Before we jump to conclusions lets check our facts....after I read this thread I emailed PETA directly and this is the response I got...

Dear Vanessa,

Thank you for contacting PETA about this infographic. We appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns.

The information that you received was originally produced by groups that represent big-business animal exploiters and passed on by those who have an axe to grind with PETA for one reason or another. These companies are worried about the strides that PETA has made in exposing cruelty to animals, educating caring consumers, and compelling companies to take animal welfare seriously. Since they can’t argue with us about the facts of their cruelty, they contribute vast amounts of money to fund misleading ads and campaigns in a sad attempt to discredit PETA. To learn more about one such group, please see the following websites:

· http://www.ConsumerDeception.com
· http://www.citizensforethics.org/legal-filings/entry/irs-complaint-against-center-for-consumer-freedom-tax-exempt · http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=8984 · http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/us/politics/18berman.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1310490040-rGzoElznpxXMPZtmzw6L2g

For our response to the claims about PETA, please see the following:

Regarding points 2 through 5, PETA does not run a traditional adoption facility (we refer most adoptable to well-known shelters), but we have managed to place hundreds of animals in loving, lifelong homes. For many of the animals we do accept—such as those who are injured, elderly, aggressive, or otherwise unadoptable—we are a “shelter of last resort,” offering a peaceful death, free of charge, to those who would otherwise suffer a slow and painful end.

Although some of the animals we take in are lost companion animals or adoptable strays, many of the animals we receive are broken beings for whom euthanasia is, without a doubt, the most humane option. PETA receives calls every week from people who do not have the inclination or money to provide their animals with adequate veterinary care. Many of these people request that we euthanize their animals because they cannot afford to have them euthanized by a vet or because the animals would suffer excessive stress and pain during transport or surgery. PETA will not turn its back on these animals simply because they might make our “numbers” look bad. Many of the animals we take in are brought to us because they have been rejected by other facilities.

Regarding point 10 on the list, before founding PETA in 1980, Ingrid E. Newkirk worked in animal shelters, where she witnessed workers as they abused animals and used extremely cruel killing methods. Rather than turning a blind eye and allowing these animals to suffer at the hands of others, she chose to come to work early and take the animals into a quiet area one by one in order to euthanize them properly, holding them gently while they slipped away—giving them, perhaps, the first loving touch and kind words that they had ever received. Newkirk has shared this memory in interviews as one of the things that inspired her to advocate for an end to gas and decompression chambers—which she dismantled in the main Washington, D.C., pound—and other traumatic and painful methods of killing used in some animal shelters and pounds.

Regarding point 6, PETA does put a good deal of time, money, and work into our efforts to directly rescue and protect homeless, neglected, and abused animals. PETA works to end the need to euthanize homeless animals by educating the public and operating three mobile spay-and-neuter clinics, which provide free and low-cost surgeries. Since starting our first mobile clinic in 2001, we have sterilized more than 70,000 animals, including 10,500 in 2010 alone. In addition to our mobile clinics, PETA staff members in our home region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina deliver free food, doghouses, and bedding to chained dogs who would otherwise go without any of these necessities.

Because we cannot go directly to all of the factory farms, laboratories, puppy mills, and circus boxcars where billions of animals face appalling conditions, we have to use our funds to fight for them in other ways. PETA’s unique ad campaigns reach people who might otherwise never think about animal rights. Our shocking undercover investigations reveal the truth about animal-abusing industries in the U.S. and around the world and force those industries to adopt reforms that lead to less animal suffering. Our free vegetarian/vegan starter kits teach people how to make simple lifestyle changes that can save 100 animals every year. PETA works in many ways because animals suffer in many ways.

Everything we do is public and open to scrutiny. Like all businesses, our charity must spend money on office space, computers, transportation, etc., but we strive to use our funds in the most cost-effective and efficient manner possible—a commitment illustrated by the fact that, in our most recently reported fiscal year (2010), almost 85 percent of our operating expenses went directly to our programs fighting animal exploitation. That is a terrific percentage—and one of the highest of all animal protection organizations.

Regarding point 8, PETA, the largest animal rights organization in the world, is an activist organization that works to educate the public about the horrors of animal suffering through entirely peaceful means; unlike our opponents, we do not commit acts of violence against anyone—human or nonhuman. We are not affiliated with the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) or any other liberationist underground groups that take direct action by liberating animals and so on. To read more about the origins of the ALF in the U.S., we recommend PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk’s book Free the Animals.

The case involving Rodney Coronado dates back to the early 1990s. Coronado, a Native American member of the Yaqui nation, had already been helping Native Americans and animals for many years by the time he was charged with burning down an empty Michigan State University laboratory, where animals were often taken and infected with painful diseases. American criminal law is based on the premise that people are innocent until proven guilty, and we felt that Mr. Coronado deserved to be defended and continue being a productive member of society. Naturally, we alerted our members to our efforts to help him. As recent DNA tests have indisputably shown, people can be accused—and even convicted—of crimes that they did not commit. We hate to see decent people targeted in witch hunts, and we are dedicated to speaking out for those who speak out for animals.

Regarding point 9, we often work with celebrities on issues that they feel comfortable supporting, whether it’s promoting spaying and neutering or speaking out against products that are tested on animals. These celebrities might not be totally vegan in every aspect, but their contribution to any of our campaigns is valued, and we commend them for taking a step in the right direction. For example, Jenna Jameson is a vegetarian and promotes pleather, and Charlize Theron and Eva Mendes refuse to wear real fur. Other stars are committed to helping animals however they can. For example, when Pamela Anderson auctioned off her old car, acquired before she rejected leather, she donated the proceeds to PETA. Alicia Silverstone wasn’t a vegetarian when we first started working with her. Now, she’s a strict vegan and talks about her vegan diet and animal rights in just about every interview that she does. Making the transition to a cruelty-free lifestyle is a gradual process, and we’re happy to work with celebrities on even the most introductory levels. We hope, as you do, that they’ll eventually make the transition to an even more animal-friendly lifestyle.

We won’t let underhanded tactics stop us from helping all animals, and we hope you won’t be deterred, either. We encourage you to visit http://www.PETA.org/about/default.aspx to learn more about PETA. There you will find our mission statement, annual review, financial reports, and history, as well as information about the many lifesaving victories we have won for animals with the support of our members.

We hope that this information addresses your concerns. Thanks again for writing and for giving us this opportunity to address these issues.

Sincerely,

The PETA Staff http://www.PETA.org