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PETA's new anti-wool campaign

5K views 63 replies 13 participants last post by  Go Vegan 
#1 ·
In case anyone hasn't seen it yet, PETA got the help of another celebrity to talk about the cruelties of the wool industry.

http://www.peta.org.au/the-issues/wear/jona-weinhofen-reveals-the-bloody-truth-behind-every-wool-coat/

Of course, being on these forums, I don't agree with the exploitation of these animals for their meat/wool, but it freaking pisses me off when I see organisations like PETA misinforming the public. I mean, first of all, that 'lamb' he's holding up (it's fake, btw) is way too young for shearing and if anything is showing signs of some horrible skin condition.. Not the aftermath of shearing. Also, the footage they show in the video of shearers abusing sheep and making them bleed heaps is apparently from a farm in Australia but it does NOT represent sheep farming as a whole! I don't know what other countries are like, but I've been to plenty of sheep farms/know plenty of farmers and that kind of treatment towards animals will absolutely not get you any work. Farmers don't want blood all mixed in with their wool and they certainly don't want their animals being stressed out that much (stress=low quality meat).

I know PETA has good intentions which I totally support, but I don't think twisting information is a good way to do that. It's simply not telling the whole truth. I guess I'm kind of happy that I've had the opportunity to visit a lot of farms.. Only because I know if I hadn't, then I would believe every single word from PETA and other animal rights organisations without doing my own research.

I don't know. Any other thoughts on this?
 
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#2 · (Edited)
I'm not a fan of PETA in general. I don't think it's necessary to exaggerate animal cruelty, because the reality is cruel enough. The same goes for wool:

"Other procedures performed without anesthesia include punching a hole in the ear of the lambs several weeks after birth, docking their tails and castrating the males. The castration of male lambs happens between two and eight weeks old, with the use of a rubber ring to cut off their blood supply.

Then comes the shearing process. Sheep are shorn in spring, just before they naturally shed their winter coats. Shearing too late would mean a loss of wool. Most sheep are sheared while it is still too cold. An estimated one million sheep die each year of exposure after premature shearing. Shearers are paid by volume, not hourly, so they must work quickly. Some sheer up to 350 sheep a day. The welfare of the sheep does not play a role in their shearing. Nicks, cuts and infections are not treated. Again, this would cut into profits.

So, what happens to the sheep once the ranchers have decided that the wool output is not as profitable as it was? They sell them off to slaughter, most at around age three to four (their natural lifespan is 15 to 20 years). They are typically shipped to the Middle East and North Africa. They are crammed onto filthy, disease-ridden ships, up to 100,000 of them at a time, and the voyage can take three weeks to a month. Two million sheep die during these voyages per year. The ships have open decks, exposing the animals to the elements. During the journey, they are taken off their natural feed and fed pellets. Most do not eat the pellets because they don't understand that it's food - up to 47 percent die from starvation en route."

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2010/01/pulling-the-wool-over-our-eyes-gary-smith/

Just because you haven't personally witnessed farmers punching and kicking sheep-- which clearly can happen, and has happened, although it may not be standard practice-- doesn't mean that the standard practices of farmers aren't unimaginably cruel. Whenever living creatures are treated as commodities, as profit-makers, cruelty is inevitable.

Wikipedia article on mulesing, the common practice of cutting strips of flesh from the sheep to curb maggot infestation:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulesing
 
#64 ·
Some excellent factual information on the wool industry! Many thanks for posting this! I think a lot of non-vegans don't really understand what's wrong with using wool but you have clearly demonstrated how awful it is...
 
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#3 ·
it's more like emphasizing the worst instances rather than showing the average.

Most of the meat slaughter videos are also like that.

I understand that it feels more truthful to show all types of farms, but as a animal rights organization you show the videos that would make people really oppose the situation. If you show farms where the animals are not that stressed out and peacefully getting sheared, people would think why are vegans even against wool?
 
#6 ·
Please go to PETA.org and see the tons of absolutely awesome stuff that is getting done. If for some reason you cannot respect that output, then you may be extremely passive and probably ineffectual as a motivational vegan spokesperson and/or have some strange ideals as a vegetarian.
Concerning the topic of sheep sheering, it possible to treat sheep fairly and some small farms probably are fairly descent about it, but if you think that big industry is not treating these animals very abusively then you are simply very very wrong.

