Ryan ChartrandPlease allow me to respond to the misleading March 5 column by Jacki DeMarchi – for whom, incidentally, PETA has no record of membership.
PETA is proud to be a “shelter of last resort” for elderly, sick, aggressive, and injured animals – those whom so-called “no-kill” shelters often turn their backs on. We also provide a peaceful, painless release to animals whose human guardians can’t afford to take them to a veterinarian for euthanasia. We refer almost all adoptable animals to reputable open-door shelters, where they have a chance at finding loving homes.
While euthanasia is an unavoidable necessity for PETA and animal shelters across the U.S. – thanks to breeders, pet stores, and people who don’t spay and neuter – it is only a tiny percentage of our work to help animals. For example, PETA’s SNIP clinic sterilizes hundreds of cats and dogs at little or no cost to their guardians each week, preventing hundreds of thousands of animals from being born only to end up on the streets or euthanized for lack of homes. Every person who goes vegetarian after seeing one of our attention-grabbing ads or demonstrations saves more than 100 animals every year from being confined on filthy factory farms and often scalded and skinned alive in slaughterhouses.
To learn more about PETA’s work, visit www.peta2.com.