immunology, goes through several instances of PETA cherry-picking quotes for its propaganda and calls PETA out. While scientists are always looking to “reduce, refine, and replace” animals in research, there’s still no substitute in some instances.
5. A vegan diet is the only humane and sustainable diet.
Wrong.
Professor Mike Archer, of the Evolution of Earth & Life Systems Research Group at the University of New South Wales calculated that a diet of free-range beef is responsible for a fewer animal deaths than a vegetarian diet . He cited Australian statistics that showed that producing wheat and other grains kills at least 25 times more animals per kilogram of usable protein. According to the professor, a plant-based diet also causes more environmental damage, and a great deal more animal cruelty than farming red meat.
For example to produce wheat, rice and pulses requires mass clearance of vegetation. This results in the deaths of thousands of animals and plants per hectare. To meet nutritional needs solely by plants, the land would need to be intensely farmed. This would require a big increase in the use of fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides and other threats to biodiversity and environmental health.
While this land must be razed and highly processed in order to grow plant crops, they are perfectly suited for cattle grazing, which provides almost no disruption of animal inhabitants.
By Archer’s reasoning, protein obtained from grazing livestock costs far fewer lives per kilogram: it is a more humane, ethical and environmentally-friendly dietary option. Moreover read meat is more eco-friendly than pro producing grains.
6. The Bible says we should go vegan.
False.
PETA and other animal rights activists have argued that good Christians (and those of other faiths) must go vegan. Not only have religious leaders called this hogwash, but Jesus himself ate fish.
7. Animal rights are morally sound.
They are morally dubious.
While caring about animal welfare is a universal value, animal rights groups make abhorrent comparisons. PETA created a campaign called “Holocaust on Your Plate” comparing farms to Nazi death camps. The Anti-Defamation League denounced the PETA campaign for its obscene trivialising of the plight of the Jews, and PETA was even fined in Germany.
8. Domesticated mink are unsuitable for the fur industry’s demands.
Not true
UK animal rights charity Respect For Animals wants people to believe that mink on fur farms are wild animals and claim domesticated mink have differences in their coats, which are unsuitable for the fur industry’s demands. However, today’s farm-raised mink are among the world’s best cared-for livestock. Good nutrition, comfortable housing and prompt veterinary care have resulted in livestock very well suited to the farm environment producing top quality fur skins.
9. Animal rights groups care for stray animals.
PETA kills most of the ones they rescue
Up to 99% of animals taken into PETA’s animal shelters are routinely killed.
After reviewing two months worth of records, investigators found that 245 of the 290 animals–84 percent–that PETA took into custody were killed within 24 hours. Only 17 were reported as adopted or in foster homes.
10. There is no market for seal meat and the trade is banned.
Yes there is and not there isn’t
The Inuit have an exemption to trade in seal meat and are allowed to sell their fur in the EU and most other places in the world.
Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade wants you to believe that the seal flesh is unpalatable and much of it is only used to feed animals on fur factory farms. There are many restaurants serving seal meat globally. It’s one of the most sustainable seafoods in Canada. Edible Canada in Vancouver recently served more than 350 dishes of seal meat in just one week, making it the most popular dish on their menu.
