PETA Killed 97 Percent of 'Companion Animals' in 2006, According to VDACS

Death toll up to 17,400; overdue report describes PETA's deadliest year ever

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An official report from People
for The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), submitted nine months after a
Virginia government agency's deadline, shows that the animal rights group put
to death more than 97 percent of the dogs, cats, and other pets it took in for
adoption in 2006. During that year, the well-known animal rights group managed
to find adoptive homes for just 12 pets. The nonprofit Center for Consumer
Freedom (CCF) is calling on PETA to either end its hypocritical angel-of-death
program, or stop its senseless condemnation of Americans who believe it's
perfectly ethical to use animals for food, clothing, and critical medical
research.

Not counting animals PETA held only temporarily in its spay-neuter program,
the organization took in 3,061 "companion animals" in 2006, of which it killed
2,981. According to Virginia's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
(VDACS), the average euthanasia rate for humane societies in the state was
just 34.7 percent in 2006. PETA killed 97.4 percent of the animals it took in.
The organization filed its 2006 report this month, nine months after the VDACS
deadline of March 31, 2007.

"Pet lovers should be outraged," said CCF Director of Research David Martosko.
"There are thousands of worthwhile animal shelters that deserve Americans'
support. PETA is not one of them."

In courtroom testimony last year, a PETA manager acknowledged that her
organization maintains a large walk-in freezer for storing dead animals, and
that PETA contracts with a Virginia cremation service to dispose of the
bodies. In that trial, two PETA employees were convicted of dumping dead
animals in a rural North Carolina trash dumpster.

Today in Southampton County, Virginia, another PETA employee will face felony
charges in a dog-napping case. Andrea Florence Benoit Harris was arrested in
late 2006 for allegedly abducting a hunting dog and attempting to transport it
to PETA's Norfolk headquarters.

"PETA raised over $30 million last year," Martosko added, "and it's using that
money to kill the only flesh-and-blood animals its employees actually see. The
scale of PETA's hypocrisy is simply staggering."

To speak with a spokesman contact Tim Miller at 202-463-7112.

For more information about PETA's massive euthanasia program, visit
http://www.PetaKillsAnimals.com.

SOURCE Center for Consumer Freedom

Tim Miller of the Center for Consumer Freedom, +1-202-463-7112