Virginia Enacts Law Aimed At PETA

Any long-time reader of this blog knows that I loathe and despise the so-called animal rights group PETA. In addition to their legal grandstanding against events like the Possum Drop, they run an animal shelter in Norfolk, VA. Unlike the private shelters in my area that operate as no-kill shelters, the PETA shelter seems to operate on the kill'em all and let God sort them out principle.

Looking at the statistics from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the last 10 years, the lowest percentage of animals euthanized (killed) in any one year was 82.4% in 2013. In 6 out of the 10 years, they euthanized 90% or more of the animals received. In a couple of those years, less than 10 animals (dogs or cats) per year were reported as adopted.

In response to this abysmal record, the Virginia legislature enacted SB 1381 which clarified state law regarding private animal shelters. It says that "their purpose is to find permanent adoptive homes for animals." The Virginian-Pilot reports that Gov. Terry McAuliffe has signed the bill.

It should come as no surprise that PETA opposed this bill.

The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Bill Stanley (R-Franklin County) said he hoped PETA will reduce their extremely high euthanasia rate. If not, they will lose access to the drugs used to euthanize animals.

I guess PETA will have to go back to the old methods like using car exhaust.