In yet another steep effort to extend their animal rights advocacy, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA, the largest animal rights organization in the world, has reached out to everyone who has ever used “an animal as insult” to cease immediately.
On Wednesday, PETA posted a photo listing animal insults which they deemed as perpetuating “speciesism” and their possible alternatives.
“Words can create a more inclusive world, or perpetuate oppression. Calling someone an animal as an insult reinforces the myth that humans are superior to other animals & justified in violating them,” PETA wrote in the caption.
“Anti-animal slurs degrade animals by applying negative human traits to certain species,” PETA said in a statement. “Perpetuating the idea that animals are sly, dirty, or heartless desensitizes the public and normalizes violence against other animals.”
PETA also argued that these derogatory remarks aren’t “just harmful, but also inaccurate.”
Citing an example, PETA explained that pigs are “intelligent, lead complex social lives, and show empathy for other pigs in distress,” and snakes are “clever, have family relationships, and prefer to associate with their relatives.”
Traditionally, “pig” as a derogatory term refers to people who reside in unkempt settings, who have poor hygiene, who are perverts, or who are repulsive, literally or figuratively. Meanwhile, people who are traditionally called “snakes” are those who tend to two-time in their relationships or dealings, are always conniving, or lies to or back-stabs people close with them.
Finally, PETA insisted that those who “believe in equality and justice to take a look at their personal beliefs and the language they use, and break free of this outdated mindset that denigrates other animals.”
As with their approach to veganism, the group’s campaign against “anti-animal slurs” was met with ridicule from many Twitter users. While some were witty, others were just outright disdainful. Some also called out PETA, who has been accused of slaughtering thousands of domestic animals inside its shelters, to practice what they preach.
Are you convinced to stop using “anti-animal” insults from now on?
