Compare and Contrast Essay on ALF and PETA

Introduction

People will always sash windows and break thing if they genuinely think that the animals should not suffer and experience pain. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is a group concerned with animal welfare by advocating for humane animal treatment and provision of shelters for the animals that have been abused (Fletcher, 2013). The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is one of the most violent groups which fights for the rights of animals. The FBI considers ALF as a terrorist group whose primary objective is to cause political and social changes through force and violence. These are the two of the most prominent animal rights groups. They were established with good intentions and despite advocating for animal rights; there exist significant differences which will be discussed below.

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People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

PETA was established in the 1980s and like any other animal rights organization which is concerned with the welfare of animals. This group wants the animals to be granted equal rights with the human beings which will make it illegal for people to own or use animals in any way (Fletcher, 2013). The group claims that there is no difference between the human beings and animals. Therefore, they are equal the same. This means that the human beings do not have the liberty to use animals for research purposes, clothing or food. This organization believes that fundamental rights should be given to the animals while having their best interest at heart irrespective of their importance to the people. The animals are also capable of suffering. The primary objective of this animal rights group is to ensure total animal's total freedom from cruel treatment (Shorter, 2012).

PETA is an organization which is ready to use any possible method to make sure that they achieve their primary objective of animal liberation. Most of the members of this organization are known to take the law into their hands to realize what they want. They are well known for crossing lines; the turn peaceful demonstrations into violent ones which may be termed as criminal offences. They do all this in the name of animal freedom. Their leaders are fearless and also advocate for violence against any person who thinks that they own animals. For example, Friedrich who is a member of Peta made a speech in the year 2001 where he was publicly heard wishing for the explosion of slaughterhouses, food outlets, experiment laboratories along with the banks that provide resources. He further praises the people who are willing to burn them.

The main focus of PETA is on areas that have made the highest number of animals. Unlike the Animal Liberation Front, PETA is a group which operates legally in the United States (PETA, 2017). The members of this group are educated since they have to work within the law to ensure that animals are accorded the relevant rights just like human beings. The group activities are in no way a threat to the people's security. PETA has identifiable leaders, and members are aware of one another, unlike other groups which are operating illegally. It is therefore controlled or managed from a central point. It is worth noting that different groups use violence and other methods not allowed by the law to fight for the liberation of animals, but PETA does not advocate for violence while they are addressing their issues unless otherwise.

The Animal Liberation Front

The Animal Liberation Front is a group is in referred by security agencies as poorly managed. It is committed to ensuring that exploitation and harsh treatment of animals will come to an end. This group was established in the 1970s with its central origin being Great Britain; it later extended its operations to the United States. The new members are not expected to pay anything or file any paperwork to join the group; they are just required to act in a manner that condemns the people and organizations that use animals for their gains. These actions are maybe criminal because they are aimed at causing a loss in the economy or deterring the operations of the victim's organization (Cordeiro-Rodrigues, 2016). The services of this group are based on the animals' rights; discouragement of any activity that is harmful to animals.

ALF mainly targets companies such as experiment laboratories, restaurants, and far companies. The members believe that whichever crimes they commit while trying to liberate the animals are not more significant than the ones broken by the parliamentarians. All the group activities are purposed to prevent the people from misusing animals in one way or the other. The animal liberation activists are fully aware of what is contained in the wildlife and are considerate of the impact of their actions on other people. The animal rights organizations such as PETA want to end business for ALF members because they are criminals. Animal Liberation Front has earned the people's help, but the extremists under PETA do not deserve to be helped. They have the power to fight for the animal rights on their own.

The goal of the ALF mission is to make sure that it ends institutions which have been established to exploit animals because they think that nonhumans are properties (Zalman, 2018). Most of the activists work privately since most of their activities are not allowed by the law. They may function as an individual or a group of people, but they are not organized or coordinated from a central point. All the activists do is initiate activities and then claim to have been executed by ALF through press offices in the state. it cannot be referred to as a national network since it does not have a leader and the members do not know one another. Despite their pledge not to hurt any human or animal, their actions have dictated other since they are a threat to the people.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there exist significant differences between the two groups namely PETA and ALF. The first notable difference is that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is concerned with the animal welfare while the Animal Front Liberation is concerned more with the rights of animals. PETA is a recognized group which operates legally in the United States, unlike ALF which is an illegal group which has no leaders. PETA's activities and actions are within the law, but the activities carried out by ALF are criminal meaning the law forbids them. It is notable that the Animal Liberation Front is a threat to the national security, but PETA does not put the people's lives in danger. ALF has no registered members; one needs to act in a manner that upholds the group's values and believes.

References

Cordeiro-Rodrigues, L. (2016). Is the Animal Liberation Front morally justified in engaging in crime and illegal activism towards animal farms?. Critical studies on terrorism, 9(2), 226-246.

Fletcher, M. (2013). The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): Creating a Collective Identity.

PETA. (2017). What's PETA's position on the Animal Liberation Front (ALF)? Retrieved from https://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/whats-petas-position-on-the-animal-liberation-front-alf/

Shorter, J. E. (2012). The Use of Mass Communication in Animal Rights Fundraising Campaigns.

Zalman, A. (2018, May 21). The History and Background of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/animal-liberation-front-3209117