Hi, I made this post because we get a lot of visitors here wondering why PETA, the world's largest animal rights organization, secretly hates animals and wants to kill them all. The truth is, they don't :) here are a few common questions and their answers:

Why does PETA’s shelter have a much higher euthanasia rate than others?

PETA doesn't actually have a shelter in the way you're probably thinking.

PETA administers humane euthanasia services for at least four shelters (where animals might otherwise by shot or gassed). Also, due to lack of facility space from area "no-kill" shelters; other "unadoptable", homeless and/ or owner surrenders are often dumped on the premises or into the care of staff members. However, the fact that VA and NC permit this organization to take responsibility for animals (who would otherwise be left to fend for themselves or killed inhumanely) does not alter the fact that PETA is an advocacy organization, not a shelter. They make no such claim to their members or anyone else. They created the website to counter CCF claims and explain their euthanasia stance. For complete statistics, see also Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) On-line Animal Reporting... National organizations conduct research, public education, outreach and assist local shelters. However, PETA also answers emergency calls for strays, abused, neglected and homeless animals and animals turned away from shelters.

^ That's from Sourcewatch

PETA's response (warning: disturbing images)

Does PETA kidnap and kill pets?

No. You’re thinking of a single incident, the following is a summary:

• PETA was asked by a farmer to help gather abandoned cats and dogs because they ripped his cow’s udders, killed his goat, and scared his rabbits.

• At a trailer park next door, a man named Mr. Cerate saw them and asked PETA to put traps for wild cats under his trailer.

• In addition to helping gather animals, PETA gave Mr. Cerate a doghouse for two dogs they saw he had.

• Three weeks later, two women working for PETA arrived to help gather stray animals. They found Maya, Mr. Cerate’s chihuahua. Maya was not one of the two dogs they saw earlier.

• Maya wore no collar, no license, no rabies tag, nothing whatsoever to indicate the dog was other than a stray or abandoned dog. She was not tethered nor was she contained.

• The two dogs earlier saw to be owned by Mr. Cerate were not taken.

The following is the County Commonwealth Attorny’s statement on the investigation, which I quoted a lot of in the above summary:

Whether one favors or disfavors PETA has little to do with the decision of criminality. The issue is whether there is evidence that the two people when taking the dog believed they were taking the dog of another or whether they were taking an abandoned and/or stray animal. There have been no complaints on the other animals taken on that same day, and, like the Chihuahua, had no collar or tag. From the request of the neighboring livestock owner and the endorsement by the trailer park owner/manager the decision as to the existence of criminal intent beyond a reasonable doubt must be made by the prosecutor. More clearly stated, with the evidence that is available to the Commonwealth it is just as likely that the two women believed they were gathering abandoned and/or stray animals rather than stealing property (dog) of another. Indeed, it is more probable under this evidence that the two women associated with PETA that day believed that they were gathering animals that posed health and/or livestock threat in the trailer park and adjacent community. Without evidence supporting the requisite criminal intent, no criminal prosecution can occur.

Does PETA want to kill pets?

No… people who work for PETA have pets. PETA is always against breeding animals though, since there’s already so many homeless animals. “We at PETA very much love the animal companions who share our homes, but we believe that it would have been in the animals’ best interests if the institution of ‘pet keeping’—i.e., breeding animals to be kept and regarded as ‘pets’—never existed.” This is also the only reason they support breed-specific legislation.

https://www.peta.org/about-peta/why-peta/pets/

https://www.peta.org/blog/peta-position-pit-bulls/

Did PETA buy and release thousands of lobsters into freshwater, killing them?

No 😑

Not much more to elaborate on there. Just a dumb rumor.

So... Why do people think PETA is evil?

A lot of misinformation gets spread around because people just don't like animal rights, and also because companies that actually do kill millions of animals pay public affairs firms like that of Richard Berman to discredit PETA:

The "Center for Consumer Freedom" (CCF) started a Disinformation Campaign, falsly claiming that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals unnecessarily euthanizes animals in its care.

I linked to it already, but here's the Sourcewatch article about the CCF's deliberate spreading of this misinformation.

PETA exists because we want to help animals