I use to support PETA!!!

PETA KILLS COMPANION ANIMALS AT ITS OFFICES

NEWKIRK'S BEEN KILLING DOGS & CATS FOR 25 YEARS
Ingrid Newkirk PETA
PETA CALLS FOR PIT BULL GENOCIDE
INGRID NEWKIRK PETA
NEWKIRK RENOUNCES NO-KILL SHELTERS

PETA ENDORSES TRAPPING AND KILLING CATS

READ MORE:
- PETA Attacks No-Kill Shelters!
- PETA Staffers Face 62 Felony Cruelty Counts
- PETA Employee Arrests After Animal Killings
- PETA Founder Admits Personally Killing 1K Dogs/Cats
- Best Friends Sanctuary On PETA's 'Euthanasia' Position
- PETA Calls for Killing All Impounded Pitbulls
- Letter to PETA - Stop Pitbull Genocide!
- Furious Rescue: "PETA Pissing Up Wrong Tree!"
- Sweet T Ranch Appalled by PETA's No-Kill Position


People Exterminating Thousands of Animals
Click here for an EXPLICIT collection of press photos showing DEAD ANIMALS found at the PETA crime scene.

Note: We are animal advocates and were PETA members until the facts stated below were unveiled. Read more about NoKillNow!

We do not relish publicly criticizing an organization striving to help animals. BUT, when one has engaged in a pattern of conduct so egregious as to threaten the credibility of the entire animal rights community, a strident disapprobation is not only warranted, it is mandated.

More importantly, when an animal 'defender' is in fact a lethal perpetrator killing innocent animals, they must be stopped! It is with grave disappointment that we call for Ingrid Newkirk's resignation. We believe an investigation is warranted to determine if Newkirk committed any criminal acts resulting in animal deaths. If she did, she should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, the same as any other animal abuser. PETA wouldn't have it any other way, right? 1 2 3 4 5 INGRID NEWKIRK PETA






If you think this is about one incident, read on. It's about a history of deception, secrets and mass killing stretching decades under Newkirk's command.

Since the inception of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal [PETA] in 1980, Ingrid Newkirk has loudly renounced the torture and killing of a myriad of animals, including cows, minks, monkeys, elephants, fox, pigs and chicken. Hundreds of thousands of animal sympathizers, horrified by dramatic exposés, rushed to join PETA's ranks to end the suffering.

But for a quarter of a century Newkirk was conspicuously silent on the slaughter of hundreds of millions of companion animals at municipal pounds. PETA was mum on the tradition of executing man's closest friends and housemates: dogs and cats. INGRID NEWKIRK PETA

However all of that changed recently. In the wake of a growing global cry to end pound deaths, followers and foes alike demanded PETA take a position. Slow in coming, they finally got their response. It was nothing short of explosive. INGRID NEWKIRK PETA




NEWKIRK KILLS WITH HER OWN HANDS
In 2003 we learned for the first time that Ingrid Newkirk - tireless defender of animals - has another face. During the 1970's her chosen profession was "dog catcher" and killer. Newkirk unabashedly describes her zeal for killing in her own words: "I'd go to work early, before anyone got there, and I would just kill the animals myself...I must have killed a thousand of them, sometimes dozens every day." She was so good at it she rose through the ranks to become director of District of Columbia's high-kill pound where she reigned for some years. There, under her rule, untold thousands more died. INGRID NEWKIRK PETA

NEWKIRK TURNS PETA'S HOME OFFICE INTO A DEATH CHAMBER
The next revelation is even more appalling: Newkirk has never stopped killing. Not only is she non- apologetic about her murky past, she quietly continues her murderous avocation. She turned PETA's Norfolk, Virginia headquarters into her own personal killing field. There she hauled in more than 17,822 puppies, kittens, dogs and cats since 1998 and executed 14,419 of them. This does not include wild animals - in 2005 alone, PETA admits to killing 141. In 2005 Newkirk killed 90% of her defenseless captives and adopted only 6% - a ratio far worse than almost any pound in the country. Read her own grim statistics: INGRID NEWKIRK PETA

