The request for a ban comes after a four-year-old girl died following an incident involving horses at Fort William Historical Park. While looking critically at the use of animals at a park is valid, requesting the ban on the day of the girl’s funeral is nothing short of tasteless.
The organization said it did not intentionally send the news release on the day of the girl’s funeral. Whether this is true or not is beside the point as a reasonable and sensitive person would have concluded it was too early for this type of call to action. PETA officials, had they done their research, would have known several agencies were still in the process of investigating the incident at the time.
Not waiting for those investigations to conclude gives the impression the organization isn’t concerned about the facts of this case, but instead wants to get its message out while emotions are still running high. It also shows PETA is using a tragedy for shameless self-promotion.
Unfortunately that’s exactly PETA’s strategy. The group is opportunistic and often uses controversy to get attention. In the past the group made headlines when it likened eating meat with the holocaust.
The fact is a young girl has died and a community is mourning. What to do to prevent something like this from happening again can only be examined once all the facts are known.
