| NBA BASKETBALL |
June 12, 2002 |
PETA Asks Shaq to Change Hunting
Habit
By InsideHoops.com
While this looks like an NBA
playoffs joke, it's not.
InsideHoops.com has learned that
the P.E.T.A., which stands for "People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals," has sent Shaquille
O'Neal a letter asking him to retire from the practice
known as "canned hunting." This type of hunting
involves animals not in the wild, but tame and contained,
so they can't get too far away.
They timed this perfectly, taking
advantage of the fact that Shaq is currently busy putting
a hurting on Todd MacCulloch and the New Jersey Nets
in the NBA finals.
InsideHoops.com has obtained a
copy of the letter that the P.E.T.A. faxed to Shaq.
Dear
Mr. O’Neal:
I am writing on behalf of the
750,000 members and supporters of People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA). It has come to our attention
that you are a fan of barbaric "canned hunts."
This news will surprise a lot of people. Your fans respect
you for your adherence to fair play and sportsmanship,
values that do not exist in canned hunting. We are hoping
that you’ll reconsider your involvement and dissociate
yourself from this cowardly and mean-spirited form of
"entertainment," which comes at the expense
of animals’ lives.
Those you "slaughter"
on the basketball court have a choice in the matter
and live to tell the tale. Animals in canned hunts have
no choice and no chance to survive. They are imprisoned
on game farms, where they are often hand-fed in order
to tame them, and spend their short lives waiting for
some lazy schmuck to come along and pay to shoot them
within a fenced enclosure. They have no chance to run
or escape and are too gentle to fight back. The animals
you hunt have less of a chance against you than the
New Jersey Nets. Won’t you please focus on hunting
for the NBA championship trophy and abandon trophy hunting?
Mr. O’Neal, please chuck
this deadly "hobby" of yours in favor of a
compassionate way to let off steam and show your true
moral strength. Please let us know that you have rejected
canned hunting like a Jason Kidd jumper. Our members
and supporters are eager to hear that you have.
Sincerely,
(a PETA rep)
The P.E.T.A. learned of the player's
hobby from an interview that ESPN conducted with rapper
Ludicris, an acquaintance of Shaq's.
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