They are out there doing the things that need to get done - bless them.
It is true that very few of us live for a greater purpose and accomplish a fraction of what they are doing for vegetarianism.

Should we all do nothing and cower and live in ignorance instead of believing in the things PETA is standing up for? Do you think that these professional activists are not doing good things? Are they fooling the public? Or are you the ones being foolish for trying to look better than people who are better than you?
 
#7 · (Edited)
Please go to PETA.org and see the tons of absolutely awesome stuff that is getting done. If for some reason you cannot respect that output, then you may be extremely passive and probably ineffectual as a motivational vegan spokesperson and/or have some strange ideals as a vegetarian.
Concerning the topic of sheep sheering, it possible to treat sheep fairly and some small farms probably are fairly descent about it, but if you think that big industry is not treating these animals very abusively then you are simply very very wrong.

They are out there doing the things that need to get done - bless them.
It is true that very few of us live for a greater purpose and accomplish a fraction of what they are doing for vegetarianism.

Should we all do nothing and cower and live in ignorance instead of believing in the things PETA is standing up for? Do you think that these professional activists are not doing good things? Are they fooling the public? Or are you the ones being foolish for trying to look better than people who are better than you?
It's perfectly acceptable to disagree with some of PETA's methods. They are not infallible, and they are not "better" than their detractors. I support activists whose strategies do not involve histrionics, violence, exploitation, or misogyny. Gene Bauer of Farm Sanctuary is an example of a highly successful advocate who doesn't resort to shock tactics. I am not discounting the good that PETA may have done, but they have also done much to set the cause back by quite a bit. If their strategies resonate with you, that's great-- but that's your opinion, not the word of god, and those who disagree with you are not by definition weak, ineffectual, or ignorant. There are many different ways to advocate for animals.
 
#10 ·
Well you can't be all things for all people.
If you were to ask random people to name an organization that advocates for animal rights, I bet the large majority would name PETA. For good or bad, that name gets mentioned. Their methods shock, appall, offend and guilt. Mostly at the same time.
I don't like that use beauty, youth, and body image to sell their message.
I don't like that they scare children who should be exempt from things they can't control

I don't like that they go to the extremes that they do- but - those extremes do get talked about, and people, like us, can use that entrance to explain so much more. To explain that while those extreme abuses don't happen at all places, but taking into account the billions of farmed animals that go to slaughter every day, it's an awful lot.

Please read this article that brings a view from a man with ties to the Holocaust bringing semblance to PETA's work:

http://www.jewishveg.com/schwartz/holocaust.html
 
#12 ·
!) It is very hard to control the overt behavioral tendencies of eccentric activists. No matter how much effort goes into it, people will act up absurdly. You are right they are not perfect.
2) They are activating against opposition that is disgusting, perverted, sick, violent, dishonest to the point of murderous, unethical, non-virtuous etc etc etc so give the activists a break for their emotional expressions of compassion and caring as odd it may seem. Anything that gets the point across or out there is good.
3) Nobody compares to the accomplishments that PETA has. Nobody even comes close. They are originators of most of the issues out there. A long list of campaigns, successes and lots of hard work.
4) When you counter them you lean to the side of the horrid opposition which wants to destroy them, including negative press and propaganda, and that is not a good thing to do for the cause which we all believe in... which is vital to a better future. So to share such negativity is definitely a lack of understanding of what is involved in the situation, definitely inexperience.
 
#13 ·
Even non-violent PETA activists often get targeted like terrorists, attacked by covert government operations and also illegal hired opposition violence. Their successes are struggles against much money backed hatred. The nice, sweet, all smiles, goody, goody activist approach can be quite futile sometimes. Look at the behavioral tendencies of those who they are against. And you think PETA does strange things?
 
#14 ·
....Is everyone under the impression that I'm attacking PETA? Because I'm not, even if it appears that I am. I agree with their overall message, but I also believe that you should be able to offer criticism to someone whether you're on their side or not.

So I wouldn't particularly say that just because I find a few flaws in some of their arguments, that I'm countering them or against them. Call it nit-picking if you will, but I always like to point out things rather than just ignore it. And when I do point out these things, I don't mean for it to sound like I feel their WHOLE argument is moot. Majority of it is accurate, as we all should know.

I don't expect anyone to be perfect by any means.. Doesn't mean I can't discuss the imperfections :)

FYI, I do love talking about these things and finding out everyone's views, but I just want to make sure I'm not being misunderstood here.
 