Year
Received†
Adopted
Killed
Transferred
% Killed
% Adopted

2005
2145
146
1946
69
90.7
06.8

2004
2,640
361
2,278
1
86.3
13.7

2003
2,224
312
1,911
1
85.9
14.0

2002
2,680
382
2,298
2
85.7
14.3

2001
2,685
703
1,944
14
72.4
26.2

2000
2,684
624
2,029
28
75.6
23.2

1999
1,805
386
1,328
91
73.6
21.4

* 1998
943
133
685
125
72.6
14.1

Total
17,806
3,047
14,419
331
80.1
17.1


* figures represent the second half of 1998 only
† other than spay/neuter animals -column G on PETA's paperwork
See PETA's paperwork



According to Newkirk's figures, year after year PETA has killed more animals than 80% of the animal control shelters in the State of Virginia. 1 In 2003 the Norfolk SPCA found adoptive homes for 73 percent of its animals. The Virginia Beach SPCA adopted out 66 percent. The same year PETA could only manage 14 percent. Note the steady increase in the rate of PETA's killing since 1998. And these are just the deaths PETA admits to. The accuracy of this data came into question the instant PETA was caught red-handed killing animals that it promised to adopt out and trying to hide the dead bodies in other people's dumpsters in the middle of the night.

NEWKIRK PEDDLES PETA'S KILL SKILLS TO POUNDS
Newkirk's killing spree doesn't stop there. For years Newkirk has been hawking PETA as killers-for-hire to pounds throughout the state. Instead of using its annual budget of $29,000,000 to negotiate a better life for these animals, Newkirk has been offering to do the pound's killing for them in her 'softer and gentler' way. Just how many kittens and puppies she's responsible for killing may never be known.



Newkirk Opposes No-Kill Sheltering
Newkirk staunchly opposes a no-kill goal despite an avalanche of worldwide supporters including several dozen shelters in PETA's home state which have adopted the philosophy. In 2005 PETA came out with a scathing cover article on why no-kill shelters won't work and says its supporters 'have no clue'.

In 2000 Newkirk told a reporter: "It sounds lovely if you're naive. We could become a no-kill shelter immediately. It means we wouldn't do as much work." If by 'work' she means killing, many would agree. Reportedly PETA has been quite busy rounding up thousands of animals statewide from vet offices, pounds, rescues and guardians; leaving each group with the indelible impression the donated animals would be adopted; then procuring and warehousing enough chemicals to kill thousands; and finally, disposing of all those bodies without anyone catching on..... The latter was probably the most challenging task for a notorious organization that for decades has been vehemently protesting the killing of animals at anyone else's hand. Some dead bodies presumably wound up in a huge freezer, which cost PETA $9,370 according to a tax return. (What else would vegans do with a walk-in freezer?) Others mysteriously popped up in commercial dumpsters at shopping centers. Each known drop was on a Wednesday in the wee-hours, about 30 carcasses per load, the bodies always encased in heavy-duty black plastic bags. These regular 'deliveries' were first noticed 18-months ago.

Newkirk has doggedly defended her killing to date. But the question begs: if she truly believes her killing is justified, why the wee-hour dumping and the cover up?

PETA Endorses Trapping and Killing Feral Cats
Killing seems to be a continuing theme at PETA. Apparently death is Newkirk's "all-sizes-fit-one" solution for stray cats as well. PETA publishes instructions encouraging the public to end their misery by trapping them and disposing of them at the neighborhood pound where they are almost certain to die. The manual reads, "Please do not allow the prospect of euthanasia to deter you from trapping cats." Newkirk ignores the long-standing practice of TNR or TNRM- Trapping, Neutering, Releasing and Monitoring. This allows cats to live unfettered outdoors for years with the help of human caregivers who provide food and medical treatment including spay and neuter.

