Posted By: Mira Trapper
Warning NEW NEIGHBORS!!!!! - 02/11/09 12:00 PM
The Center for Consumer Freedom
February 10, 2009
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/pressRelease_detail.cfm/release/253
For Immediate Release
PETA's New Dupont Circle Neighbors Get Practical Advice About Handling
Animal Rights Crazies
Letters Warn of Potential for Harassment, Violence, Mass Pet Killings
Washington — Yesterday, the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom
(CCF) sent letters to 300 of PETA's future neighbors near the 1536
Sixteenth Street, NW address purchased by the animal rights group last
week. The letters advised commercial tenants in PETA's future
neighborhood that while working near a radical animal rights group is
likely to be an unnerving experience, following some simple advice can
lessen anxiety for everyone.
CCF Director of Research David Martosko said: "PETA is known for
bitterly complaining about things that most people find completely
normal—like chicken burritos, steaks, sushi, leather shoes,
mousetraps, the National Zoo, seeing-eye dogs, and even the
breast-cancer research 'Race for the Cure.' These are all big PETA
no-nos."
CCF's letter included this advice: "Given what it stands for, it's not
surprising that PETA represents a vanishingly tiny fringe of American
society. Still, it's not unusual for ordinary people to be unsure
about how to act around the group's employees. Please be assured that
most of them are harmless unless provoked."
The letter noted PETA's well-documented history of killing more than
90 percent of adoptable pets released into its care, and also included
a copy of CCF's informational handout titled "7 Things You Didn't Know
About PETA" (available at http://tinyurl.com/PETA7things).
Our letter to 300 of PETA's new neighbors is below, and includes five
specific pieces of practical advice. To arrange an interview, or for
more information about PETA's likely future impact on Washington,
contact Sarah Kapenstein at 202-463-7112.
February 9, 2009
To Whom it May Concern:
You may not know this yet, but you're about to get a new neighbor in
the Dupont Circle area. Last week the building at 1536 Sixteenth
Street, NW was sold to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PETA). In a city with as much controversy as Washington, it's hard to
imagine that any new resident could raise the bar. But trust me: This
group is different.
PETA president and co-founder Ingrid Newkirk describes her group's
goal as "total animal liberation"—the complete abolition of meat,
milk, cheese, eggs, honey, zoos, aquariums, circuses, wool, leather,
fur, silk, hunting, fishing, and even pet ownership.
In a 2003 profile of Newkirk, The New Yorker pointed out that Newkirk
has had at least one seeing-eye dog taken away from its blind owner.
PETA also opposes all medical research that requires the use of
animals, including research aimed at curing AIDS and cancer. PETA's
president is on the record saying: "Even if animal research resulted
in a cure for AIDS, we would be against it."
Given what it stands for, it's not surprising that PETA represents a
vanishingly tiny fringe of American society. Still, it's not unusual
for ordinary people to be unsure about how to act around the group's
employees. Please be assured that most of them are harmless unless
provoked.
Still, I'd like to offer you the following suggestions:
1. If you or your building managers use lethal traps to control rats
or mice in outdoor areas, make sure you have video surveillance
installed near those locations to ensure that the traps are not
tampered with.
2. If your employees wear leather shoes or gloves, or if they wear fur
outerwear during cold weather, you may want to prepare them for a
regular pestering on the streets from PETA employees demanding to know
if it's "real" or "fake." It's always smarter to tell activists that
you're wearing vinyl or faux fur (whether or not you really are),
rather than arguing about the issue. Better safe than sorry.
3. If you or anyone in your office has a pet dog or cat on the
premises, please make sure it is kept indoors and far away from the
new PETA offices. Since PETA does not believe in pet ownership, the
group operates an aggressive program of killing domesticated animals
instead of searching for adoptive homes. Do not, under any
circumstances, take a pet to PETA for veterinary care or advice.
Government records show that in 2007 alone, the group killed 1,815
pets while finding homes for only 18.
4. If your business or organization is concerned in any way with the
use of animals (or even the endorsement of the use of animals), you
may want to meet with your insurance underwriters to ensure that your
property is adequately protected against the threat of fire,
vandalism, and theft.
5. If you participate in annual fundraising drives for the March of
Dimes, the Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure," the American Cancer
Society's "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer," or other such
causes, do not approach anyone at PETA for sponsorship. Animal rights
activists oppose these charities, and literally hundreds of others
like them, because they fund science which (like most critical medical
research) uses lab animals.
If you're interested in learning more about your new neighbor, please
feel free to write me personally. I'm enclosing an information sheet
titled "7 Things You Didn't Know About PETA." If you want additional
copies, it can be downloaded for free at
http://tinyurl.com/PETA7things.