#15 ·
....Is everyone under the impression that I'm attacking PETA? Because I'm not, even if it appears that I am. I agree with their overall message, but I also believe that you should be able to offer criticism to someone whether you're on their side or not.
I don't think it's specifically you, but lots of people do dislike PETA and mostly brings out their negative aspects into whatever discussions we have about them.

Omnivores and organizations which exploit animals are the vast majority and they hate PETA's core message anyway. sometimes it feels like even animal rights activists do not appreciate the positive things they do.

That's why sometimes I (and some others) like to point out that PETA is not always bad and they do good as well.
 
#16 ·
I can't tell you how many omnivores have expressed an intense distrust of vegans solely because of PETA's advertising. I feel like they should stick to legal campaigns, lobbying, and rescue operations, and leave the PR aspect to someone else. Yes, their name is mentioned-- as a joke, as an unflattering caricature of vegans. I don't believe that "all publicity is good publicity."
 
#20 ·
I think you are wrong about sole disgust of PETA paints all vegans. They hate vegans for what vegans stand for. Not because they hate PETA. That's only one of the myriad of reasons they give for hating vegans.

That said, PETA could probably handle its PR better, but I don't think there's lots of companies which have so many people who stand against its core message. That inherently makes people emphasize whatever mistakes PETA does to put them and the whole movement down.
 
#17 ·
Now if there is someone experienced with actual involvement with activism with PETA then lets hear the first-hand experience. But the negativity is coming from people exposed to mass media programming techniques.
 
#19 ·
Meat is good for you. Vegetarians are unhealthy. Where do they get their protein? and calcium. Why are vegans so thin and pale? Animals are here meant for us to utilize. Meat is what made humans evolve larger brains. etc etc etc ... Media is owned and controlled by big business and cater to their needs not the truth. TV has people deluded about all kinds of things, especially easily influenced children.
 
#21 ·
Surely, some of the arguments against PETA come from people who believe these things, but some of them come from people who don't. I've been a vegetarian since I was nine, and I still see PETA ads that rub me the wrong way. They have a very particular approach that simply isn't very effective. If anything, their ads enforce negative stereotypes about vegans rather than work to dispel them.

As an experiment, I just typed "PETA ads" into Google image search, and nearly every image was a naked or half-naked woman with a suggestive slogan. The others were celebrities posing, and one simply said "FEEDING KIDS MEAT IS CHILD ABUSE." Does anyone really believe that these ads are turning anyone toward veganism? The "sexy" ads are, at best, a way to attract the attention of men at the expense of women. I'm sure they get people to look, but does a billboard of a nude model really convince anyone to make a lifestyle change? Have you ever met a vegan who did it because he saw Pink naked? The "child abuse" ad can only inspire outrage in an omnivore parent. How can you expect someone to listen to you with an open mind and a sense of compassion when you've just insulted them in a highly offensive manner? If you were an omnivore, would being called a child abuser make you more or less receptive to the next vegan you meet?
 
#24 ·
PETA, although controversial, helps get the conversation going and comes in very helpful for me as a newer vegan (5 months strong). I find their information to be especially helpful when I'm researching if a product contains animal ingredients or involves animal cruelty.

For example, today I had a hair appointment and wanted to get a conditioning treatment. Someone suggested I do a Brazilian Blowout which relaxes frizzy/curly hair. I googled, is a Brazilian Blowout vegan? I got nothing except info on the chemicals used in the process. I tried different phrases and keywords and still got nothing. Finally I texted my hair stylist asking if she knew. She didn't, but kindly sent me a picture of the ingredients of the bottle. And there it was...Lanolin, which I knew was derived from wool. I then researched if the production of Lanolin harmful for sheep. Being a newer Vegan I like to read the facts before I make a decision about things, even though I knew it was a done deal as I no longer want to support any product/corporation that uses animal ingredients. Most answers on the first page of my search results said that lambs were not harmed in the making of Lanolin.

On the second page I found a post by PETA describing the horrible procedure used to make wool and the fact that the lambs are sent off to be slaughtered soon after. This made things very clear to me and I know consider wool to be just as bad as leather and will not support either of this horrible industry in the future.

