Glad you support the push for sustainability Bronwyn [ I knew you did anyway (:>) ].

“…as pointed out by Dickie that is very much part of PETA's brief.”

I don’t see anything in Dickie’s comments that support PETA’s involvement in sustainability. So I went browsing around their website and…..nup…nothing there to indicate any such action (:>(

Their mission statement http://www.peta.org/about/index.asp lists four main areas of action and examples of secondary issues. Nothing comes remotely near any attempt to balance humanity and the natural environment or to counter the constantly increasing harvest of animals for human consumption or the fact that there will be less and less consideration for animal welfare as the human populace becomes more desperate to feed itself.

Like so many other environmental organisations, they are just turning a blind eye to the big causal factors and expecting someone else to deal with it. They are just dealing with little side issues and symptoms, some of which have merit in the short term, but which amount to a tiny fraction of the impact they could have if they put half of all their energy into the overriding issues…in conjunction with other environmental organisations. What a terrible shame that they don't!

I very strongly feel that instead of this silly sea kitten campaign, they should be showing themselves as being a holistic organisation by directly addressing the ever-worsening balance of humanity and the natural environment.

Dickie, can you shine any more light on PETA’s sustainability efforts, or lack thereof?
.

“I would support a campaign against UNNECESSARY killing of animals, for example as a sport…ritual slaughtering such as Halal slaughter without stunning, intensive farming or battery farming, and live exports.

Yes Celivia. I support PETA’s crusade for the elimination of this sort of thing. Um…..I presume PETA is fighting against all of this type of stuff?

Ant-kittens. Oh dear! What about all the mozzie-kittens I’ve murdered this morning ( :< /

No one would be having this absurd discussion if they understood the simple fact that animals have been given to us by God to eat if we choose. There is no excuse for cruelty but also no excuse for stupidity. This earth worshiping religion is as silly as Hinduism that teaches that you might be eating your grandmother if you eat a cow. The root of this thinking comes from unscientific dogma (evolution).

dickie, "Only humans kill for greed,only humans kill for fun"

Wish you had informed the fox that killed all my chooks a while back and only took one away.

Have you not seen a cat play with a mouse or teach its young how to kill a baby rabbit. I once saw a video of a Cheeta that maimed a young antelope and took hours to teach its youg how to kill, not nice but nature. Why do killer whales toss seals around for hours until they die? could be for fun. Wildlife shows never show the near misses from predators,i.e. the ones that escape with wounds and die a week or so later from injuries or blood poisioning.

Those that agree with PETAs campaign about sheep mulsing have never seen or treated a flyblown sheep. Mulsing prevents the majority of flystrike where animals are literaly being slowly eaten alive by maggots.

Should we do away with all germicides, pesticides, fungicides, spermicides, anti-biotics and sterilizers after all they kill living organisms. We could put up with people, and animals, dieing from disease nits,lice,ticks,fleas and all internal and external parasites.

Ludwig,
"I very strongly feel that instead of this silly sea kitten campaign, they should be showing themselves as being a holistic organisation by directly addressing the ever-worsening balance of humanity and the natural environment."

Not badly stated for a mozzie-kitten murderer.
Oh dear, I think I killed some germ-kittens when I cleaned the loo this morning.

Houellebecq,
that's hilarious!

Should rat-kittens have rights, too?
What about the parasites sitting on the butt of a fly?
Where do we draw the line?

Banjo,
"Those that agree with PETAs campaign about sheep mulsing have never seen or treated a flyblown sheep."
Exactly, sometimes I wonder how much these over-the-top libbers actually KNOW about animals and about alternatives.
Or perhaps they think that blow-fly kittens should have a place to go?

Runner, that God gave us animals is not actually a 'fact'

Hi Polycarp,

I am personally unimpressed by those PETA people. If indeed half of them went on pilgrimage to ashrams, then they learned nothing from their sojourn to the Himalayas.

There is a principle of non-violence. It is part of the Hindu tradition, but does not in fact depend on this or that culture. I know of nobody that follows this principle completely, including those that preach it, yet it remains a distant goal to aspire towards.

Non-violence is always about oneself, one's actions, one's speech, even one's thoughts, it is never about telling others what to do or what not to do (which is a subtle form of violence in itself)!

It is the common mistake of the "New Age" movement, assuming that a new age is dawning whereby the ways of nature are going to change. Sorry, but nature is not about to change its course. Nature, both human nature and animal nature, includes predation, even cruelty - nobody can change whole societies, let alone whole species.

While overall nature cannot be changed, one can still strive to improve one's own nature, bit by bit escaping the cycle of violence and pain. I recommend this to those who had enough of this world and its nature and now wish to go beyond it, but would never recommend it to, let alone try to force it upon, those who see themselves as part of this world and want to stay here.

Yabby:
While I generally agree with you, I am not ignoring nature and its foodchain. I am well aware of it, but have no desire to remain part of it, and so I am on my gradual way out. Yes, it feels good, it feels great - to me, but it probably wouldn't feel the same to you if you are not yet ready to leave this world and its nature.

Bronwyn

Thank you for the kind words and the interesting information you provided on the mutant fish. Health officials are now concerned about diseases emerging in factory farmed fish. Nevertheless, like the contaminated meat we purchase, farmed fish is still prettily displayed in supermarkets for human consumption.

Ludwig

Those of us who have researched extensively (many for decades) on the drastic environmental impacts of farming commercial animals (billions of them) would know that PETA are conservationists by default, which of course leads to sustainability.

In the US alone, with a population of some three hundred and fifty million, 9 billion chickens are slaughtered each year for human consumption.

PETA supports genuine conservation groups and often alludes to the environmental degradation caused by the livestock industry.

Are you suggesting that PETA, predominantly an animal welfare institute, should change its logo to “Conservationists” and ignore the plight of animals?

Why are you suggesting this when there are hundreds of environmental groups on the planet and far fewer groups seeking protection for animals which are subjected to man’s abominable and egregious exploitation? An exploitation which has trashed the planet’s biodiversity, destroyed our lands, polluted our air and our oceans and is the cause of many human and animal diseases, with more zoonotic pathogens emerging?

In less than three decades, no fewer than 2.5 million of Australia’s dioxin laden, commercial animals have been dumped in our fragile oceans, contaminating marine life. That does not include the live ones dumped overboard, seen frantically swimming to a watery grave. These animals are diseased but still alive, disposed of to avoid inspection on berthing. But that is not the subject of this thread.

“Like so many other environmental organisations, they are just turning a blind eye to the big causal factors and expecting someone else to deal with it.” Dear me Ludwig. That is an extremely naïve statement when the UN and the IPCC have declared that livestock are one of the greatest causes of environmental destruction on the planet.

Worse, they're significantly responsible for the emerging Sixth Extinction!

http://blog.peta.org.uk/tag/environment

http://www.peta.org/mc/factsheet_display.asp?ID=144

http://blog.peta.org/archives/environment/

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=97941

http://www.thebeefsite.com/news/21613/meat-tax-will-protect-the-environment-says-peta

http://blog.peta.org.uk/tag/environment

http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_releases/get_back_in_the_car_vegetarian_ipcc_chairman_rajendra_pachauri_says_less_meat_will_slow_global_warming_more