PETA gone too far?

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA have gone too far in comparing the mistreatment of animals with slavery. I have to admit that for me -- Dirk D. DeDurkheim -- this is a bit disturbing and reaching. Yet, I also believe that so many animals are mistreated around the world and most notably here in the U.S. of A. with that poor chimp who is forced to pretend to be a president... um, ok... that is a separate issue... and I do mean to draw some attention to the poor conditions of many animals and we should be thankful for PETA's efforts even if they could choose better analogies.

PETA has suspended on a controversial new animal rights campaign just weeks after launching a nationwide tour, The Associated Press reports.

"Are Animals the New Slaves?" drew widespread criticism from civil rights groups who complained that the exhibit compared the enslavement and lynching of blacks with animal cruelty.

The 12-panel display juxtaposing such images as noosed black men hanging from trees with photos of slaughtered cows had appeared in some 17 cities before PETA officials announced they would put the campaign on hold.

"We're not continuing right now while we evaluate," PETA spokesperson Dawn Carr told The AP. "We're reviewing feedback we've received — most of it overwhelmingly positive and some of it quite negative."

Controversy over the campaign boiled over in New Haven, Conn., last week when a protest became so heated police had to be called in to monitor the situation.

Protesters screamed and shouted at PETA officials about the display, and the president of the local NAACP chapter demanded the exhibit be removed.

Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project called the campaign "disgusting."

"Black people in America have had quite enough of being compared to animals without PETA joining in," he said.

PETA issued an apology earlier this year for a similar campaign comparing mistreated and abused animals to Holocaust victims. The group has not said whether it will apologize for the recent "Slavery" campaign, or whether they will resume the tour.