A famous Italian writer once said, “If you want to annoy your neighbors, tell the truth about them.” That advice has never been more helpful: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is moving into a $2.7 million office in Washington, D.C.
As we’re telling reporters today, the strong sense of urgency we’ve felt since that announcement has resulted in a Center for Consumer Freedom first: We sent a cautionary letter to 300 of PETA’s soon-to-be neighbors. Here’s an excerpt:
To Whom it May Concern:
You may not know this yet, but you’re about to get a new neighbor in the Dupont Circle area.
Given what it stands for, it’s not surprising that PETA represents a vanishingly tiny fringe of American society. Still, it’s not unusual for ordinary people to be unsure about how to act around the group’s employees. Please be assured that most of them are harmless unless provoked.
Still, I’d like to offer you the following suggestions:If you or your building managers use lethal traps to control rats or mice in outdoor areas, make sure you have video surveillance installed near those locations to ensure that the traps are not tampered with.
If you or anyone in your office has a pet dog or cat on the premises, please make sure it is kept indoors and far away from the new PETA offices. Since PETA does not believe in pet ownership, the group operates an aggressive program of killing domesticated animals instead of searching for adoptive homes. Do not, under any circumstances, take a pet to PETA for veterinary care or advice. Government records show that in 2007 alone, the group killed 1,815 pets while finding homes for only 18.
Fellow District of Columbia workers: Consider yourselves warned.
Click here to read the rest of our letter to PETA’s future neighbors.
