Azarius J.

Maxwell

Ms. Ramirez

English 4

8 March 2021

Conspiracy Theory Essay

Many organizations have some form of a conspiracy theory surrounding them. Unlike

most theories however, my theory on PETA’s corruption can be backed up by facts. My question

to the reader, “can you name any controversies surrounding PETA?”. Well I can name a few

buried within the internet. Unnecessary euthinasia, supporting a confirmed racist, spreading

misinformation on mental illness and kidnapping and killing a dog are just the ones I found. Dig

deeper and you may find even more controversial issues than I did. Ever since PETA dognapped

and euthanized a dog in the name of animal justice, I never really trusted them again. But when

you dig deeper and see just how PETA as a whole works, you’ll find a deranged organization

with a radical mindset on animal health and nature's coexistence with humanity.

Autism, the term autism was first coined around 1911 by German scientist Eugen Blueler

to describe severe schizophrenia (NCBI.gov). Since then, misinformation regarding autism had

grown worse up until recent history. Physiological advances and the internet have provided more

accurate information to significantly more people, PETA may be the exception however. Autism

is a sensitive subject, affecting 1-54 children in the U.S yearly with varying degrees of

severeness (autismspeaks.org). So for anyone to manufacture false claims on autism with even

the most basic information available is frankly moronic. In June of 2014 an ad resurfaced

courtesy of PETA with the term “Got Autism?”(TIME.com). An obvious parody of the term
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“Got Milk”, an ad campaign created by the Goodby Silverstein & Partners being licensed by the

California Milk Processor Board in 1993 (Berkely.edu). This ad understandably caused near

instant controversy surrounding PETA. Multiple reputable news sources covered the resurfaced

ad campaign, belittling PETA for spreading misinformation on a mental illness only recently

understood properly. This act of responsibility was just one of many controversial issues

surrounding PETA.

Maya the chihuahua was gifted to a little girl named Cynthia Zarate of the Zarate family

for Christmas in 2011 (Time.com). In 2014 PETA was contracted to remove stray animals in

Eastern Virginia neighborhoods (PKA.com). This was the same area the Zarate family was living

in at the time, specifically a trailer park (TIME.com). The PETA officials sent out to retrieve

“stray” animals were Victoria Carey and Jennifer Wood (TheGuardian.com). They had a hidden

motive however, something that sparked outrage and is the primary reason I’m writing this essay.

The two women first paid children in the area to lure Maya off the Zarate families front porch so

it could be counted as a stray animal (PKA.com). The children failed to lure the dog from the

porch prompting the two women to take matters into their own hands (PKA.com). What

followed was a blatant violation of not only the law but morals as well, leading to an unnecessary

tragedy. A video shows one of the women stealing Maya off the property before putting her in a

van with other stray animals and taking off. Maya was then taken to one of PETA’s shelters

where she would later be euthanized in under 24 hours, “a tragic mistake according to

PETA”(TIME.com). A mistake that led to the unnecessary death of a little girl's dog. Maya’s

euthanization was also a blatant violation of the 5 day grace period enforced by Virginia State
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Law regarding animal euthanization (animallaw.info). Maya’s death was an unnecessary tragedy

but a testament to PETA’s internal corruption. Hopefully no mistake like this happens again.

Euthenesia or “good death” as it translates from greek, is a very sad subject. According to

aspca.org, around 1.5 million animals are euthanized each year, primarily healthy ones. It is a

necessary evil, even “no kill shelters” euthanize a certain amount of animals each year. There's

an obvious limit however and euthanization shouldn’t be the first choice. PETA euthanized an

absurd amount of animals each year, even with such a large amount of over 50,000,000 dollars in

donations since 2014 (certifiedhumane.org). PETA has euthanized more than 33,514 animals at

its Norfolk Virginia Shelter since 1988 (certifiedhumane.org). Such a large number of animals

euthanized is a stark contrast to numbers of the L.H.S (Lynchburg Humane Society). The (L.H.S)

took in around the same amount of animals but still managed to save 94% of the animals it took

in (certifiedhumane.org). Makes one wonder where all those donations went to, but that point is

up to you to decide. When a state inspector visited PETA’s virginia shelter she compared it to a

“euthinasia clinic” (PKA.com). Maybe PETA should rename it’s Virginia shelter to PETschwitz.

