Arizona Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu recently recorded a public service announcement for PETA pointing out the dangers of locking dogs in hot cars.
In the PSA, Mathieu stayed in a sweltering car for eight minutes before running out of the vehicle covered in sweat. He estimates the temperature inside the car reached about 120 degrees.
Mathieu, nicknamed “The Honey Badger,” has been “extremely surprised” at the positive reaction to the powerful spot. What motivated him to do it?
“Just to constantly remind people about the things we do as humans that we might not consider dangerous or harmful to dogs,” Mathieu, a dog owner, told NBC Sports Radio. “I was very grateful, very pleased with the response I got.”
What Mathieu did was a noble gesture, shining the spotlight on a serious problem. He should be applauded.
Perhaps he can use his new-found status as an animal activist to put pressure on PETA to cut down on the amount of cats and dogs it euthanizes at its Virginia shelter.
“In 2014, according to state reports, PETA took in 2,631 cats and dogs. All but 307 were euthanized,” wrote Rachel Weiner in the Washington Post in February.
“It’s just impossible to consider that they are making an attempt to adopt out animals with that failure record,” Debra Griggs of the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies told Weiner.
According to a study done by the Center for Consumer Freedom that came out in February, 33,514 animals have died since 1998 under the auspices of PETA. That data came from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Perhaps Mathieu, who now has a bully pulpit on the animal rights’ front, can pressure PETA into tweaking how they approach their shelter work.
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