People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals took the unprecedented step of naming an agency of the year: the U.S. Coast Guard.
The award came about this year because “one agency made such a historic and positive impact for animals in 2018 that we wanted to recognize it,” announced the PETA blog.
“The Coast Guard is showing that concern for animals can and should be a factor in decision-making. And it has demonstrated that there is usually a humane solution to every problem,” PETA noted.
First, the Coast Guard ended the use of live animals in trauma training drills, instead using realistic human simulators. Then, “the Coast Guard went to bat for animals again during Hurricane Florence.”
“When high-speed winds and floodwaters ravaged the southeastern U.S., service members took substantial risks to save as many humans and animals as they could. Among those saved were numerous animals left behind to fend for themselves by owners who had evacuated, many people and their animal companions who were rescued by boat or airlifted out together, and 10 beagles who were struggling to swim in their submerged pen, desperately trying not to drown,” said PETA.
“When a levee broke along the Cape Fear River in the middle of the night, stranding 100 humans and 33 animals, the Coast Guard — together with the National Guard — didn’t wait for the morning light to act. They put on night-vision goggles and, flying through the night, airlifted every one of the humans and animals to safety,” PETA added. “For repeatedly proving that animals are worthy of consideration and that their lives have value, PETA is pleased to honor the U.S. Coast Guard with our inaugural Agency of the Year Award.”
