Images of abused, disfigured or dead animals termed “Peta-Porn” are a manipulative tool of the animal rights industry ~ PeTA Fundraising Graphic

A Shocking Deception

The trend of shock value advertising by animal rights organizations began with PeTA in the early 1980’s and their graphic photos of vivisection on monkeys. Since then, the animal rights industry has devolved from protecting animals into slickly managed, no-holds-barred, fundraising machines. The object of the exercise is not to help animal shelters and rescues that are desperate for resources, but rather an aggressive “bait and switch” diversion of donations to fat pension funds, legislation, litigation and propaganda targeting prohibitions against a broad spectrum of animal interests to which they are ideologically opposed, primarily food production, zoos, circuses and hunting. Meanwhile, the puppies and kittens whose images they peddle under the false pretenses of rescue seem a low priority consideration.

So called animal advocates seeking to escape the stigma associated with the term ‘animal rights’ have taken to calling themselves ‘animal protection’ groups. The names may be different, but the ideology is the same. These groups oppose all animals in captivity, hunting and/or any kind of animal use. This is the premise used to raise money from their fanatical base. However, these groups are now using graphic images of horrifically maimed, injured or dead animals in fundraising campaigns to appeal to the mainstream public. I call this strategy Peta-Porn, and its use is escalating, fueled by the power of social media. Painting with the broad brush of righteous indignation, they depict any kind of human-animal interaction as exploitation.

Americans love animals. They love their pets, and they love wildlife. Animal rights organizations, now pinning themselves with the moniker of “animal protection,” have learned that grotesque photos of abused animals (Peta-Porn) coupled with sensationalized often untrue stories, can open the flood gates for donations from the animal loving American public. Ed Sayres, the former CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) road on PeTA’s coat tails to justify his own $500,000-plus annual paycheck. Remember the horrible TV commercials with photos of tortured and disfigured dogs and cats (Peta-Porn) accompanied by sad music and an urgent plea for money? Now many animal rights groups appear to be emulating this model in aggressive TV, email and social media campaigns.

The animal rights appetite for this disgusting brand of porn seems to mirror the appetites of sexual pornography addicts. As the public becomes habituated to increasingly violent images of abused animals, the frequency and brutality of Peta-Porn continues to escalate. Everyone finds these images shocking. However, many become highly agitated and even violently angry after viewing Peta-Porn. The vitriol in comments on animal rights blogs and social media pages is full of threats and hatred. Peta-Porn is now a component of almost every social media newsfeed in the country. The trend and dark purpose is truly disturbing.

“A lie which is half a truth is ever the blackest of lies.” ~Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the largest animal rights organization in the world, spends less than 2% of it $165 million annual budget on animal shelters. They spend over $80 million annually impacting legislation and fundraising.

Organizations like HSUS, Born Free USA and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) touting themselves as animal “protection” organizations, have cast their net wide to snare every high profile animal issue that grabs the headlines and turns American stomachs. They have been actively exploiting highly charged animal issues such as elephant poaching and dog fighting; and make no mistake, it has become a fundraising jackpot. They raise hundreds of millions of dollars, but often they use extremely deceptive marketing to reach their fundraising goals.

*When you see Peta-Porn on Facebook or Twitter ~ Tag It! ==> #PetaPorn

Andrew Wyatt is a government affairs consultant that works exclusively in the wildlife sector.

“Animal Rights and other wildlife issues are highly charged and contentious. I specialize in working with clients to employ campaign style tactics to change hearts and minds on vital issues in the wildlife sector. Please follow The Last Word for insight and analysis particular to the 21st century wildlife sector. If you would like to discuss the potential advantages of running a targeted issue campaign, and/or a comprehensive government affairs strategy, please call or email me.” ~ Andrew Wyatt

© Andrew Wyatt and The Last Word, 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Andrew Wyatt and The Last Word with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.