PETA VS. NRO. On one of its websites, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) offers Top 10 Reasons Not to Eat Turkeys. At least one of the stunts PETA uses to publicize its pro-bird stance involves nudity.

On the National Review Online (NRO) website, Stephen Spruiell tries to dissuade people from taking PETA seriously. The bulk of his argument consists of describing a Texas turkey shoot where folks drink beer and aim guns and bows at shackled turkeys. It's $1 per shot.

Spruiell concludes that the turkey shoot is a much classier operation than the PETA demonstration because nudity is inappropriate for children and the proceeds from the turkey shoot go to some sort of worthy cause (perhaps a clothing drive). That's a rather weak argument. Does Spruiell prefer that children visit butcher shops rather than art museums?

It amazes me that Spruiell can jump on the huge anti-PETA bandwagon and fall so hard on his face. I wonder how much of his National Review audience also falls for his rhetoric. I can understand his concern over PETA's parent-baiting leaflet "Your Daddy Kills Animals," but that only gets a mere nod in his article. Its main thrust is his rant about the nudity and the turkey shoot.

Plus, Spruiell and his agriculture industry source appear to be under the misimpression that the PETA demonstration is forthcoming even though, in real life, it seems to have occurred already.



Photo: David Marc Fischer