PETA Cleared of Charges - Page 1

PETA Workers Cleared of Animal Cruelty, Convicted of Littering By SAMUEL SPIES Posted: Today at 6:36 p.m. Updated: 43 minutes ago WINTON, N.C. ˜ A jury found two animal-rights workers not guilty Friday of animal cruelty for euthanizing animals they took from shelters, but both were convicted of littering for dumping the carcasses in a trash bin. Adria Hinkle and Andrew Cook, two employees of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, were cleared of eight misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. Hinkle also was found not guilty of three felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses. Both received a 10-day suspended jail sentence and a year of supervised probation, meaning neither will serve jail time. Their van will be confiscated by police and each was ordered to pay $4,000 in fines and court costs. "I gave the penalty I thought was appropriate," Superior Court Judge Cy Grant said. As she left the courtroom after the two-week trial, Hinkle said she was relieved. "Justice was served," she said. Cook declined immediate comment. Hinkle and Cook had testified that they euthanized the animals in the back of their van to relieve the animals' suffering. They said they disposed of the bodies in Hertford County, instead of driving them back to the PETA offices in Virginia, because the smell was overwhelming. The animals were picked up from several shelters in northeast North Carolina. Hinkle, 28, of Norfolk, Virginia, and Cook, 26, of Virginia Beach, had each faced 21 felony counts of animal cruelty until Grant reduced those charges Thursday, saying prosecutors failed to prove malice, a necessary element of the felony charge. The pair was arrested in June 2005 after police said they saw them dump several bags of dead animals behind a grocery store. Police said they found more dead animals in the pair's van. Local shelter officials said they were unaware that PETA planned to euthanize most of the animals it picked up, but a PETA official testified that she told county officials of the policy. Hinkle testified that she never told the shelters the animals wouldn't be euthanized.

PeTA was never on trial. Hinkle and Cook were. But PeTA should take the "e" out of it's name! This was far from "ethical", in my opinion. And in the court of public opinion, they have gotten themselves a black eye! Go to http://www.PeTAKillsAnimals.com for the whole rundown, day by day.

Birdy, thanks for the post. Many years ago when P.E.T.A. was formed, they seemed to do so with a noble purpose. However, organizations such as this eventually attract zealots who have questionable and sometimes sinister interpretations of the organization's mission statement and obectives, and in this and other cases P.E.T.A. has failed to discover and correct these anomalies. Hence, P.E.T.A. deserves any negative publicity that it receives because of this well-publicized matter. One would think that most of their supporters are decent people who would be sicked at this type of behaviour by some of its members. One would think, and one would hope. Bob-O

PeTA was created by a zealot, who, to my knowledge, still runs it. If she no longer does run it than it must have been pretty recently that she handed over her presidency to someone else. It was the founder who came up with the notion that domesticated animals are "broken spirits" (please forgive me if I get some wording wrong here since I'm not looking it up right now) These folks are extremist, their core beliefs center around how humans should not control, kill, farm, or have absolutely anything to do with or cause any interference in the lives of animals. This is what the organization was founded on, this is the beliefs that the founder came up with herself. These people cry over the loss of an ant's or flea's life, they compare their worth to the worth of their own children. Many of these folks would like for there to be no human race at all, many of these folks wish they didn't even have to eat plants in order to survive, since plants are just another type of animal as well. I find it interesting how hypocritical these folks are, they themselves violate the majority of their own core beliefs. I apologize beforehand for anyone I am about to offend, but this is my honest opinion. I pity any person who sympathizes with the PeTA organization, or donates their money to PeTA after being fooled by PeTA into thinking they are actually helping save lives. I've met too many folks who've only seen the advertising of PeTA and have not actually investigated this organization before giving away their money. IMO a worthy cause that is actually right for the animals and is actually sane and rational to our animal's needs and the needs of human's is Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. That is an organization that not only saves lives, but gives them a paradise too. Courtney

urmangsd, you are absolutely correct. Who could be against the ethical treatment of animals? PETA uses their moniker to fool those who are compassionate enough to have an open heart and an open wallet. Only after you look closely at this organization do you realize what scumbags they are and what a dishonest heartless person their founder is. Anyone that has any empathy for this band of anarchists and murderers should have their heads examined.