PETA and the true about animal rights - Essay Example

PETA Animals, in our time and from the past, became part of our lives as pets. Some people, teenagers, adults, or kids maybe, take animals as pets such as dogs, cats, birds, mice, or even snake! But most are likely to have animals at their houses, treating them as workers and slaves for their good. Sometimes, here comes a while that somehow, you realize that animals are not treated well, or abused. Don’t you? Well if you do, don’t feel awful, because you are not alone. Here comes PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals).

The largest animal rights non-profit organization in the world (as they were saying) geographically based in Norfolk, Virginia. Having the slogan “animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on or use for entertainment”, its purpose is to implement animal rights (as well as animal welfare); it rejects the idea of speciesism, as Dr. Richard Ryder said "to describe the widespread discrimination that is practiced by man against other species…" the idea of animals as property and uses animals in any form of abuse.

PETA is well concerned about these four core issues namely, factory farming, fur farming, animal testing and animal entertainment. Furthermore it is also encouraging to stop caging of birds and chaining of dogs in backyards, fishing, killing of animals regarded as pests, bullfighting and cockfighting. Supporters PETA believe that animals have inherent worth, much more value completely separate than they are useful to us, humans. Through the years PETA has made advances for animals that are abused by individuals, corporations and governments throughout the world.

The organization has won several cases against animal abusers and has convicted several animal researchers. These successes have led to the improvement of the lives of millions of individual animals. One popular example is the Silver Spring monkeys case where researcher Edward Taub experiments 17 macaque monkeys inside the Institute of Behavioral Research in Silver Spring, Maryland. Alex Pacheco spied the lab and took pictures of monkeys tied-up inside the lab. The pictures were then turned-over to the local police as evidence.

The lab was raided by the police and researcher Edward Taub was convicted for several counts of animal cruelty and abuse. PETA was founded by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco on March, 1980. It receives donations from its multi-national companies and individual donors. The organization’s financial statements revealed millions of dollars of revenues a year. This is likely coming from millions of dollars worth of cash and non-cash donations from its donors worldwide and the rest came from its fund raisings for animal rights.

PETA says that their revenues will not be kept for themselves but for the improvements of their programs on pursuing their global missions. Thus, its income tax returns revealed donations and grants to and from various individuals and non-profit organizations working on animal rights. They say the money they have in the organization will be spent for the benefit of the animals and the improvement of their life as living things. References: www.peta.org