PETA Payback is Hell Campaign

This found it's way to my eyes on the other day on a friend's Facebook post. This is PETA's new ad in their Go Vegan campaign:

My first thought was, "Really PETA? Really?" But then I started to think about it. My years of avid shark week watching quickly reminded me that sharks rarely attack humans and often do not want to eat us. We just don't taste that good to them, probably too salty. 

Then I started to think, "You know, maybe they have a point." All these problems we are having with energy issues, space, resources, crops, etc. have at some point been affected by (I'm not willing to say completely caused by) unsustainable living. We live beyond our means environmentally. We're spending tons of resource credit and have racked up one huge debt. So yeah, maybe Mother Nature is going to bite back.

But then I read PETA's press release. You can find it here (link). The inspiration for this ad was that a spear fisher was bitten by a shark off the coast of Florida. One of our own species was injured by another specie. The shark probably wasn't biting him because of the spear. The shark probably thought that he looked like a yummy dolphin and wanted some lunch. 

Wait, you mean that sharks aren't vegans? What! Surely all of the animal kingdom resists the urge to eat defenseless prey? No? You mean that sharks often go out and cruelly kill other species that have little to no way to protect themselves?

I think PETA has some good points. I think that we should all strive to live more sustainably and part of that means having more respect for the food that we eat. We should treat our livestock and prey animals with respect which means killing them as humanely as possible and ensuring that as much as possible, they are used completely. However, a shark as the spokesperson for veganism just seems wrong. Mr. Shark doesn't care that you're screaming and wrenching in pain, he just wants to know what your leg tastes like.

Finally, I do not know the condition of the man who was bitten. I hope and pray that he recovers well and quickly and learns to be safer while in the water. Shame on PETA for never once extending their condolences to him or his family.