In September 2003, PETA battled local rescuers to block a neuter/return program proposed to the city of Newport News. 1

PETA is the last major animal advocacy group in the U.S. that overtly opposes TNR feral cat control and no-kill sheltering. 1

NEWKIRK ACCUSED OF KILLING CAT COLONIES SUPERVISED BY RESCUES
In March 1998, Animal People published an allegation of Norfolk cat-rescuer, John Newton. He claimed that for three years 'a hit squad,' led initially by Newkirk, trapped colonies of cats they knew were being cared for by rescue Meower Power and took many to their deaths at kill pounds.

Newkirk's Employees Caught in the Act - a Story about Deception and DeaTH
THE STAKE-OUT
On June 15, 2005 police investigators followed a white panel van registered to PETA after it left\\ Bertie County animal shelter filled with animals that were supposedly on their way to finding new homes.

Later in the day the officers staked out a garbage bin in Aahoskie, North Carolina. This was part of a covert operation after a property manager complained that more than 80 dead animals had been discovered at the site over the course of one month. There they observed PETA employees Benjamin Cook, 24, and Adria Joy Hinkle, 27, dump trash bags containing 18 dead animals. As they drove away they were pulled over on a traffic stop. Thirteen more dead bodies were found inside the vehicle. Among the dead were 7 previously healthy puppies, 2 kittens along with their mother and small dogs. Each animal was apparently forced to watch the others being sedated and killed before their turn came.

Read the investigating officer's formal statement. 1

the charges
Cook and Hinkle were each charged with 31 felony counts of animal cruelty and eight misdemeanor counts of illegal disposal of dead animals. These were dismissed on October 14, 2005 but each of the suspects were charged with 25 felony charges in their place -22 for animal cruelty and 3 felony charges for obtaining property by false pretense. The latter charges are based on PETA having euthanized three cats from an Ahoskie veterinarian after allegedly promising to find the animals new homes

THE unlawful killings
Autopsies and examinations have determined the animals were killed with drugs. A tackle box filled with syringes and vials of Ketamine and Pentobarbitol was found in the PETA van. According to detective Jeremy Roberts, these are Schedule III drugs regulated by the Drug Enforcement Agency. In North Carolina these drugs can only be purchased and used by a licensed veterinarian. Thomas Mickey, Director of the North Carolina Board of Veterinary Medicine said, "Under North Carolina only licensed veterinarians can perform euthanasia." Neither Cook nor Hinkle are licensed vets. Roberts added, "They were basically practicing veterinary medicine without a license." 1 2 3

false ADOPTION promises end in deathS
According to those who gave PETA the animals, they had no idea the animals were being killed instantly after entering the van. The dead animals found on June 15 came from at least three sources - where each were led to believe PETA was saving the day by helping to find homes for the adoptable.

Bertie County Manager Zee Lamb said he believed the animals were being taken for evaluation and "the ones that were adoptable would be adopted," and euthanasia would be only a last resort. Sue Gay, health director for Northampton County, said she assumed the same.

Others animals came from Northhampton County pound where Veterinarian James Brown worked. He said he turned over many animals to PETA. “When they started taking them, they said they would try to find homes for them,” he told the Virginian-Pilot. “Nobody ever checked on them.”

More dead came from Ahoskie Animal Hospital according to vet Patrick Proctor. “They came to the office last Wednesday and picked up the cat and two kittens," he told Roanoke-Chowen reporters immediately after the arrests. "They were just kittens we were trying to find homes for. PETA said they would do that...So imagine my surprise when I learned they allegedly dumped dead animals in a trash bin later that same day." He said the animals “were in good health and were very adoptable, especially the kittens.” Proctor was asked to examine one of the dead animals taken from the PETA crime scene. “The animal that I found was a very healthy six-month puppy that had been killed that day,” he told TV station WNCT Channel 9. "It was a six month old lab mix and appeared to be in very, very good shape...and he had received some type of injection in his front right leg," he said. “PETA will never pick up another animal from my practice.”

Since 2001, PETA has taken animals from shelters in Bertie, Hertford and Northampton counties and the town of Windsor. No one knows how many of those were killed by PETA or dumped in trash cans.




Read about 150 more dead animals found in trash bags a few paragraphs below.