Euthinesia should have its limits and be the final option when deciding the fate of a stray animal,

especially when that animal can’t decide for itself.

No credible organization should ever associate with or prompt a racist and sexist right. I

mean that’s a number one rule of business, watch who you collaborate with as that could reflect

badly on your business. Well PETA definitely wouldn’t right? Well they wouldn’t unless they

were extremely tone deaf or they were seeking someone with a high standing in politics and high

level of influence. Joe Arpaio is a truly despicable man. According to ACLU.org he racially

profiled communities with a primarily latino population by ordering his deputies to target
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individuals based on ethnicity. Along with other immoral acts such as establishing “tent city” in

which living conditions were so bad they were comparable to that of a concentration camp

(ACLU.org). Well even with all this evidence against this truly despicable man, PETA still

considers him a role model in which humanity should follow. In an article off of PETA’s own

website titled,”Do Like Sheriff Joe and Ditch Meat” PETA portrays Arpaio as promoting

empathy and compassion amongst prisoners by switching his prisoners' meals with plant based

alternatives. I really hope PETA is delusional as the only reason Arpaio switched to meat

alternatives was most likely for it’s cheaper cost. Joe Arpaio does not care one bit about his

prisoners treating them as if they were live stock. Nothing is farther from vegan than promoting a

racist and sexist individual like Arpaio.

In conclusion, I’m not writing this essay to change opinions. I’m writing this essay to

inform the reader on multiple controversies surrounding PETA. PETA shouldn’t be able to make

damaging claims on autism and that goes for any major organization with the ability to influence

a large number of people. And act like stealing and killing a dog should be forgotten. Euthanasia

shouldn’t be PETA’s go to solution for stray animals. And finally praising a racist shouldn't go

unnoticed. PETA may seem like the perfect animal support group but if you dig deeper you’ll

find buried flaws. This may seem like a conspiracy theory but is it really a theory with all of this

evidence?
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Works Cited

Autism, Speaks. “Autism Statistics and Facts.” Autism Speaks,

www.autismspeaks.org/autism-statistics#:~:text=Autism%20Prevalence,)%2C%20according%20

to

%202016%20data.&text=Boys%20are%20four%20times%20more,diagnosed%20with%20autis

m%20than%20girls.

Evans, Bonnie. “How Autism Became Autism: The Radical Transformation of a Central Concept

of Child Development in Britain.” History of the Human Sciences, SAGE Publications, July

2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3757918/.

Kluger, Jeffrey. “Got Autism? PETA's Phony Milk Claims.” Time, Time, 30 May 2014,

time.com/2798480/peta-autism-got-milk/.

Staff, TIME. “Family Sues PETA After Employee Euthanized Dog.” Time, Time, 17 Dec. 2015,

time.com/4127919/virginia-family-dog-euthanized-peta/.

“Peta Says Sorry for Taking Girl's Pet Chihuahua and Putting It Down.” The Guardian, Guardian

News and Media, 17 Aug. 2017,

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/17/peta-sorry-for-taking-girls-dog-putting-it-down.

Simpson, John M. “Euthanasia At PETA's ‘Shelter’ Still Occurring At Alarming Rate.”

Lexology, 9 Feb. 2021,

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www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=76e6ec43-e192-4dca-b1ca-b12e4a0e74b5#:~:text=Furt

hermore%2C%20PETA's%202020%20euthanization%20rate,from%2057%20to%2073%20perc

ent%3A&text=The%20relevant%20point%20of%20comparison,%25%20of%20them%20(

1%2C763).

Staff, TIME. “Family Sues PETA After Employee Euthanized Dog.” Time, Time, 17 Dec. 2015,

time.com/4127919/virginia-family-dog-euthanized-peta/.