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PETA’s basic argument in a nutshell. |
On August 22, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals protested outside of the San Diego Zoo.
The activists were angered over the zoo’s decision to import African elephants from Swaziland. Swaziland had scheduled the elephants to be culled, but instead the zoo offered to import the animals as part of its breeding program.
Anyway, along with activists holding signs, PETA chose a method of protesting completely appropriate to its views — it unloaded a truckload full of manure in the zoo’s driveway in order to block the entrance. An unidentified man in an elephant suit locked himself inside the truck, but was pulled out and arrested by police.
PETA has pulled this sort of stun before. For example, during the 2000 presidential campaign it dumped a truckload of manure at a restaurant where then-Republican candidate George W. Bush had just finished having breakfast.
Not a pleasant way to protest, to be sure, but at least for a change PETA’s argument was intellectually honest.
Source:
PETA protests pachyderms with poo. TheSanDiegoChannel.Com, August 22, 2003.