PETA is a self-indulgent organization that uses terrorist tactics. For amount of legitimate good that they do for animals that are brutalized and tortured, their shock tactics offend and alienate huge numbers of people - in my opinion. I agree with the above statement. I've seen these guys in "action". It's very emotional for the group and I think they will go to great lengths to achieve their goal. That's great but they do tend utilize shock tactics, destroy property, etc...
First of all, the thing that I don't get is why don't you ever hear about PETA going after lower profile targets. Isn't there still that gas station outside of Baton Rouge that has Tigers? What about all of these people that keep tigers, gators, monkeys, and God knows what else inside their apartments. What about circuses? I'm sure those animals get humane treatment. What about taking care of the 12 million children in this country without health insurance? Oh wait I forgot, their only humans, not animals. Yes they do have an agenda, and its not to help anyone or anything. At least not directly. They want their name in the newspaper. So they go after high profile targets. That way they become famous. That way they get more power. And with power they can do what their objective was in the first place (what was it again?). That's typical liberal circumstatial reasoning. Fact: Life Expectancy for Royal Bengal Tigers in the wild: 10-15 yrs Life Expectancy in captivity: 15-20 Would Mike leave if he could? Of course. Would he be better off? It depends on if you think that enduring droughts, famine, and dodging poachers would outweigh the benefits of being free.
Isn't that the 12 million chickens without health insurance? And where is their concern for the genocide being perpetrated upon billions of ants, mosquitoes, cockroaches and flies by every American human?
i dont kill ants. i dont even step on bacteria. i also dont take antibiotics because that kills the poor creatures. all of gods creatures deserve our respect.
Response from the Memphis paper.... BTW TOM II is Mike's brother Hey, Tom, it's a jungle out there in Collierville UP-ROAR! By Geoff Calkins October 29, 2003 Two pools. An outdoor waterfall. A 3,500-square-foot home off Bill Morris Parkway in Collierville. In a gated community, too! Remind me: Is this the mistreatment of an animal or the American dream? All Tom the Tiger needs now is an Escalade, a Starbucks card and a weekly massage. Oh, wait. Never mind about the massage. "This is our mistreated animal," said Scott Forman, one of the University of Memphis boosters who works with Tom II, as he scratched the tiger's back through steel bars. William Nixon, who owns the property where Tom is kept, looked on with a bemused grin. "What you have to wonder about is who would criticize something without seeing it first?" Nixon asked. PETA, that's who, which - contrary to what some T-shirts say - does not stand for People for the Eating of Tasty Animals. It stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and it has kicked off something of a mascot controversy in town. Good thing, too. It's been at least a week since we've been embroiled - get it? embroiled? - in one of those. PETA sent a letter to University of Memphis president Dr. Shirley Raines asking that the 12-year-old tiger be retired. Which raises the following: Don't the PETA folks have something better to fret about? Like the poultry department at Kroger? Or the cornish game hens at Cozy Corner? Or, heck, any barbecue restaurant you care to name? Come to think of it, maybe this is why Memphis has as many churches as barbecue joints. Forgive us, Father, for we have eaten Your creation, the swine. And today - pass the coleslaw - we'll do it again! None of which is to say that PETA hasn't done some good things in its time. The organization has spurred real reforms in the treatment of animals used in medical research, and in the way the meat industry goes about its work. Hard to complain about any of that. But this is one of PETA's loonier efforts, like its opposition to Seeing Eye dogs, leather footballs and (the horror!) glasses of milk. Tom ain't miserable. At least he didn't look miserable Tuesday afternoon. He looked healthy. And content. Though, to be fair, he didn't actually come out and confirm any of this. "Tom Tiger, you gonna talk to us today?" said Bobby Wharton, another Memphis booster, cooing at the big cat. Dead silence. Then, this bit of horrifying news. "He does get hairballs once in a while," Wharton said. Wharton is the guy in charge of bringing Tom to Memphis events a dozen or so times a year. This, however, is entirely dependent on Tom's mood. "We back up the trailer and wait for him to walk in," Wharton said. "He almost always wants to come. But if he doesn't, that's fine. It's only happened twice. We just pack up the trailer and go to the game." A few years ago Wharton got another round of letters from PETA. He responded by inviting a PETA official to visit some time. Did anyone show up? "Nope," Wharton said. "Not yet." Wharton isn't holding his breath. Because PETA doesn't actually care about the particulars of Tom's care. It does this to create a ruckus, to cause a stir. As Ingrid Newkirk, PETA's leader, told the New Yorker earlier this year, "We are complete press sluts." Beyond that, PETA's mission statement doesn't leave a whole lot of doubt about where it stands. "Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on or use for entertainment," the statement says. Full stop. Pretty breathtaking, eh? The Peabody ducks are out. So is Maynard the Goat. Speaking of which, Tom might like a piece of both. "He gets 15-20 pounds of raw beef a day," said Wharton. See? The Atkins diet. He's truly a Collierville cat. After half an hour or so the Memphis boosters locked up the massive habitat, leaving Tom to the cool night air. For the first time during the visit the big tiger roared. What's that all about? "He always does that," Forman said. "He's telling us, 'Don't leave.' "