PETA APOLOGIZES FOR ILLEGAL DUMPING, BUT NOT FOR KILLING HEALTHY ANIMALS
PETA issued apologies after the criminal acts but these were limited to the dumping of the bodies in someone else's dumpster. No apology was given for killing adoptable kittens, puppies and small dogs.

David Harrell, who manages the store where the animals were dumped, received a letter from Newkirk apologizing and offering money, stating, "If it is true, as it appears, that our staff members have done this, PETA owes you a huge apology. Such conduct is hideous and absolutely violates PETA policy. Although the case is pending, I would like to pay for any expenses that you might have incurred in dealing with body disposal or related matters. Please let me have a bill for that and I will see that it is promptly attended to." 1

PETA issued another apology limited to the dumping of the bodies on August 15, 2005 in response to an article on the PETA arrests by Randy Cassingham of This is True:

"A terrible mistake was made with the dead bodies, but no secret was made of the fact that PETA euthanizes animals and that the animals retrieved from the pounds would be provided with a humane death." But veterinarians and animal control officers disagreed. They told police PETA workers promised to find homes for the animals rather than euthanize them. The grand jury apparently did not buy PETA's version. Criminal indictments were handed down charging PETA staff members with obtaining animals under false pretenses.

Read additional details about the PETA crime and charges: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

more allegations of peTA deaths, crimes & disappearances
MORE DEAD BODIES IN DUMPSTERS
The Ahoskie dumping on June 15, 2005 was not an isolated incident. Harrell said over a period of 18 months a strewn of bodies were found in Ahoskie dumpsters approximately nine times. He said each time there were approximately 30 bodies in the same type of industrial-strength black bags used in the incident under investigation AND the dumping was also done on the same day of the week, Wednesdays, apparently in the wee hours. 1

Inquiring minds are asking: Where else were bodies dumped that have yet to be discovered?

150 MORE EUTHANIZED DOGS FOUND IN TRASH BAGS IN VIRGINIA!
Just prior to the June, 2005 PETA arrests, an eerily similar event occurred. On April 8, 2005 MSNBC reported that 150 dogs that had been euthanized were found in industrial-strength trash bags in PETA'S home state. A construction worker made the grisly discovery on a remote road outside of Gate City. The bags contained various breeds, including Rottweilers, German shepherds, Labradors and a few small-breed dogs. Sheriff’s investigator Chris Holder said, “I’ve never seen anything like it. It looks like a deliberate dumping.” The dead animals were found on a Thursday, perhaps coincidentally, the same day as each of the grocery store dumping was found. 1




Is this just the tip of the iceberg?

GUARDIANS WHO GAVE PETA THEIR PETS THOUGHT THEY WOULD GET ADOPTED
A former PETA employee told a reporter: "a teary-eyed man showed up at PETA headquarters one day with his beloved pet rabbit. The man had grown old and sick and was no longer able to care properly for his friend. He supplied a cage, bed, toys, and even vet records for this pet. He was assured by PETA workers that they would take "good care" of his rabbit and find him a home. The man left distraught but no doubt believing that his friend would be able to live out the rest of his life in a loving, compassionate home...PETA workers carried him to the 'death house' immediately and ended his life!" The employee said there are many similar examples. 1

RESCUES FEAR THE WORST FOR ANIMALS THEY GAVE TO PETA TO ADOPT
The recent arrests have local rescues frantic with worry about the animals they gave PETA.


When Ruth Brown worked with no-kill Rainbow Rescue in Roanoke Rapids in December 2003, she received an email offer to help provide foster homes from someone who claimed to have connections with PETA's Community Animal Project, where cruelty suspects Hinkle and Cook worked.

"I thought it was the answer from heaven," Brown said. "We just thought 'PETA is the godfather for animals.'" Brown was thrilled when PETA agreed to take the animals. She was told that the animals she transferred to PETA 'would be prepared for potential adoption.' One of her contacts was Hinkle. Several transfers took place.

"We asked them about the animals and they said they only had to put one to sleep because of congenital heart failure." Brown questioned her PETA contacts on a number of occasions as to the others. "They reassured us the animals were adopted." Warren County rescuers even held fundraisers to pay for spaying and neutering and care of the animals transferred to PETA in the hopes they would be adopted.

