PETA Slaughtered 1,411 Cats and Dogs in 2016

Last week, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) filed its 2016 animal custody report with Virginia regulators regarding the animals it took into its “animal shelter” at its headquarters in Norfolk, Va. But don’t try rushing to the rescue—those cats and dogs are probably dead already.

That’s right: The so-called People for the “Ethical Treatment” of Animals admitted to killing 1,411 cats and dogs in 2016 alone. This is the same PETA that says “fishing isn’t tradition, it's torture,” and calls hunting “a cruel, needless killing spree.”

Perhaps PETA should look in the mirror.

Nearly 72 percent of the cats and dogs coming through PETA’s “shelter” were euthanized last year, while just 2.9 percent were actually adopted.  In other words, pets left at PETA are about 24 times more likely to end up dead in a trash bag in PETA’s walk-in freezer than find a happy home. (Yes, PETA does have a walk-in freezer.)

Such a statistic makes PETA a standout shelter—but not in a warm, fuzzy way. Private animal shelters in Virginia reported a kill rate of only about 10 percent, which is great. PETA’s kill rate is simply shameful.

Of course, PETA’s pet slaughter is nothing new. It has been slaying dogs and cats for nearly two decades. Since 1998, PETA has killed more than 36,000 cats and dogs. It seems PETA believes many animals are better off dead than fed.

But it’s not just the high euthanasia rate that makes PETA’s “shelter” a pet’s worst nightmare—it’s the short stay time of its “guests.” In 2010, Dr. Daniel Kovich, an investigator with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, reviewed two months of records and found that 245 of the 290 animals—84 percent—brought in by PETA were killed within 24 hours.

To watch the tell-all video “4 Things You Didn’t Know About PETA,” click here.

However, PETA’s track record of killing isn’t limited to its Virginia headquarters—they’ve been busted elsewhere.

In 2007, two PETA employees were tried for animal cruelty and littering in North Carolina after dumping the bodies of dead dogs and cats in a strip mall dumpster. People who handed the pets over to PETA testified that PETA said they “shouldn’t have a problem at all finding homes” for the animals, but PETA killed them before they left the state.

In 2014, two other PETA employees kidnapped a little girl’s Chihuahua from her family’s porch and killed it. A surveillance video showed a van branded with the PETA logo pull up into the driveway, lure the dog away and drive off with it. The next day, the dog was dead.

Around this time last year, NRAHLF.org reported that PETA refused to respond to former employee’s puppy-killing allegations, saying such questions are equivalent to asking how often you beat your wife.

What’s worse, PETA still hasn’t backed down—even after being sued by the family. PETA has filed several motions to dismiss the case on the grounds that the dog was legally worthless; that their actions did not constitute “outrageous” conduct; and even blamed the family for being “negligent.” For a group that fights for “legal rights” for animals, such rank hypocrisy truly stinks.

Call to Action
The next time someone you know posts PETA propaganda or tries to shame you for being a sportsman, tell them PETA’s dirty secret. Sportsmen have an ethical code that most Americans agree with. PETA doesn’t.

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Editor’s Note: Founded in 1996, the Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit organization funded by individuals, foundations and corporations devoted to promoting personal responsibility and protection.