With Every Good Wish,
David Martosko
Director of Research
martosko@ConsumerFreedom.com
February 10, 2009
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/pressRelease_detail.cfm/release/253
For Immediate Release
PETA's New Dupont Circle Neighbors Get Practical Advice About Handling
Animal Rights Crazies
Letters Warn of Potential for Harassment, Violence, Mass Pet Killings
Washington — Yesterday, the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom
(CCF) sent letters to 300 of PETA's future neighbors near the 1536
Sixteenth Street, NW address purchased by the animal rights group last
week. The letters advised commercial tenants in PETA's future
neighborhood that while working near a radical animal rights group is
likely to be an unnerving experience, following some simple advice can
lessen anxiety for everyone.
CCF Director of Research David Martosko said: "PETA is known for
bitterly complaining about things that most people find completely
normal—like chicken burritos, steaks, sushi, leather shoes,
mousetraps, the National Zoo, seeing-eye dogs, and even the
breast-cancer research 'Race for the Cure.' These are all big PETA
no-nos."
CCF's letter included this advice: "Given what it stands for, it's not
surprising that PETA represents a vanishingly tiny fringe of American
society. Still, it's not unusual for ordinary people to be unsure
about how to act around the group's employees. Please be assured that
most of them are harmless unless provoked."
The letter noted PETA's well-documented history of killing more than
90 percent of adoptable pets released into its care, and also included
a copy of CCF's informational handout titled "7 Things You Didn't Know
About PETA" (available at http://tinyurl.com/PETA7things).
Our letter to 300 of PETA's new neighbors is below, and includes five
specific pieces of practical advice. To arrange an interview, or for
more information about PETA's likely future impact on Washington,
contact Sarah Kapenstein at 202-463-7112.
February 9, 2009
To Whom it May Concern:
You may not know this yet, but you're about to get a new neighbor in
the Dupont Circle area. Last week the building at 1536 Sixteenth
Street, NW was sold to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PETA). In a city with as much controversy as Washington, it's hard to
imagine that any new resident could raise the bar. But trust me: This
group is different.
PETA president and co-founder Ingrid Newkirk describes her group's
goal as "total animal liberation"—the complete abolition of meat,
milk, cheese, eggs, honey, zoos, aquariums, circuses, wool, leather,
fur, silk, hunting, fishing, and even pet ownership.
In a 2003 profile of Newkirk, The New Yorker pointed out that Newkirk
has had at least one seeing-eye dog taken away from its blind owner.
PETA also opposes all medical research that requires the use of
animals, including research aimed at curing AIDS and cancer. PETA's
president is on the record saying: "Even if animal research resulted
in a cure for AIDS, we would be against it."
Given what it stands for, it's not surprising that PETA represents a
vanishingly tiny fringe of American society. Still, it's not unusual
for ordinary people to be unsure about how to act around the group's
employees. Please be assured that most of them are harmless unless
provoked.
Still, I'd like to offer you the following suggestions:
1. If you or your building managers use lethal traps to control rats
or mice in outdoor areas, make sure you have video surveillance
installed near those locations to ensure that the traps are not
tampered with.
2. If your employees wear leather shoes or gloves, or if they wear fur
outerwear during cold weather, you may want to prepare them for a
regular pestering on the streets from PETA employees demanding to know
if it's "real" or "fake." It's always smarter to tell activists that
you're wearing vinyl or faux fur (whether or not you really are),
rather than arguing about the issue. Better safe than sorry.
3. If you or anyone in your office has a pet dog or cat on the
premises, please make sure it is kept indoors and far away from the
new PETA offices. Since PETA does not believe in pet ownership, the
group operates an aggressive program of killing domesticated animals
instead of searching for adoptive homes. Do not, under any
circumstances, take a pet to PETA for veterinary care or advice.
Government records show that in 2007 alone, the group killed 1,815
pets while finding homes for only 18.
4. If your business or organization is concerned in any way with the
use of animals (or even the endorsement of the use of animals), you
may want to meet with your insurance underwriters to ensure that your
property is adequately protected against the threat of fire,
vandalism, and theft.
5. If you participate in annual fundraising drives for the March of
Dimes, the Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure," the American Cancer
Society's "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer," or other such
causes, do not approach anyone at PETA for sponsorship. Animal rights
activists oppose these charities, and literally hundreds of others
like them, because they fund science which (like most critical medical
research) uses lab animals.
If you're interested in learning more about your new neighbor, please
feel free to write me personally. I'm enclosing an information sheet
titled "7 Things You Didn't Know About PETA." If you want additional
copies, it can be downloaded for free at
http://tinyurl.com/PETA7things.
With Every Good Wish,
David Martosko
Director of Research
martosko@ConsumerFreedom.com