The best part of this story is that I told my hairstylist who was shocked and said she would inform her clients. Right then and there she announced my findings to the receptionists and other hairstylists and customers around us which helped spread the word that this procedure uses animal ingredients even though the bottle proudly stated "does not test on animals". I opted to get a plant based conditioning treatment that only cost me $25 instead if the $150 I might have paid for the Brazilian Blowout had I not researched and found information posted by PETA. (Oh and my hair looks and feels wonderful!)

So I feel inclined as a new vegan to express my gratitude for PETAs information being out there in order to assist me in making the right decisions, and hopefully for others as well.
 
#27 ·
Flash photography Sleeve Gesture Font Happy


Someone just posted this on facebook. This is pretty much what I expected. People found one thing in the ad that wasn't 100% true, so now they're spreading the idea that 'PETA lies' while ignoring all the other points brought up in their campaign video about the cruelties of the wool industry..

Urghhhh it actually makes me so angry!! I could imagine people looking at this image and being like 'pffft, can't ever believe a thing they say' which means they're going to question EVERYTHING PETA says (which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if that lead to them doing their own research and discovering that a great deal of it is sickeningly true, but really they'd probably just join in with the ridiculing of an organisation because it's always easier to join in with the crowd than go against it).
 
#28 ·
All animal abusing activities and relative attachments are wrong.
If the ads get people thinking, talking, researching and realizing, about a certain subject, then they are effective ads.
/
Example - consider the picture of the lamb as symbolism for the other horrid things involved.
 
#30 ·
It's really stupid and self defeating to lie or exaggerate in order to make one's point. It tends to discredit your message in its entirety, and that's one of the major problems I have with PeTA.

For instance, if you want to alert people to the dangers of cigarette smoking, you're not doing any good by saying, "If you smoke that pack, you're going to die tomorrow." You'll just look like a hysterical fearmonger when tomorrow comes and the person is still alive.

The truth about what we do to animals is sufficiently horrible. If we think we need lies to convince people, maybe we're not sure of our message.



Maybe because the poster says "This is the rest of your wool coat"? After all, how hard is it to find an actual sheared sheep?
 
#32 ·
It is an ad that costs a lot of money and is limited with explanation room (ability) so its message is truthfully pointing out that these sheep are getting very abused. And good for them for getting that message out there.
Most people think Free range chickens run around a farm and have a good old time but they are being deluded by misinformation. And people should be informed.
Look at all the milk commercials with smiling cows and famous people to delude the public into believing (successfully) that milk is good stuff.
Same with wool products.
Few people know about all these abuses that PETA points out for people.
PETA is a professional organization that uses what resources they have to best try to state a message to the public.
They are limited and it would be great if more people would put out a fraction of the effort that PETA is accomplishing or work with PETA because they can use the help.
The ad campaign is a small portion of what they are doing and only someone without good knowledge of what they do and what the social marketing scene is like would not understand those ads.
Please refer to dislike of PETA marketing ads if you have a gripe you need to understand, but don't put down the organization itself because that is very wrong.
Truth is, you need to better understand those ads and how the marketing system works.
(Hint - they are expensive, and must have a bold statement that gets the message across).
Do you know of some other ingenious way to get people thinking about the abuse involved with wool products (in an ad).?
And do you think that these professionals with limited funds, aren't doing something that needs to be done? As though someone else is doing it or going to.
 
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#34 ·
Then you should be hell bent on distrusting the animal industries. And big time. Extensively. With a fevered passion (hey kinda like PETA activists) wow what a surprise that must be for you to realize the common interest. Are we on the right track now?
 
#35 ·
Again, it's perfectly acceptable and appropriate to question an organization's tactics. PETA isn't infallible. Disagreeing with their methods doesn't mean that you don't support animal rights. PETA's ads are rife with hyperbole and aggressive language, not only in this particular wool ad but in many others. If the goal is to get people thinking about a lifestyle change, these tactics are ineffective. I suspect that PETA's goal is to get people talking about PETA, even if they're complaining-- and in this respect, their tactics are highly effective. That's why they spend so much time and money on ad campaigns. Personally, I don't feel it's a wise choice.

People are talking about PETA, all right. A Google search brings up the following:

An article in The Atlantic about PETA's rampant euthanasia practices and startlingly low adoption rate:
http://m.theatlantic.com/health/arc...d-very-bad-history-of-killing-animals/254130/

An article in Forbes about PETA's ad canpaign tenuously linking milk to autism:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywi...-to-scary-autism-and-vegan-is-your-only-hope/

"The 7 Types of Sexist PETA Ads That Turned Me To Meat: http://www.thefrisky.com/2015-01-28...es-of-sexist-peta-ads-that-turned-me-to-meat/
 
#36 ·
http://www.peta.org/about-peta/milestones/

Those who don't know or have the experience of what PETA is up against possibly will not find it easy to understand the techniques they use in their areas of focus.
In contrast to what is going on in the animal industry those ads are nothing... nothing at all.
It is our job to help people understand.
They are professional at it.
 
