The group PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is an animal rights organization that engages in moral entrepreneurship. Their website (“Animal Abuse and Human Abuse: Partners in Crime” 2016) defines animal cruelty as a deviant act, describing it as being “symptomatic of a deep mental disturbance.” PETA has been working for years to try to outlaw the mistreatment of animals. On its website (“USDA: Stop Protecting Animal Abusers and Enforce the Law!” 2016), it urges the U.S. Department of Agriculture to enforce the Animal Welfare Act, claiming the department “has consistently renewed the licenses of even the most egregious animal abusers.” To the group, animal cruelty is a serious issue affecting society that needs to be addressed …show more content…
As the article “PETA’s Guide to Becoming an Activist” (2016) on their website puts it, “[g]rassroots work is essential to the success of the animal rights movement.” PETA works to convince the public and lawmakers that animals are not different from humans in that they should be treated as beings with the capacity to feel emotions and experience …show more content…
When asked about their opinions on animal cruelty, most people would immediately express their disapproval. However, people tend to conveniently avoid thinking about subjects that negatively affect their previously held values, such as the treatment of animals in slaughterhouses. While most people consume meat and use animal products, know where such products originate, and understand at least a part of the process of what animals must undergo in order to be put to humans’ use, they continue their old habits of using such products. Hence, there is a disparity between what people believe and what they practice, so the public will probably not change, nor will lawmakers or law enforcers. This also leads to a cultural inconsistency within American culture, because the actual practices of Americans, their real culture, differs from what they profess to believe, their ideal culture. In other words, Americans continue to use animal products even as they claim to support the rights of