PETA planning 'porn site' to promote animal welfare

An animal rights group that has bared some skin to promote its cause is taking its act to the Internet by planning a "porn" site for animal welfare. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is planning an .xxx site to run its campaign, tech site The Huffington Post reported over the weekend. "We live in a 24-hour news cycle world and we learn the racy things we do are sometimes the most effective way that we can reach particular individuals," it quoted PETA spokeswoman Lindsay Rajt as saying. She hinted the porn site will raise awareness of veganism (personal practice of not using any products from animals for any human purposes) more than the group's campaign against fur. PETA has had celebrities posing nude for its anti-fur campaign, and scantily clad women having an erotic moment with their vegetables to support veganism. "We really want to grab people's attention, get them talking and to question the status quo and ultimately take action, because the best way we can help the greatest number of animals is simply by not eating them," Rajt said. The Huffington Post quoted Rajt as saying the porn site will have enough adult content to qualify for the .xxx domain site. But it will also contain "graphic" images of animals that viewers may not expect to see. PETA also said regular people, not just celebrities, will be featured in the project. "There will be a lot of girl and boy next door content, but we haven't ruled out celebrities on the site as well... People who are extraordinarily dedicated to helping animals and who are willing to do whatever it takes to draw attention to the suffering they endure," said Rajt. Rajt said the tactics are thought out and ensure they get results. "We try to use absolutely every outlet to stick up for animals... We are careful about what we do and wouldn't use nudity or some of our flashier tactics if we didn't know they worked. We also track the effectiveness of our actions very closely and see if we get visitors checking out other features on our site." PETA has done ad campaigns with adult film stars Sasha Grey, Ron Jeremy and Jenna Jameson. In 2008, its YouTube account was temporarily shut down after posting racy videos of celebrities and others posing nude. 'PETA porn site' UK-based The Register said the website at peta.xxx appears to be a unique case of a non-porn brand that plans to embrace "adult entertainment" to further its cause. But it said PETA has yet to secure its .xxx domain as the "sunrise" period for trademark holders to protect their brands – at a cost of $200 and up – does not kick off until September 7. — LBG, GMA News