My experience with people who have a runaway love for cats, dogs, pandas, and whales is that they typically
    can't stand the sight of bugs such as cockroaches. So they tend to develop inconsistent theories on how to
    treat animals. It is okay to do everything for the pooch as well as everything necessary to get rid of the
    infestation. It's not okay to torture a mouse in the lab, but woe to the unfortunate rodent that enters the house
    of a PETA member.  

    So should you step on a disgusting cockroach or squash a flea with your foot?

    Of course not! That's inhumane. This goes against PETA's policy. Besides, it might spoil your Nikes. What you
    should do is starve them to death:

    " the most important thing you can do is to avoid giving insects a food supply" [1]

    If this fails, you may try to gently drown or freeze them until they suffocate:

    " A fine-toothed flea comb is essential and should be used daily to catch fleas. Keep
       a bowl of soapy water on hand and dip the comb into it after each sweep, or catch
       the fleas, put them in a container, and then freeze it." [2]

    Be aware that some bugs are very stubborn and resistant to torture and death. I say this because many
    frustrated people will throw in the towel and allow the bugs to get the better of them. PETA proactively
    discourages this because a frustrated individual is a potential murderer who may return to traditional, well
    tested methods. Above all don't give up. If you can't kill them, direct your anger and frustration at their babies:

    " Flea eggs can be collected by vacuuming but can still hatch in the bag, which
       should be sealed and thrown away or put in the freezer in a plastic bag after each
       vacuuming" [3]

    If all else fails, you can always gently and lovingly spray them with something that eats them alive, sterilizes
    them, or cripples them while preserving all of your friendly bugs intact:

    " Products containing beneficial nematodes (microorganisms that eat flea larvae)
       can be sprayed on lawns and, unlike many toxic treatments, are perfectly safe for
       animals, birds, and humans, as well as “friendly” garden dwellers, such as
       earthworms and ladybugs... Insect growth regulators (IGRs)...are a safe alternative
       to pesticides IGRs contain insect hormones that disrupt the life cycle of the flea by
       preventing eggs and larvae from developing into adults" [4]

    " For a serious infestation, you may need to resort to an insect growth regulator,
       called Gentrol, which nips the cockroach reproductive cycle in the bud
       (cockroaches exposed to it produce sterile offspring)." [5]

    I take this opportunity to remind you that PETA also believes that it is inhumane to watch elephants and bears
    dance and do tricks at the circus:

    " tools used during circus acts and training sessions are reminders that the
       animals are being forced to perform... You can help stop the suffering of elephants,
       tigers, and other animals abused in the name of 'entertainment.' " [6]

    If you really have the urge, try watching something more entertaining, you know, something that has a Roman
    Circus atmosphere in it. Bring the popcorn, a beer, your sunglasses, and throw a couple of spiders or fleas in
    your garden. Then just sit back and enjoy the fun:

    " If you find predators such as ladybugs, snakes, and praying mantises in your yard
       or garden, the best policy is to let them stay—they’ll help eliminate other 'pests.' " [7]

    And when the praying mantis gets through chucking the poor spider, sick a 'possum' or a frog or a bat at the
    stick and have extended hours of glee:

    " Opossums, who are marsupials, are great at insect control; a neighborhood with
       opossums is less buggy than one without." [8]

    " When frog populations drop, insect populations explode, which can cause major
       crop damage. " [9]

    " A single bat can catch up to 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour, so many people encourage
       them to settle in their yards by building bat houses...Raccoons and opossums also
       eat plant-damaging grubs, slugs, and rodents... Snakes... can help control the mouse
       and insect population. " [10]

    The folks at PETA are obviously biased in regards to the animals they wish to protect. They wish to stop the
    carnage, torture, skinning, and testing of cute animals. You will probably never see a manifestation of PETA
    members protesting against the laboratory torture of fruit flies, or going out to the farms to protest against
    crop dusters.

    So one obvious question that comes up is what should we eat in the alternative if we leave aside the animal
    world?

    The answer from PETA is a no-brainer: we should only kill and eat plants. God paraded the animals in front
    of Adam just out of curiosity to see what he would name them (Gen. 2:19-20). It is plants that God made for
    'meat' (Gen. 1:29). So the insensitive PETA member takes a helpless banana with his left hand and stares
    at the pertrified fruit with a grin. The terrified little fellow begs to be spared, but the hungry PETA member is
    in no mood to concede grace. He hasn't eaten since this morning. This fanatic unzips the fur from the top and
    skins the fruit alive, oblivious to its ghastly screams. He rips off its head in one bite, and recklessly throws the
    smooth, yellow coat over his shoulder and into the trashcan as if nothing happened. The flies then have a
    picnic.

