Why PETA Kills

by Nathan J. Winograd, Jennifer J Winograd

Why? Why does PETA kill thousands of dogs and cats every year? Why are PETA employees instructed to acquire animals by any means necessary — which has included lying and theft — in order to kill those animals? Why do they encourage others to kill them? And why do they embrace and defend even abusive animal shelters?Former PETA employees say it is the result of the deeply perverse version of animal activism promoted by PETA founder and President, Ingrid Newkirk. They can explain how employees are made to watch "heart wrenching" films about animal abuse to instill into them the belief that people are incapable of caring for animals and that PETA is doing what is best for animals by killing them. PETA also claims that animals cannot live without human care, which is why they round up animals living outdoors in order to put them to death. The animals are, in short, damned either way and thus killing them is a "gift."Collected within are interviews with former PETA employees, documents from civil and criminal court cases against PETA, photos of animals killed by PETA, inspection reports by the State Veterinarian in Virginia where PETA is headquartered, as well as admissions of killing, and support for killing, by Ingrid Newkirk herself. Together, this information leads to a tragic and disturbing PETA is letting loose upon the world individuals who not only believe that killing is a good thing and that the living want to die, but who are legally armed with lethal drugs which they have already proven — at least 32,744 times in the last 13 years — that they are not averse to using.

82 pages, Paperback

Published November 26, 2017

About the author

Nathan J. Winograd is a graduate of Stanford Law School, a former criminal prosecutor and corporate attorney, has spoken nationally and internationally on animal sheltering issues, has written animal protection legislation at the state and national level, has created successful No Kill programs in both urban and rural communities, and has consulted with a wide range of animal protection groups including some of the largest and best known in the nation.

His work has been featured widely in such publications as Newsweek, Reader’s Digest, USA Today, and newspapers from all over the country. He has appeared on Fox News, CNN, ABC, and other radio and television affiliates around the country. His creation of the country’s first No Kill community was named one of the Top 100 achievements in the nation by Metropolitan Home in its “Best of the Best” issue. And The Bark magazine calls him “the voice of America’s displaced pets and the conscience of the animal sheltering industry.”

His book, Redemption, is the most critically acclaimed book on the topic in the United States and the winner of five national book awards. Winner of USA Book News Award for Best Book (Animals/Pets), a Best Book Muse Medallion winner by the Cat Writers Association of America, an Award of Excellence and Best Book nominee by the Dog Writers Association of America, winner of a Silver Medal from the Independent Publishers Association, and runner-up for the Eric Hoffer Award for Excellence in Publishing, the book shatters the notion that killing animals in U.S. shelters is an act of kindness. He is also the author of Irreconcilable Differences, a collection of essays that follows up where Redemption left off and asks – and answers – the question of whether we can do better as a society when it comes to our stewardship of companion animals.

As a nationally recognized speaker, Nathan has also spoken at national animal welfare conferences from coast to coast. He has spoken internationally as well, as a guest of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies and has been invited to speak as far away as Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the Czech Republic. He has also lectured on animal sheltering ethics to students at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, the nation’s number one ranked veterinary school, and has lectured at the U.C.L.A. School of Law on animal law issues.

In various leadership positions, including Director of Operations, for the San Francisco SPCA, Nathan was instrumental in advancing some of the most progressive shelter programs in the nation, and helped push the lifesaving rate to over three times the national average for an urban community and at the time, the best in the nation. As Executive Director for the Tompkins County (NY) SPCA, he managed the full range of animal control and adoption services in a rural community, including construction of a new Pet Adoption Center achieving unprecedented results. Nathan is currently the Executive Director of the national No Kill Advocacy Center.