The PETA Homepage – Case Study

The PETA Homepage – Case Study

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

The PETA ad promoting vegan diets appeals to protect and serve the welfare of animals. Notably, animals are capable of suffering; therefore, by promoting plant-based eating and excluding products derived from animals, PETA aims to minimize animals’ suffering. This aligns with the principles of utilitarianism, which demand increasing happiness—by decreasing suffering in the world. By aiming to reduce animal suffering, PETA performs an ethical duty in the form of beneficence, the quality of doing good, and, in this case, doing good to animals. Furthermore, PETA shows a responsibility to protect animals’ rights. The organization states that “Animals are not ours to… eat…” (PETA, n.d.). Based on the rights theory, which stipulates that all individuals are free and should not curtail the freedom of others, PETA treats animals humanely and advocates for animals’ rights so that they can pursue their ends just like human beings demand to be allowed to pursue theirs (Brusseau, 2012).

Anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism is a phenomenon that ascribes human qualities to nonhuman things (Brusseau, 2012). From this perspective, one could argue that nonhuman animals have rights and should be treated with ethical dignity. Essentially, the reasoning behind this argument is grounded on the similarities between humans and animals. Animals have human characteristics like ears, mouth, and nose, among others, and they eat and drink like humans, which also implies that they feel as humans do and should, therefore, receive affection (Brusseau, 2012). From this likeness, one could conclude that just as humans have rights and are treated with ethical dignity, nonhuman animals should be regarded with autonomous ethical dignity and rights.

The PETA Home Page and Anthropomorphism

The PETA home page invites the phenomenon of anthropomorphism by displaying some animal pictures that demonstrate human qualities in nonhuman animals. The sad-eyed Dalmatian shows that, like humans, dogs also experience sadness; the noble elephant shows that elephants, and animals in general, are principled and capable of exhibiting morality; and the cuddly rabbit implies that animals need affection and happiness.

An Argument in Favor of Utilizing Anthropomorphism Strategy at PETA

Noting that the anthropomorphism phenomenon attributes human qualities to animals, this strategy would help increase donations as people will resonate with all animals. For instance, highlighting the animals’ individual struggles and triumphs and sharing videos and photos of animals exhibiting human-like behavior and expressions would evoke empathy in donors and prompt many to donate towards the organization’s mission. Overall, this anthropomorphism strategy would help the organization emphasize the imperative need to treat animals with ethical dignity because, like humans, animals also have rights.

An Argument against Utilizing Anthropomorphism Strategy at PETA

Though anthropomorphism may raise revenue by engaging donors through emotional attachments, this strategy paves the way for false reasoning and misrepresentation of animals. Essentially, people may project their own expectations on animals, leading to distorted perceptions of animal behavior and how they should be treated. Besides, looking like humans does not mean that nonhuman animals experience human sentiments (Brusseau, 2012). Also, since anthropomorphism targets to elicit emotional attachments, this strategy may not provide long-term support as donors may lose interest once its novelty wears off. In addition, placing focus on anthropomorphism disregards the broader conservation goals, such as preserving the ecosystem and conservation of biodiversity. Donors would overlook the major issues affecting animals or wildlife, which would subsequently prevent efforts towards addressing root causes of wildlife issues that necessitate multi-pronged solutions rather than merely focusing on individual narratives about animals.

References

Brusseau, J. (2012). Business ethics (v. 1.0). Creative Commons. https://2012books.lardbucket.org/pdfs/business-ethics.pdf

PETA. (n.d.). Action alerts. Peta.org. https://www.peta.org/action/action-alerts/?en_txn7=redirect::secure-peta-org-closed

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Case Study: Chapters 13-15
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At the end of each chapter, there are Case Studies. Choose one, read it, and answer all the questions that follow it.
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The PETA Homepage – Case Study

Overview – Understand PETA’s mission and how its homepage reflects it.