Contributing writer Jonathan Murrietta twists his argument, as is typical of people who support the continued killing and butchery of smart, sensitive animals.
There is a world of difference between tormenting and killing animals for “sport” or because we want to eat them, and providing a painless release from suffering for animals who are wracked with diseases, dangerously aggressive, elderly and on death’s door.
PETA is proud to operate a “shelter of last resort” for animals in our community who have nowhere else to turn. We take in dogs who have been chained 24/7 their entire lives and are suffering from congestive heart failure from advanced heartworm disease; feral cats who are ravaged by feline immunodeficiency virus or other contagious and fatal diseases; and animals who are otherwise suffering and unadoptable. Many of the animals we take in have been turned away by other shelters that are striving to keep euthanasia rates down, at the expense of the animals they turn their backs on.
These animals have no quality of life, and no hope of a happy future. For these animals, euthanasia is a kind act, often the only one they have ever known. The alternatives—leaving them to suffer and slowly die from illness; locking them in cages for the rest of their lives; or leaving them on the streets to be killed by cars, starve or freeze—are not humane by any stretch.
We transfer adoptable animals to high-traffic open-admission shelters—shelters that, unlike “no-kill” shelters, never turn animals away—to find loving homes, and we also work to stop animal homelessness at its source. In 2013, we helped thousands of people keep animals they would otherwise have given up by providing free medical services, showing them how to manage behavioral problems, and more. In the last year alone, PETA spayed or neutered 11,229 dogs and cats, preventing generations of animals from being born only to end up on the streets or in shelters.
Animals need all the friends they can get. I invite caring students to visit www.peta2.com to learn more and get involved with our Street Team.
Daphna Nachminovitch is the senior vice president of the Cruelty Investigations Department at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). You may contact Nachminovitch via email at [email protected] or phone at (757)962-8338.