I Am an Animal: The Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA - HBO Doc

[otohara]

I saw this last night, it was not easy, but I learned a lot. Bill Maher makes a couple of appearances.

Ingrid Newkirk may be the most influential person most people have never heard of. President and co-founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Newkirk has sparked controversies around the world for more than 25 years, engineering radical campaigns for animal rights that have encompassed everything from undercover investigations to anti-fur protests to naked demonstrations. Directed by Matthew Galkin, I AM AN ANIMAL: THE STORY OF INGRID NEWKIRK AND PETA provides an unprecedented portrait of a very private person committed to a very public crusade, and offers a glimpse into the inner workings of the animal rights group.

The film includes often-graphic footage of animal cruelty that fuels many of Newkirk's campaigns against research facilities, meat-processing factories and clothing stores around the world. Without question, the direction and strategies of PETA are a direct reflection of its single-minded leader, who is both revered and despised for her uncompromising beliefs in the rights of animals, and her willingness to cross taboos and offend numerous groups to make her point.

Headquartered in Norfolk, VA, PETA has 300 employees and an annual operating budget of $25 million, most of which comes from private donations. Though many know about PETA, few are familiar with Newkirk, who co-founded the organization in 1980 with Alex Pacheco (who is no longer at PETA, though he is interviewed here). Under Newkirk's watch, PETA implemented a high-risk, high-publicity policy of animal-abuse investigations, and protests against offending groups - earning Newkirk the contempt of nearly as many people as those who support her.

With over one million members, PETA has been described as "by far the most successful radical organization in America." The group seeks "total animal liberation," says Newkirk - with no meat or dairy, aquariums, circuses, hunting or fishing, fur or leather, or medical research using animals, even if human lives can be saved. PETA is even opposed to the use of seeing-eye dogs. http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/iamananimal/synopsis.html

[Deep13]

1. Well, I hope they give it an objective and thorough treatment. n/t

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. to my mind, they have good ideas but have taken them to

extremes. No seeing-eye dogs? No use of animals for anything? Do they think farmers should feed their animals and just let them live? Or do they think the farm animals should be "liberated"?

[otohara]

3. There Were Critics

Ingrid is unwavering and doesn't care what others think.

[flvegan]

4. There are no "buts" in PETA's mission

While I don't agree with everything they do, Ingrid steers PETA with absolutes. No wavering no flinching.

[Justitia]

8. Here is how I saw the "farm animals" question....

Sure, they would love it if everyone went vegetarian, HOWEVER, they did not go "all or nothing" on the topic. They work incrementally to improve the lives of animals in agricultural production - getting better living conditions, more humane killing methods, more oversight of state cruelty restrictions on agriculture, etc.

So, even if they prefer vegetarianism, they still work to improve conditions in any way they can for animals in agriculture - I admired what I saw them accomplish incrementally in several areas (animal testing too).

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

9. That's ok

I don't know of anyone who would think improving the living conditions of farm animals would be a bad thing--even hard core carnivores who don't give a hoot about animal rights do give a hoot about contaminants in their meat. I have folks I know who raise farm animals in a humane way for two reasons; one, it is the right thing to do; two, because that way they know that the meat they get from the animal will be safe.

[kestrel91316]

5. Ingrid Newkirk has stated that she even opposes the existence of pets.

It's just one more form of animal exploitation that she opposes.

A stranger to irony, apparently, she herself owns pets.

Oh, and because she opposes all uses of animals, she by extention wants a literal end to the existence of the veterinary profession. One wonders if she has an alternate plan for us to put food on our tables......

[Justitia]

6. That's not how it appeared in the documentary.

She credited her love of animals because of her very special relationship growing up with a beloved pet, her dog. She said they shared an incredible bond over years that taught her about animals.

She said she did not have any pets currently because she travels all the time & it's not right to leave them at home alone. She did say she didn't think it was a good idea for people to "accumulate" animals, but I got the distinct impression she was talking about people who have multitudes of pets.

I don't know if she has ever said anything different, that's just how "pets" were talked about in the documentary.

Edit to add: BTW, she was working closely with vets during her monthly outreach to area stray animals and she seemed to have a very close working relationship with them. She went to them to treat sick animals she found and they provided euthanasia when necessary. She seems to be a very big proponent of spay / neuter (obviously), so I imagine she works with them all the time. In the documentary they followed a case she was working w/a vet on involving a malnourished dog with very bad heartworms that had to be put down. She seemed very close to the female vet she was working with. Just wanted to add what was in the documentary about the vet.

[kestrel91316]

11. You do realize, of course, that she is not going to come out publically

in a documentary that she essentially wants vets to cease to exist? And that she wants an end to ALL "animal exploitation" up to and including pet ownership?

I read this factoid about her several years ago in a published article.

[otohara]

10. She Doesn't Own A Pet

this is a woman who lives in a small apt. by herself. No pictures on the walls or other forms of art. She was married to, as she puts it "a lovely man", but her work was more important than the marriage. She also had herself sterilized.

She is a strict vegetarian and I suppose that's her preference for food on our tables.

[kestrel91316]

12. She owned a pet (a "rescue" cat, IIRC) at the time of the interview for the

piece I read. This was a few years ago.

Bully for her to have herself sterilized and removed from the gene pool. The only intelligent thing she has ever done IMHO.

For the record: I am an animal welfarist but not an animal "rightist". "Rights" carry responsibilities with them. Humans have rights. And they also have the responsibility to utilize the animals they do with compassion and concern for their welfare.

[Justitia]

7. Saw it last night, still thinking about it today, it was enlightening.

I thought it was very balanced, it included several of her prominent critics, but I definitely finished it with a new respect for PETA.

I definitely didn't agree with some of their stances / actions, but I endorsed many more.
These people have been very effective over the years and they put themselves in situations that very few people would for animals.
Their points and positions made a lot of sense.

I am glad there is a PETA in the world. Because of them, people will do better because now they will know better.

Some of it was hard to watch, but the squeamish parts were not the bulk of the documentary, thankfully.