"The walking horse industry should be banned."

That's the solution that PETA [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals] wants to protect the Tennessee Walking Horse.

As the largest animal rights organization in the world, and the most famous, PETA focuses its energy on four areas where members claim "the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: on factory farms, in laboratories, in the clothing trade, and in the entertainment industry."

Erin Edwards, media liaison for PETA charges that "the walking horse industry is rife with abuse."

Edwards claims that "as with all industries that use animals, the horses used in the walking horse industry are pawns in a multimillion-dollar industry that treats them as expendable commodities and the horses suffer horribly as a result."

"An industry that wounds horses as a matter of course, and then tries to disguise the evidence by applying drugs to temporarily mask their pain, cannot be reformed but must be abolished."

When asked about the charges of soring, Edwards called it "extremely cruel, abusive, and unnecessary."

"Anyone who participates in this illegal activity should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and banned for life from owning, handling, or working with horses in any way." 

The organization refuses to believe there have been any changes in the industry since the Horse Protection Act (HPA) of 1970 was introduced and begun being enforced. Edwards cites last year's cancellation of the championship at the Celebration "as proof."

"... due to the USDA's belief that the majority of the qualifying horses had been sored is prime evidence that the industry has indeed not made significant changes."

The T-G asked PETA if the walking horse industry met all USDA standards would the organization and similar ones leave the industry alone or would it always be under scrutiny?

Edwards replied: "Any time animals are used for entertainment and profit, the welfare of the animals takes second place to people's greed and desire for recognition. Soring is already illegal, yet horses continue to be subjected to this cruel and painful practice."   With more than 1.6 million members and supporters, PETA works on a variety of other issues, including campaigns against fishing, the killing of animals regarded as "pests," the abuse of backyard dogs and the consumption of meat.

The organization has been involved in anti-fur campaigns, promoting the vegan diet, an extensive protest campaign against Kentucky Fried Chicken over its treatment of animals, and protests circuses as well. Members have organized campaigns to persuade towns to change their names, which, in their view, have names suggestive of animal exploitation.

In 2003, PETA offered free veggie burgers to the city of Hamburg, N.Y., in exchange for changing its name to Veggieburg; which the town declined. The group also campaigned in 1996 to have the town of Fishkill, N.Y., change its name. However, the root "kill," found in the names of many New York towns, is Dutch for "creek." Also in 2003, PETA urged the town of Rodeo, Ca., to change its name because it invokes images of the sport of rodeo.

The organization has also come under fire for distributing graphic pamphlets to children, which PETA claims are geared toward making parents aware of how their actions affect their children.

One pamphlet that addressed the wearing of fur, was headlined "Your Mommy Kills Animals," featuring a cartoon of a mother slicing a knife into a rabbit's stomach. Another was called, "Your Daddy Kills Animals!" with an image of a father gutting a fish.

"Since your daddy is teaching you the wrong lessons about right and wrong, you should teach him fishing is killing," the pamphlet. "Until your daddy learns it's not fun to kill, keep your doggies and kitties away from him. He's so hooked on killing defenseless animals, they could be next."

To those end, PETA uses public education, cruelty investigations, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns to promote its viewpoint, although some tactics has drawn criticism.

In fact, Senator James M. Inhofe criticized PETA in 2005 for having acted as a "spokesgroup" for the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front, after activists associated with the groups committed what Inhofe termed as "acts of terrorism."

But PETA president and co-founder Ingrid Newkirk makes no apology for the organization's support of those who may break the law, writing in Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? Reflections on the Liberation of Animals that "no movement for social change has ever succeeded without 'the militarism component.'"

"Thinkers may prepare revolutions, but bandits must carry them out," she wrote about the Animal Liberation Front.

Tuesday: A look at walking horse trainers, their love of the breed, their concern for the industry.