On one occasion Brown's husband met Hinkle at Roanoke Rapids to deliver animals.

Brown recalls that around June 2004 she and another rescuer became suspicious during a transfer when her original PETA contact arrived in a large truck containing over 80 animals. The other rescuer followed the truck to Ahoskie to allay their concerns.

Once there, the rescuer was not allowed inside the building where the animals were taken. After lunch, however, the rescue went inside only to find an empty building and syringe caps and blood.

When Brown asked her contact what had happened to the animals, she was told that cats may need to be sedated when transferred from crate to crate. But despite repeated efforts, she could not get more specific information. "They told us that they were adopting, fostering, vetting, protecting our animals," she said. "I was still suspicious," she said. "There was no paper trail that the animals even existed after (we gave them to PETA). We had talked people into giving animals to us. We would give them to PETA."

Brown said that PETA continued to reassure her that the animals from Warren County were adopted. However, the relationship between local animal rescuers and the Brown's PETA contact grew tense. "Towards the end, it got ugly," Brown said. "We were horrified."

In June of 2004, several local animal rescuers cut ties with PETA. A Rainbow Rescue representative said the organization "will definitely not have anything to do with PETA."

After that Brown didn't hear from her PETA liaison until June 18th, two days after the Hinkle and Cook arrest. A 1:20 a.m. e-mail warned her not to give animals to Hinkle.

Brown still wonders what happened to some 1,000 animals from Warren County transferred to PETA. "PETA, I want to know - where are they?" she said. "We had faith," Brown said. "This is PETA... Isn't this deception? We believed in them."

PETA KILLS ANIMALS IT 'RESCUED' FROM A RESEARCH FACILITY
San Francisco Chronicle's Debra Saunders wrote: "This is not the first report that PETA killed animals it claimed to protect. In 1991, PETA killed 18 rabbits and 14 roosters it had previously "rescued" from a research facility. "We just don't have the money" to care for them, then PETA-Chairman Alex Pacheco told the Washington Times. "The PETA animal shelter had run out of room."



PETA'S TRACK RECORD SABOTAGING RESCUE EFFORTS
Michael Mountain, Director of Best Friends: “We have received unsolicited reports from former PETA staff, describing how they joined [PETA] because they wanted to help animals, only to find that they were sent out to kill them. We have also heard from numerous sources who were visited by people calling themselves PETA volunteers,” Mountain said, “offering to ‘find a good home’ for homeless pets, and saying that the animals would be taken to a ‘PETA shelter.’

“These people discovered too late that there is no PETA shelter and that no one at PETA would even tell them what had become of the animals. Local rescue groups reported that PETA basically competes with them, trying in many cases to kill the animals before they can be rescued,” Mountain charged.

A myriad of PETA employees reported similar incidents regarding PETA's regular practice of setting traps across several counties not only for stray cats but for those that were known to be part of TNR colonies supervised by local rescues. Hundreds if not thousands were hauled into PETA's headquarters and killed. Many allegedly had collars and tags but owners were never called before the animals were killed.

In 2000, PETA donated a euthanasia technician Teresa Gibbs to the no-kill Visakha SPCA in India. Gibbs sought to undo the no-kill policy and before she was fired, she did severe harm to the organization’s donor, staff, and community relations.

Gibbs then joined the Animal Birth Control program managed by Ahimsa of Mumbai, and did similar damage. 1


PETA CALLS FOR THE EXTERMINATION OF ALL PIT BULLS
In June 2005 Newkirk published her position on Pit Bulls. Her title: "An Animal Deadly as a Weapon"
"Most people have no idea that at many animal shelters across the country, any pit bull that comes through the front door doesn't go out the back door alive. From California to New York, many shelters have enacted policies requiring the automatic destruction of the huge and ever-growing number of "pits" they encounter. This news shocks and outrages the compassionate dog-lover.

"Here's another shocker: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the very organization that is trying to get you to denounce the killing of chickens for the table, foxes for fur or frogs for dissection, supports the shelters' pit-bull policy, albeit with reluctance. We further encourage a ban on breeding pit bulls.

