I agree with Pete's rather rational position on PETA and some of their causes. Some of the causes are truly off the wall: releasing minks into to English countryside to save them from becoming coats; ascribing great intelligence to chickens on the National Mall. The president of PETA in my area tells proudly how her dog is vegetarian, and that she combs out all his fleas and releases them into the backyard each night (and rover brings them back in each night too).
However, anyone who has been involved in animal research for any length of time (I did it for over twenty years in the sixties, seventies and into the eighties) knows that the quality of care for the animals can vary from good to truly awful, with caregivers who are caring and many who are sadistic creeps. We had a guy who euthenized rabbits with a pipe wrench because he liked the way they screamed (sounds like a baby). And have any of you been in a modern chicken production operation? This is truly sick making, with animals who have been picked apart and stripped of feathers by cage mates, living on wire with the lights on 24 hours a day, and the processing part would turn you into a vegetarian. Ain't healthy for man or beast. I did see a good bumper sticker the other day: "Save Soybeans; eat a Vegen" Steve, In Maryland http://stevebrettell.point2homes.biz -- _______________________________________________ Find what you are looking for with the Lycos Yellow Pages http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.asp?SRC=lycos10
