PETA Problems

Recently, PETA decided to target Mario from the Super Mario Bros. series for the tanuki (raccoon dog) suit that Mario wears as a form of power up. PETA is targeting Mario for this because it supposedly endorses the wearing of fur. The allegation completely misses the idea that the “tanuki” in the tanuki suit is more referring to the magical tanuki in Japanese legends than actual raccoon dogs, and because of that Mario is more becoming the tanuki (or perhaps he was one all along?) than wearing any fur so to say. In the end though, it is hard not to be cynical about this recent accusation by PETA. Since Super Mario Bros. recently had a new installment of their game on the 3DS, PETA is most probably targeting Mario because it is a ton of free press they can get from various websites complaining about how ridiculous they are being. PETA seems to employ the “all press is good press” philosophy for while their message is being sent throughout the internet, it has been peppered and salted by criticism and skepticism on almost all the sites that are broadcasting the news.

Which is actually too bad, because I feel like PETA has a good point sometimes. I feel that how people treat animals is something that everyone should be aware of. Especially now that we know two things: 1.) Some of the most potent epidemics are coming from animals 2.) How a person treats an animal can reflect on their potential empathy for all things (including other people).

So let’s start with the first thing: biological science is confirming more and more that some of the biggest diseases are coming from animals. This is the reason like “bird flu” and “swine flu” are named as such are because they actually came from birds and pigs. Something I was not made aware of until recently is that all flu viruses come from birds. Viruses and germs can travel from animal to animal and they eventually mutate and evolve to survive in the environment that they find themselves placed in. The problems humans run into is that with the rapid slaughter and consumption of birds, pigs, and many other animals, it is much easier for these microorganisms to travel around and become stronger to the point of worldwide problem. While it is easy to assume that people take the right precautions when killing an animal that none of the blood and whatnot gets into the person slaughtering it, the fact is that it only takes one person in the process of killing an animal, shipping it, and then eating it to do something wrong and get a disease that kills thousands if not millions of people. Take HIV for example. Scientists have traced that deadly epidemic that is ravaging people from just from one person killing a monkey that just happened to have the virus that could infect people. Imagine, if that person just had more thought and been more careful, perhaps HIV and AIDS could have been something only in horror stories. Maybe with this thinking, it is easier to see where PETA is coming from.

Even more than the unfortunate probabilities that face the consumption of animals, it is hard not to look at the way we treat animals sometimes and think of how it reflects on ourselves. It has been said that kids being cruel to animals can be an indication of a lack of empathy and an early warning sign for psychopathy. The idea is that people, especially children, tend to over-identify and empathise with things that can’t really return their feelings. It is then that empathy we exercise to relate and socialize with other people (and hopefully this leads to treating them kindly). I guess there is no real proof that treating animals badly as adults is bad for human empathy, but when I hear about things like how KFC treats the chickens it serves in buckets, I get a little sick in my stomach. I can not say with absolute authority if cage free eggs taste better or worse than the eggs coming from a caged chicken, but I would rather pay the premium if I know that those animals are being treated humanly. Maybe I am the one over-empathizing here, but I just feel there is something wrong about treating animals horribly in order to get a constant stream of their meat on store shelves. It reeks to me of greediness and a growing feeling that people are losing the ability to cope with inconvenience. Also, if businesses can only survive by treating animals poorly, than should those businesses exist? I really don’t think so. The problem for me I suppose is I am not sure if these sentiments are coming from a real rational place or if they are just my feelings of empathy that come with positive memories of the animals most people don’t really care to interact with.

Maybe that is the same problem that PETA as a group is going through. They are letting their strong feelings get ahead of actually trying to make a good argument against violence on animals. While I do not necessarily agree with everything they believe in, I do think can serve an important reminder that people need to be aware of the consequences of our actions against animals. Maybe if everyone were to take that awareness and let ourselves care about all living things big and small, then PETA would not have to get so crazy and criticise the actions of a fictional magical plumber.