"Those who argue against a breeding ban and the shelter euthanasia policy for pit bulls are naive.

"People who genuinely care about dogs won't be affected by a ban on pit- bull breeding. They can go to the shelter and save one of the countless other breeds and lovable mutts sitting on death row. We can only stop killing pits if we stop creating new ones. Legislators, please take note." 1


Not only does Newkirk support the wholesale extinction of Pit Bulls, she goes to extraordinary measures to seal their deaths. For example, in 2001 PETA wrote a letter asking an Alabama judge to exterminate 32 pit bulls confiscated after their owners were arrested for dog fighting. In the end, the court ordered 28 dogs destroyed but held that 4 Pit Bull puppies could be adopted because they were 'not lacking any useful purpose' or 'vicious' as PETA claimed. 1

PETA supports BSL or breed specific legislation. 1 BSL permits an entire breed to be designated as 'dangerous' such as in Denver, Colorado where Pit Bulls and their look-alikes are killed if not removed from the State. 1 See our arguments against SB861, BSL which passed in California August, 2005 : 1 2

NO KILL NOW! CALLS FOR INGRID NEWKIRK'S RESIGNATION
No Kill Now director, Vikki Shore, former PETA member: "While Newkirk's conduct may be explainable, it can never be acceptable. She couldn't undo her killing past, so she repeats it over and over to justify it. Tens of thousands of animals have died as a result. It is up to the members who bestowed Newkirk with her power base and sphere of influence to withdraw it. We owe it to the animals before she kills more!

"She didn't just deceive pounds when she promised she would adopt those kittens and puppies and instead killed them. She deceived the world about who she is and what she stands for. She deceived every devotee who cares about helping animals and ending their suffering. She deceived the helpless kittens and puppiess who trusted her most of all. She repaid that trust by becoming their boogieman and Freddy Kruger in the last moments of life. Newkirk, their last hope, became their worst nightmare. She snuffed out forever their fondest dream of finding a loving home and the possibility of a fulfilled life. Now every time we see blood in her ads, we'll see blood on her hands. When we see pictures of PETA 'rescues' we'll ask, "After they were rescued, did they kill them?"

"When the media went home, PETA killed the same animals it had just 'freed' from a research lab. PETA kills animals that were supposed to be adopted. This puts into question every animal rescue PETA ever made."

"I personally know of millions of dollars that have been diverted from PETA. Those dollars will never come back as long as Newkirk or anyone like her stands at the helm."

"Where should your donations go now? Perhaps the greatest difference anyone can make to help abandoned companion animals is to give to local animal rescues that NEVER kill and spay/neuter programs you are familiar with.

"Some will say Newkirk is indispensable. However no credible movement relies on one individual. The ideal we strive for - a world where humans treat animals compassionately and make provisions for them to co-exist in comfort- is not copyrighted. Millions share this vision and worthy leaders will surface where a void exits.

"I wonder how many celebrated actors would lend their faces to PETA campaigns if Newkirk 'saved' minks, cows and elephants the way she 'saves' dogs and cats - by marching them out of view and promptly killing them.

"It is OK to occasionally share the same side of the fence as your adversaries. Circumstances make strange bedfellows. Just because animal-rights detractors denounce PETA and Newkirk doesn't mean you should side with them when they are hurting animals. If you care, it is the ANIMALS you should defend.

"No, it is not OK to accept a leader who kills just because he or she 'does other good things.' The faux pas here isn't mismanagement or an accounting malfeasance. This is about the heart and soul of what PETA is suppose to stand for. My God, Ingrid Newkirk is a zealous animal killer. There is no reconciliation or justification, period.

"Newkirk should step down!"

HUMANE LEADERS SPEAK OUT AGAINST INGRID NEWKIRK & PETA
Best Friends Editorial: 1

"...Newkirk said, that PETA believes euthanasia is the kindest gift to a dog or cat unwanted and unloved. We simply couldn't disagree more. The kindest gift to a homeless animal is a good home. The kindest gift to an unloved dog or cat is a loving, caring place to go.

