People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), with more than 2.0 million members and supporters has been creating a lot of bad press. I know that TechJaws is a tech blog, but I had to rant about this organization.

It’s for a good cause, but it’s not all that good when members of this organization misbehave. There were recent reports that PETA members were protesting a fishing tournament and started throwing objects at fishermen to discourage them from fishing.

PETA members need to treat people like they treat animals instead of acting like animals. I think there are always bad apples in any group or organization, but PETA has been caught too many times as being physically abrasive during their protests. PETA has been squelched by many people because of their tactics and we don’t see this issue ever getting resolved.

There are many negative stories about PETA it makes you wonder what their real mission is. Here are some facts taken from various anti-PETA web sites.

1. PETA has stated repeatedly that their goal is “total animal liberation.” This means no pets, no meat, no milk, no zoos, no circuses, no fishing, no leather, and no animal testing for lifesaving medicines.
2. PETA has given tens of thousands of dollars to convicted arsonists and other violent criminals.
3. PETA funds the misnamed Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine 3, an animal-rights organization that presents itself as an unbiased source for nutritional information and has links to a violent animal-rights group called SHAC.
4. PETA has used their contributors’ tax-exempt donations to fund the North American Earth Liberation front, an FBI-certified “domestic terrorist” group responsible for fire bombs and death threats.
5. PETA regularly targets kids as early as elementary school with anti-meat and anti-milk propaganda.
6. PETA spends less than one percent of its $13 million budget actually caring for animals.
7. PETA has repeatedly attacked groups like the March of Dimes, the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and the American Cancer Society, for conducting animal testing to find cures for birth defects and life-threatening diseases.