AN OPEN LETTER TO SAM SIMON FROM NO KILL NATION: Mr. Simon, PLEASE reconsider! $100,000,000 can kill a lot of pets

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla., Nov. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Sam Simon has announced that he will be giving a large part of his 100-million-dollar fortune to PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.  The co-creator of The Simpsons, who is battling terminal cancer, may not be aware that he is contributing tens of millions of dollars towards the killing of dogs and cats. 

Mr. Simon's heart is unquestionably in the right place.  He has done wondrous things for abandoned animals:  "Since 2002, Simon has self-funded, at the annual cost of several million dollars, the Sam Simon Foundation dedicated to rescuing and retraining stray dogs who would otherwise be euthanized."  

Why then does he wish to support this?  From the New York Daily News:  "PETA Members Take Virginia Family's Pet Chihuahua, Kill It, Then Bring Fruit Basket, Dad Says."  (wp.me/p4ySsV-hq0)

Let's be clear:  the Sam Simon Foundation has no enemy more toxic than PETA.  Ingrid Newkirk's group has long been the loudest cheerleader in the nation for shelter killing:  that is, for mass euthanasia.  Every stray that the Sam Simon Foundation saves—every single one—is alive despite PETA. 

And the theft and killing of this girl's pet dog is just the latest brutal act:  Ingrid Newkirk's organization has slaughtered over 30,000 animals at its headquarters in Norfolk.  As the San Francisco Chronicle reports: "Better Dead Than Fed, PETA Says."  (http://bit.ly/1h7XimT)

It is hardly Mr. Simon's fault if he does not know this:  PETA is careful to keep its celebrity supporters at a distance from the group's more repulsive policies. Note that no actress is posing nude for the slogan:  "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Save Animals From Shelter Killing." 

These loathsome policies are, unfortunately for PETA, unambiguous.  When outed, they insist that it's all a lie, promoted by the meat lobby.  The problem?  Ingrid Newkirk herself wrote an article calling for pit bulls to be killed, immediately, as soon as they are taken in by a shelter.  These are her words. (http://bit.ly/1u8pk7h) 

PETA's own website tells us that the extermination of feral cats is compassionate.  Their words:  "...It may be necessary—and the most compassionate choice—to euthanize feral cats. You can ask your veterinarian to do this or, if your local animal shelter uses an injection of sodium pentobarbital, take the cats there."  (http://bit.ly/1xsAcPw)  Some compassion.

In short, Mr. Simon is in danger of donating a vast sum of money towards something he patently abhors. 

Every year, some four million companion animals are killed in North American shelters, and PETA is by far the most powerful voice in favor of the status quo.  Statistics and experience demonstrate that most of those four million could be saved.  The New York Times reports:  "At a time when the major animal protection groups have moved to a 'no kill' shelter model, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals remains a holdout, confounding some and incensing others."

PETA has brutally thwarted efforts across North America to keep shelters from unnecessary killing.  It doesn't have to be like this.  The New York Times is clear:  "As recently as a decade ago, it was common practice at shelters to euthanize large numbers of dogs and cats that had not been adopted.  But the no-kill movement has grown very quickly, leaving PETA behind." (http://nyti.ms/1z3Zkdv)

Mr. Simon is enthusiastic about what PETA has shown him:  "I get to watch these animals that have been in concrete bunkers their whole lives take their first step on grass."  It is time for him to know what PETA hasn't shown him:  that those same animals would likely be killed within 24 hours if they were taken in by PETA's so-called "shelter" in Norfolk Virginia.  This is what Mr. Simon does not get to watch:  "PETA's Secret Slaughter of Kittens, Puppies." http://huff.to/19dZerg

It is not too late for Mr. Simon to make his truly generous offer meaningful.  Please, Mr. Simon:  we admire your work, and if you must give money to PETA, can't you make it contingent upon them abandoning their efforts to eradicate companion animals?  All of their excuses have proven empty.  Can't you tell them that you will not allow them to use your money to obstruct shelter reform, and to kill strays?  That you will not let them use your money to gut the work done by the Sam Simon Foundation?

It would in fact be much safer simply to donate these funds to rescuers who will actually help dogs and cats, as opposed to exterminate them.  Your own foundation, for instance:  your people know what they're doing; they're doing it right; and they could do miraculous things with this money.

If you could reform PETA with a donation, then that's one thing:  you'd be doing the nation's animals a great service.  Sadly, that's not likely.  Protecting kill shelters—and the very idea of kill shelters—is at the core of their program.  It has to be:  they run one.  In fact, they run one of the ugliest:  an animal has almost no chance of surviving PETA headquarters in Norfolk.

Mr. Simon, you have done a huge amount of good saving animals from unnecessary "euthanasia."  We're pleading with you, sir:  please do not now put a fortune towards having those same animals slaughtered.

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SOURCE No Kill Nation, Inc.

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