"We know perfectly well that there are still more homeless animals each year than shelters feel capable of placing in new homes. But the number of animals being killed in shelters has dropped from about 17 million just 15 years ago to less than 5 million today. And we can now look forward to a day, quite soon, when there will be No More Homeless Pets in this country.

"This remarkable goal is being accomplished through the work of increasingly progressive humane groups and shelters, where good people are working to save lives, not destroy them. Any organization that's aspiring to a leadership role in relation to companion animals needs to be encouraging people to save more lives, rather than to go on repeating the failed policies and practices that helped create the problem in the first place.

So we consider it to be extraordinarily irresponsible for a single animal rights group with a loud voice and a reputation for protecting animals to grab the headlines and tell the world that the best thing we can do for homeless pets is kill them. While PETA is in the forefront of many animal-related issues, they are way behind the times when it comes to companion animals. We would hope that they will continue to lead in the areas where they do well, and to stay out of areas in which, by their own words and deeds, they have no positive contribution to make.

Best Friends runs a sanctuary in Utah that is home to about 1,500 animals and promotes a No More Homeless Pet program nationwide. It's director, Michael Mountain, claims it is the world's largest respite for abandoned animals of its kind.




Nathan Winograd [No Kill Sheltering Jan/Feb 2006]:

"They fight for chickens and cows and other animals. But when it comes to dogs and cats in shelters, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has the biggest blind spot of them all. PETA not only kills thousands of dogs and cats themselves. They not only have a policy against No Kill. But they also support a ban on Pit Bulls, a position which condones the wholesale slaughter of hundreds of thousands of dogs in pounds across the country every year. It is an ugly fact that PETA does not hide."

In 1994 when Winograd wrote to Newkirk asking for assistance regarding the safety of some feral cats, Newkirk responded:

"we do not advocate 'right to life' for animals" and "I'm not clear how the cats you referred to (who were at odds with their owners landlord) are to be allowed to live out their lives...we do have a policy against no-kills..." [emphasis added by Newkirk].

Winograd directed the Law & Advocacy Department for the San Francisco SPCA and now does national no-kill shelter consulting from San Diego. Winograd, also a former criminal prosecutor and Stanford Law School Graduate, offered his services pro bono to the North Carolina prosecution currently handling the pending criminal case against PETA staff. 1



Lee Hall, Legal Director of Friends of Animals:

“FOA would like to state that the Ahoskie killings are not euthanasia, and are a serious affront to animal rights. Animal advocates have no business killing healthy sheltered animals. People who engage in such conduct––regardless of killing or disposal methods––convey the message that they and their supporters have accepted a reprehensible practice."



Kanak Roy, M.D. for the Animal Aid Alliance in Virginia Beach:

“I have had disagreements with Newkirk in the past, but regardless of her troubling philosophy, I have continued to defend her publicly...However, the belief that PETA’s unconscionable actions are in support of animal welfare, and the idea that they are any way reducing suffering, is pathological.”

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PETA Statements

"We do not advocate 'right to life" for animals" - Ingrid Newkirk wrote on a postcard to Nathan Winograd, no-kill shelter consultant and TNR advocate.

"‘PETA believes euthanasia is the kindest gift to a dog or cat unwanted and unloved.’ - Ingrid Newkirk at a press conference following the arrest of two employees.

"It is a totally rotten business, but sometimes the only kind option for some animals is to put them to sleep forever," Newkirk said in a 2000 interview with Matthew Barakat. 1

"[M]ost of the animals we receive are broken beings for whom euthanasia is, without a doubt, the most humane option." 1 According to Vet Patrick Proctor, he gave PETA adoptable kittens and a dog that were killed within one hour.

"This is a good time to revisit a comment from Ingrid Newkirk's mentor because it puts today's events in perspective:

"We are not especially 'interested in' animals. Neither of us had ever been inordinately fond of dogs, cats, or horses in the way that many people are. We didn't 'love' animals." - Peter Singer, acknowledged founder of the animal rights movement.