PETA and ELF and ALF

[Guest guest]

I tried to post this once before, but don't think it " took " . But in

case you see it twice, that's why.

 

This message is from Scott VanValkenburg who works for PETA. His

contact info is at the bottom.

 

Karen

---

Ingrid Newkirk wanted me to share some wonderful news with you, as

well

as to respond to a rekindled industry smear campaign against PETA.

 

Yesterday agents of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service seized one of

the

seven polar bears in the horrible Suarez Circus currently in Puerto

Rico. PETA had submitted a complaint that the circus had lied about

the

bear's zoo origin (some of the bears were trapped in the wild) and

brought together zoo experts to support our case. The agents seized

the one

bear and flew her from the humid tropics to a suitable enclosure,

complete with a deep icy pool, at a facility in Baltimore.

 

Having federal agents remove animals from a circus is precisely the

type of PETA victory that is terrifying not just Ringling and other

circuses, but also vivisectors, furriers, and factory farmers. And

that is

the basis of a current public relations smear campaign being waged by

an

industry front group portraying itself as a consumer and small-

business

coalition. If you've seen some reference to this campaign in the

media,

please be assured that PETA has been the victim of this type of

attack

before and has passed IRS and public examination with flying colors.

So

why would our animal-abusing opponents try it again now, and who are

they?

 

They call themselves the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise

(CDFE). This thinly disguised group of big Enron-type businesses-

loggers,

cattle ranchers, tobacco interests, and factory farmers-seethes

whenever

PETA reveals documentation that bulls are castrated without

anesthesia

and dismembered at slaughterhouses while still conscious or when we

write about yet another scientific study linking animal fat with

cancer

and heart disease or when we attack decades-long smoking experiments

on

animals.

 

In fact, CDFE cronies on Capitol Hill managed to have hearings held

about our supposed involvement in eco-terrorism, but we successfully

presented testimony and arranged for supportive legislators to call

attention to the real motives of the group attacking us. CDFE's

executive

director, Richard Berman, also runs a public affairs firm, Berman &

Co.,

which represents the tobacco industry, beer distributors, taverns,

and

restaurant chains. Mr. Berman has even lobbied against efforts to

lower

the legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers! In 1998, the advisory

panel

for the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise (then called Guest

Choice Network) included representatives from National Steak &

Poultry,

Cargill Processed Meat Products, and Philip Morris.

 

In a last-gasp effort to avoid cleaning up their act, the people who

profit from the slaughter of 10 billion animals every year and from

the

destruction and pollution of parks and forests, rivers and streams,

are

even trying the timeworn route of asking the IRS to yank PETA's

tax-exempt status. Similar vested interests did the same thing a

decade ago,

and after a thorough investigation by the IRS, their request was

denied

and PETA's nonprofit status remained unchanged.

 

What we do, say, and condone are legal and open to scrutiny. Our

" extensive arrest records " (mentioned in their media reports) are for

civil

disobedience, as, for example, when we sit down inside a fur store in

peaceful protest of animal suffering, in the time-honored tradition

of

Cesar Chavez, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. We also

believe

in the right to legal counsel, and that is what we have provided to

good activists on occasion.

 

Animal abusers are terrified of the strides that PETA is making-like

getting major fast-food companies to agree to improved living

conditions

for animals on factory farms. But Rick Berman and his cohorts are

trying every trick in the book to squelch our right to tell people

the

truth. It is a measure of our effectiveness that they are feeling so

threatened by our achievements, and it only inspires us to work even

harder

for the animals.

 

We will always say what we think, defend animals and the people who

defend them, and fight vigorously, and we are very grateful for the

sustaining support of our Vanguard Society members. As always, please

be in

touch if you have any questions or concerns.

Scott

ScottV

757-622-7382, #1374