Always looking for a new target, the media-hungry animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has set its sights on Presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The method of attack is a favorite of the group – a billboard located in Baltimore, Maryland. Baltimore has come under scrutiny recently as home to an over-abundance of the little critters. Even President Trump has pointed out the “rat and rodent infected mess” which is Baltimore, according to a report in the Washington Examiner.
The billboard features a cartoon rat – make that a “cute” cartoon rat holding a piece of cheese with the caption: “poor guy just trying to survive” next to a cartoon with the likeness of Kushner sitting on a pile of money with the caption “rich pest.” The billboard is located at an address near Baltimore's city hall, police department, district court and HUD offices, said a CBS News report.
The disconnect comes from the fact that PETA has represented all animals – including rats – as equal, so why would a comparison be considered a bad thing by their followers. Perhaps the most famous quote of PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk is, “A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy.”
The answer may lie in a statement made by Newkirk regarding the Baltimore situation. In it, she actually seems to be giving a preferential status to the “resourceful” rodents, as opposed to those “entitled” landlords. (Kushner owns a number of apartments in the city.)
“Smart, social, resourceful rats who are just trying to eke out an existence suffer when entitled landlords neglect humane rodent-control measures,” PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement. “PETA encourages building managers to evict unwanted tiny tenants using only effective, nonlethal methods.”
Unwanted “tiny tenants?” Perhaps a Pied Piper of Baltimore would do the trick.
