Did they say "ethical?"

There should be an organization called People for the Ethical Treatment of People. I don't believe that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) would be much interested in joining, but that's just a guess. I base my assumption not just on all the nasty stuff you can find on the Internet about PETA, but also some of their own material. Much of it is decidedly anti-human. PETA's avowed goal is the complete "liberation" of all animals - your cows, your hogs, your chickens, your horses and cats and my dog Louie.

To achieve their ends they operate on an annual budget of nearly $30 million for TV ads, riotous gatherings punctuated with animal blood, slanted propaganda and payments to people who can only be described as terrorists. They don't condone the firebombing of drug research labs, but they "understand it." That's where my organization, P.E.T.P., might step in and say, "You can't 'understand' somebody who firebombs buildings that may have people in them. Not to mention research animals that are being roasted to death."

I spent some time on the Web looking at both sides of the PETA story after our local daily paper reported that Armstrong World Industries received one of PETA's BADDY awards for running a flooring ad that featured a trained grizzly bear. BADDY awards are designed to embarass companies and individuals deemed by PETA to be mistreating animals.

Armstrong promptly pulled the ad, because it just wasn't worth the hassle of wrangling with PETA, according to Cathy Riley, who handles investor relations for Armstrong. She was shocked to learn about the BADDY award a month after PETA was advised that the ad had been pulled.

PETA's Elizabeth Graffeo told me by phone that while Armstrong did pull the ad, the company refused to pledge never to run the ad, and they refused to pledge never to use exotic animals in any future ads. "They would not negotiate with us on those points," said Graffeo, "and that's why they got the BADDY."

"That was disingenuous of her," Riley told me, also by phone. "Actually, it's an outright lie. They asked us to pull the ad. We pulled the ad. They never asked us to do anything else."

In her PR release to news organizations around the U.S., Graffeo said that after the ad appeared on cable channels, PETA was "deluged" by complaints about the bear's mistreatment. That deluge turned into 2,300 form emails to Armstrong's corporate offices. In the ad, the bear was shown resting on one of Armstrong's hardwood floors before it chowed down on a few groceries.

I couldn't find the ad on YouTube or anywhere else, but I suspect the grizzly might have been "mistreated" in a manner similar to what you see here: http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/flooring-ads.html

I would never say that animals are not mistreated. I also would never say animals don't need a champion. But I would say that an organization that uses lies, intimidation and bullying tactics in pursuit of its goals is not the ideal champion.

And I would add that the majority of the animals that we keep for companions, food and fiber are treated well. Being inhumane is not the norm for humanity, I believe. And in the case of farmers, mistreatment means mismanagement, which means a farm business that's going out of business.

The term "animal husbandry" has been around for far longer than PETA.

(Full disclosure: I was a copywriter in the Armstrong advertising department from 1969 until 1972, when I quit to become editor of Lancaster Farming.)

Farmer-philosopher Troy Bishopp penned his annual tribute to Memorial Day in our current edition. He writes eloquently about the skeletal remains of a century-old dead elm tree, a barn torn down and the passing of his favorite goat. His regular Grass Whisperer columns are always a delight to read.

First-time pig farmers name their pigs. How cute! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGIZVdhQDI4