At first glance, PETA, or "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals," sounds like a great organization for protecting animals. People might not agree with all of their stances, such as never eating meat, never wearing fur and never hunting, but any group that rescues animals from horrible, abusive conditions is a good thing, right?

That's what I thought when I first heard about the organization's existence when I was a teenager. I had been living as a vegetarian for a long time - before I even knew about PETA - so when I heard about them, I thought they were great. I mean, they aligned with some of my personal convictions like not eating meat, being against animal testing, not hunting, etc. So initially, I was supportive. As time went on, however, and as I saw what they said on social media or on the news, watched their advertisements and did my own research, I quickly realized that PETA was not at all what it appeared to be at the surface level - in fact, they were the complete opposite.

It's not because they speak out against the meat and dairy industry - I agree that the animal agriculture industry is largely abusive and morally wrong in how it operates. It's not because they advocate veganism or not using products tested on animals - those are just personal convictions, and to each their own. PETA is a horrible and dangerous organization because they kill the majority of animals they house in their "rescues," promote using verbal attacks and violence against those who aren't aligned with their values and use disgusting outrage tactics in advertisements, protests and statements in order to scam people into supporting them - amongst other things. Here's the evidence:

It might seem unbelievable to hear that an organization such as PETA actually kills the overwhelming majority of animals it takes into its care, but it's true. PETA does not believe in owning pets of any kind. Even more, they argue that animals would be better off dead than owned as pets.

Looking at the actual numbers is simply horrifying. The Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (VDACS) requires public and private animal shelters to report the numbers and dispositions of animals they receive in a given year. In 2014, reports from VDACS and PETA itself confirmed that the number of animals euthanized at its facilities had risen 30%, to 88%. Yep, you heard that right: almost 90 PERCENT of all animals taken into PETA's care are euthanized; less than 2% are adopted out. In 2018, that percent slightly declined, with 1,771 out of the 2,470 animals acquired being euthanized, making the annual percentage 71.70%...but that is still an incredibly high number, especially when compared to other public and private animal shelters around the country.

As I mentioned earlier, they euthanize the majority of animals in their facilities because they believe that no animal should be owned as a pet - which is such a twisted, backward mentality. A spokesperson for PETA actually said in an interview that "euthanasia is a product of love for animals who have no one to love them," and that killing them is an "act of mercy, taking them out of their sad life in bondage to a human." Ingrid Newkirk, the president of PETA has literally said, "I would go to work early, before anyone got there, and I would just kill the animals myself … I must have killed a thousand of them, sometimes dozens every day. The animals…got the gift of euthanasia, and to them, it was the best gift they've ever had. How dare you pretend to help animals and turn your back on those who want an exit from an uncaring world!" Just writing that makes me so horrified and angry...what kind of sick mentality is that?

PETA also misrepresents their own mission in order to convince people to release animals to their care - like in 2005, when their staff were arrested after lying to pet owners in order to acquire their animals by promising to find the animals better homes - only to kill them in the back of a donor-funded van within minutes. In 2014, two organization employees were filmed in broad daylight pulling up to a house and kidnapping a family's chihuahua who was SITTING ON THEIR PORCH. The employees came back to the house later with a basket of fruit and claimed that their dog "had been killed." They've even been caught dumping the bodies of euthanized dogs and cats into a dumpster. I think it's safe to say that PETA is not a shelter, as they claim to be - they're more like a slaughterhouse.

Furthermore, the atrocities they claim in their statements and advertisements are wildly offensive, insensitive and in some cases, just blatant lies. In one ad, which I won't show due to its bloody and shocking imagery, PETA suggested that shearing sheep is murder. The ad shows a dead lamb covered in blood and partially skinned with the caption "Here's the rest of your fur coat," in an attempt to make people believe that sheep are killed when sheared - which is just blatantly false. Any farmer will tell you that shearing is a necessity for modern sheep, in order to prevent severe health problems such as infections and exhaustion.

In 2008, PETA also claimed that milk causes autism and created an ad similar to the classic "Got Milk?" ads - only theirs showed a glass of milk and the caption "Got Autism?" They supported this connection between milk and autism with citations from online testimonials and very outdated, unreputable studies - not exactly scientifically accurate sources.

They've even targeted vulnerable children with such false claims about animals: in 2003, PETA members handed out bloody and gory graphic novels called "Your Mommy Kills Animals" to children who were accompanying women wearing fur outside holiday movies and performances. Believing that wearing fur is ethically wrong is fine - that's a personal conviction. But to manipulate and traumatize children into aligning with that belief is just despicable.

It's not only PETA's ads that promote violence and make unreasonable claims - the organization has publicly voiced support for an ecoterrorism group known as the Animal Liberation Front, who have a history of burning down buildings and businesses that use animal products, destroying property, stealing animals to "save" them and even assaulting people. Formally, PETA says it doesn't physically work with the ALF, but that doesn't stop them from verbally assaulting people online. Supporters of PETA have long been known for flocking to social media to bombard a celebrity or public persona with hateful messages and even threats of violence. Additionally, I believe PETA has made a joke out of veganism, vegetarianism and animal rights in its entirety by promoting clearly ridiculous and unfounded claims, like saying that eating eggs makes you a "bad feminist" and that using phrases such as "kill two birds with one stone" and other animal idioms is equal to homophobia and racism.

Sadly, there's so much more reprehensible evidence of PETA's nefarious activity out there - I couldn't fit it all into one article if I tried. But after finding all of this information, I'm confident in saying that PETA has done nothing but hurt animal rights and put animals' lives in danger every single day - and I hope others will realize the same, as more and more people become aware of what PETA truly is: an evil sham.

So, for the sake of pets and every animal out there in the world, please do your research before supporting or donating to PETA (and every organization in general, really) and get the real information and evidence out there. Put it on social media, text it to friends, tell your parents, anything - just don't let the lies and killings of thousands of animals every year go under the radar. PETA needs to be dismantled, and it's up to us to do so.