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#37 ·
Thank you. I think some newer or younger veg*ns hate Peta because all they have really been exposed to is the bad press that peta gets.

Same thing with hippies. People love to disparage them, but if it weren't for them, we would all happily be wearing our suits and ties to church and then enjoying a roast beef dinner after. And still be fighting in Viet Nam, no doubt.
 
#38 ·
Well, I'm an older veg*n (sixty), and have been one for decades. I'm just sick and tired of having to address PeTA's lies and some of it's horrible practices before I can even start getting people listening to the truth, which is awful and speaks for itself.

PeTA is good at getting people to talk about PeTA, and that's about all. It does a disservice to the AR movement by portraying AR proponents as lying hysterics.
 
#39 ·
I'm in my 30s and have been vegetarian for over 20 years. I don't "hate" PETA, but I do have valid and reasonable criticisms. I don't discount any good they've done, but that doesn't make their bad decisions any better. I'm not asking for PETA to be dismantled-- I'm simply saying, "let's acknowledge that these shock tactics are juvenile and it's time to try something else."
 
#40 ·
I'm young and a new vegan, and I don't hate Peta at all. And I'm absolutely not dismissing all of the things they have achieved for animal rights across the globe.

I totally get the shock tactics they use and why they use them. Everyone knows how marketing works. Buuuut I reckon if instead of that lamb (which is a terrible supposedly generalised representation of how all sheep look after shearing) in the ad, they could have just shown the bloody, skinless rear end of a lamb after mulesing. I mean, is that not shocking enough? To actually see muscle once the skin has been cut away? And nobody could say crap about how 'that's not what it actually looks like' because it bloody well is.

I don't know, it just seems to me like there are some people here who will stand by Peta no matter what they do/say simply because they share the same ultimate goals. Which is fine, whatever. More power to you.

I, on the other hand, will continue to barrack for Peta but if they say/do something I don't agree with... Well, I won't hesitate to voice my disagreement :)
 
#41 ·
Buuuut I reckon if instead of that lamb (which is a terrible supposedly generalised representation of how all sheep look after shearing) in the ad, they could have just shown the bloody, skinless rear end of a lamb after mulesing. I mean, is that not shocking enough? To actually see muscle once the skin has been cut away? And nobody could say crap about how 'that's not what it actually looks like' because it bloody well is.
Exactly!
 
#44 ·
http://www.peta.org/about-peta/milestones/

PETA is say 98 percent good.

The industries they are trying to quell are say around 90 percent bad (average - so more or less).

This is not an all too unrealistic measurement.

Thank God for PETA
 
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#46 ·
If there is a better way to get their message across wouldn't they be doing it?

Are there any examples of any organization doing what they are doing better, and/or more successfully?

Is there really proof of an effective alternative (to the harsh ads)?
 
#49 ·
If there is a better way to get their message across wouldn't they be doing it?

Are there any examples of any organization doing what they are doing better, and/or more successfully?

Is there really proof of an effective alternative (to the harsh ads)?
Yes, absolutely:

Gene Baur of Farm Sanctuary, who recently appeared on the very popular Daily Show With Jon Stewart to promote his new book about veganism. He stresses the environmental impact of a vegan diet and encourages people to meet and learn about farmed animals. At the sanctuary in New York, the public can visit animals rescued from farms. They also post videos of their animals online.

Marisa Wolfson, director of the documentary Vegucated. The film focuses on delicious vegan meals, and on the positive aspects of going vegan: a clear conscience, improved health, etc. It has a 7.2/10 rating on IMDB and their Facebook is filled with people who were inspired to adopt a vegan lifestyle after watching the film.

Jonathan Safron Foer, who wrote the book Eating Animals which exposes the horror of the animal industry while also acknowledging the cultural traditions and comfort foods we struggle to give up. His book encourages people to think about the truth behind their dinners without demonizing or insulting meat eaters-- the author himself was a meat eater before writing the book!

I'm sure there are many more.
 
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