Racy ad got many people’s attention

In response to your opinion piece “No Love for PETA” (Feb. 2), we at PETA often do “sexy” or “shocking” things to get the word out about animal abuse, because sadly, the media usually do not consider the facts alone worth covering.

Our purpose is to stop animal suffering, and we use all available opportunities to reach millions of people with powerful messages. The situation is critical for billions of animals that are suffering on factory farms and in slaughterhouses, and our goal is to make the public think about the issues. Sometimes this requires tactics that some people find outrageous or even “rude,” but part of our job is to initiate discussion, debate, questioning of the status quo and of course, action.

We have found – and Ms. Dammu’s opinion piece confirms – that people do pay more attention to our racier actions. As a result of our Super Bowl ad, PETA representatives have appeared on cable television talk shows with audiences numbering into the millions. This means that people across the United States are hearing about how animals suffer on factory farms, and judging by the spike in visits to our Web sites after we publicized our ad, this tactic is working – and more people than ever before are learning and thinking about going vegetarian.

Thankfully, with so many delicious and animal-free options available these days, including veggie barbecue “riblets” and vegan pizza, it’s never been easier to cut cruelty out of your diet for good (especially in Bloomington).

Ryan Huling
PETA College Campaign Coordinator