    Does a tree enjoy having one of its arms sawed off and thrown into the fireplace? Do roses love to be
    snipped from their stalks and bunched together in a living room vase to wither slowly away and die an
    agonizing death? And what should we do about the bacteria that cause sinus pain? Isn't it a crime to
    annihilate them with antihistamines? Aren't plants part of the world of the living too?

    Our distant hunter-gatherer ancestors would not have had much of a chance if they had remained or opted
    for the vegan lifestyle. The reason we are the top predators of the Earth today is because we became
    carnivores. Mother Nature absolutely prohibits a herbivore from governing the land. Our brothers are
    suggesting that we abandon our hard won taste for burgers and hotdogs and instead keep them as pets.
    Mother Nature laughs at such thoughts.
C. Bennett, What is the best way to get rid of fleas and ticks, PETA Ask Carla.com (2007).
Adapted for the Internet from:

Why God Doesn't Exist
PETA: How to kill, torture,
and sterilize unwanted
animals humanely
Get out of here, you
disgusting bugs! Who
ever told you that you
were animals?

    To be honest, I sympathize with the folks at PETA. I love dogs (and I don't mean with French fries and
    salad). But the logic of PETA escapes me. It is also misplaced and extremist. For starters, it does not
    remotely do justice to the real world out there. There's this documentary where the cheetah captures a
    baby gazelle, but doesn't kill it. Instead, she brings it to the den and has her cubs play around with the
    'toy' in order to get some early hands on experience. There's another one where a wildebeest is giving
    birth one night and a ruthless lion pounces on both mother and baby out of nowhere. I could go on and
    on. Animals use their skills and cunning to capture the easiest game and live one more day. There is no
    chivalry in the wild world of animals. It's a jungle out there!

    The PETA members may answer that we are different. We are orders of magnitude more intelligent; no
    contest. Unlike the animals we protect, humans are civilized. We can look ahead or find alternate ways.
    Where is our humanity, our intelligence if we commit these barbaric acts? What makes us different than
    a cat who delights in playing with a mouse? Certainly, the scientist who injects a lab rat with some
    chemical has to realize that what he's doing is immoral.

    The first problem is the assumption: that we are not animals. From a biological standpoint, we belong
    to the world of the living and are not in a particular category. We have the same basic needs as any other
    animal: breathing, eating, drinking, etc. A more subtle part of the argument is that immorality is something
    religion invented. The CroMagnon had no such notions. They did whatever it took to survive. Certainly,
    Father Universe and Mother Nature have no idea what right and wrong mean. In the cold, dark cosmos
    out there, whatever is, simply is. There are no opinions about anything. Is it wrong to steal from a bank?
    Is it wrong to kill a baby? These are petty concerns of humans. Father Universe is just a bunch of rocks
    and gases drifting eternally for no reason. Father Universe and Mother Nature just move every atom to its
    next location forever and ever.  That's all they do.

    But a more pressing argument against the moral philosophy of PETA is that it fails to take into
    consideration that the world is going to end soon. If I am correct on extinction, saving the animals is like
    worrying about a leak in the Titanic. Ethical treatment of animals, worrying about climate change, and
    fretting over oil depletion are lost causes.  

    As a result of these considerations, I have made an about face in my philosophy and propose exactly the
    opposite. It doesn't matter whether you cut off the hands of a gorilla and sell them as ash trays or lop off
    the tusks from an elephant to peddle the ivory. If this is what it takes for you to make a living, do it!  Be a
    poacher (but try to be a conscientious one so as not to offend other people's sensibilities). Pack chickens
    in cages and squeeze some more in until they rot, if this will help you make profits at your fast food outlet.
    It doesn't matter. Tomorrow, when there is no more food for anyone, we will be doing much worse than
    eating a calf or a baby piggy. We will be eating each other's babies. A PETA member will begin by
    chopping the head of her pet dog when her skin is flat against her ribs. The conservationists will go to the
    forest and bag the beautiful elk they protected for so long. The people at Greenpeace will help Japanese,
    Norwegian, and Icelandic sailors rip the blubber off of whales in order to live another day. Necessity is the
    mother of radical philosophical change. People with filled bellies develop idiotic moral theories until they
    face necessity. When the global economy collapses and a PETA member finds herself in an urban setting
    with nothing to eat, she will be cynically laughing at that ridiculous organization she belonged to in the
    days of the fat cows.

    Module main page:   Loopholes

    Pages in this module:


    6.   Epilogue

    7.   This page:   Corollary.  PETA: How to kill, torture, and sterilize unwanted animals humanely
Evolution

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