PETA Calls Out the Royals — The Surprising Reason Behind the Backlash Over Their Dog
Outspoken animal rights activists who targeted Prince William and Kate for breeding their cocker spaniels were today condemned as ‘doctrinaire fanatics’.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were branded ‘staggeringly out of touch’ in a provocative statement from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta).
The firebrand US group said nobody should be ‘churning out a litter’ when shelters were full of dogs needing homes in a so-called ‘animal homelessness crisis’
But critics of Peta hit back today, describing the organisation as an ‘extremist group’ and ‘animal rights terrorists’ who are ‘themselves staggeringly out of touch’.
Peta is known for being outspoken and has attracted criticism from those who claim it operates as a ‘political protest group’ despite having charitable status – but the organisation insists its aim ‘is, and always has been, to reduce animal suffering’.
Elisa Allen, vice president of programmes for Peta, had said of the royal couple: ‘The Prince and Princess of Wales should know that shelters here and worldwide are overflowing with puppies desperate for a second chance at a loving home.’
She told MailOnline that ‘churning out a litter in the midst of this animal homelessness crisis is staggeringly out of touch’.
Ms Allen – who once sent Meghan Markle a vegan leather handbag as a birthday gift in 2018 – added: ‘If William is going to lead, he might well take a lesson from King Charles and Queen Camilla, who have chosen to adopt from a shelter rather than contribute to the problem.’
But royal author Lady Colin Campbell responded, saying: ‘I see the animal rights terrorists are at it again. Peta has attacked the Prince and Princess of Wales for daring to breed from their dog.
‘They commend – rightly – the King and Queen for rescuing dogs from Battersea Dogs Home, while condemning Wiliam and Catherine for allowing their family dog, which is a descendant of her brother’s beloved dog, to have puppies.’
Writing on X, she added: ‘Doctrinaire fanatics refuse to acknowledge that they do their cause more harm than good by trying to bully people for making perfectly reasonable and acceptable choices. There is nothing wrong with perpetuating the line of a beloved pet.’
The British-Jamaican socialite added that she had ‘whelped several generations of beloved dogs, while also taking in generation after generation of rescue cats’.
Former Conservative MSP Brian Monteith, who is now a communications adviser to the anti-Peta campaign group Peta Watch, told MailOnline: ‘For Peta to attack the Princess of Wales during her battle with cancer over her decision to raise a puppy with her children is disgusting.
‘Peta should apologise and withdraw its comments. But this animal rights group has form for outlandish attacks – it’s done to attract publicity and donations when it provides no support to animal sanctuaries or rescue centres.’
Mr Monteith, who was also a Brexit Party MEP, also described Peta as an ‘extremist group’, writing in the Telegraph today: ‘It is the Waleses who are supremely in-touch with their role as parents building a caring family, while the virtue-signalling headline grabbers are themselves staggeringly out of touch.’
In response to Peta Watch’s claims, Ms Allen said Peta’s aim ‘is, and always has been, to reduce animal suffering and people are glad to receive information from our investigations and fact checking that give them the ability to make compassionate decisions’.
