March 26, 2009 Exclusive: PETAâs Pet Killing Program Set a New Record in 2008 Public Records: PETA Found Adoptive Homes for Less than 1 out of 300 Animals Animal lovers worldwide now have access to more than a decadeâs worth of proof that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) kills thousands of defenseless pets at its Norfolk, Virginia headquarters. Since 1998, PETA has opted to âput downâ 21,339 adoptable dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens instead of finding homes for them. PETAâs âAnimal Recordâ report for 2008, filed with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, shows that the animal rights group killed 95 percent of the dogs and cats in its care last year. During all of 2008, PETA found adoptive homes for just seven pets. Just seven animals -- out of the 2,216 it took in. PETA just broke its own record. Why would an animal rights group secretly kill animals at its headquarters? PETAâs continued silence on the matter makes it hard to say for sure. But from a cost-saving standpoint, PETAâs hypocrisy isnât difficult to understand: Killing adoptable cats and dogs â and storing the bodies in a walk-in freezer until they can be cremated â requires far less money and effort than caring for the pets until they are adopted. PETA has a $32 million annual budget. But instead of investing in the lives of the thousands of flesh and blood creatures in its care, the group spends millions on media campaigns telling Americans that eating meat, drinking milk, fishing, hunting, wearing leather shoes, and benefiting from medical research performed on lab rats are all âunethical.â The bottom line: PETAâs leaders care more about cutting into their advertising budget than finding homes for the nearly six pets they kill on average, every single day. The Virginia Beach SPCA, just down the road from PETAâs Norfolk headquarters, manages to adopt out the vast majority of the animals in its care. And it does it on a shoestring budget. Years of public outrage has not been enough to convince PETA to eliminate its pet eradication program. Now the death toll of animals in PETAâs care has reached 21,339, including more than 2,000 pets last year. Thatâs not an animal charity. Itâs a slaughterhouse. Click here to sign our petition to revoke PETAâs tax-exempt status.