PETA's Word of Shame of the Year: «Flying Rats»

Animal-friendly language wanted: Modelled on the «Word of Shame of the Year» campaign by the Society for the German Language, PETA has been searching annually since 2008 for the most animal-hostile word.

After numerous suggestions were submitted in advance on the animal rights organisation’s Facebook page, animal lovers voted on Facebook and Instagram: «Flying rats» ultimately prevailed as PETA’s Word of Shame of the Year 2017. Neither rats nor pigeons are in any way «dirty» or dangerous carriers of disease. And above all, they deserve our respect!

Discriminatory and degrading

«The term ‘flying rats’ is discriminatory, obfuscatory, and demeaning to the creatures it refers to – and thus meets all the criteria for the most animal-hostile word,» said Dr Edmund Haferbeck, Head of the Legal and Scientific Department at PETA. «Rodents are still regarded by some people as dirty and a nuisance – PETA’s Word of Shame of the Year 2017 reinforces these prejudices, projects negative feelings onto urban pigeons, and is therefore doubly animal-hostile.»

With the «Word of Shame of the Year», the animal rights organisation draw attention to discriminatory terms and make language more animal-friendly in the long term. This year, among others, «Problemwolf» (“problem wolf”), «Meeresfrüchte» (“seafood”), «Kampfhund» (“fighting dog”) and «Elefantenmanagement» (“elephant management”) were shortlisted for the title. Language demonstrably influences our thinking and actions, as our perception is guided by the words we use. Through expressions like “stupid cow” or “pigpen” we automatically project negative characteristics onto the animals in question — and unjustly so, as PETA’s 2017 Word of Shame also illustrates: in the debate about how best to deal with the growing pigeon populations in our cities, these sensitive birds are disparaged as “rats of the sky.” Yet pigeons are remarkably fascinating: they are monogamous and care attentively for their young. The birds have good memories and can even recognise individual humans. Many people are unaware that so-called city pigeons are feral domestic and carrier pigeons that can barely survive without our help. Carrier pigeon breeders, who in their leisure time subject these animals to unreasonable demands through the so-called carrier pigeon sport, therefore bear some responsibility for the “city pigeon problem.” The image of pigeons as disease carriers is also inaccurate; the salmonella pathogens frequently cited, for example, are species-specific and barely transmissible to humans. Rats equally deserve our protection and respect. These eager learners are meticulously clean and groom themselves several times a day — the likelihood of them transmitting parasites or viruses is lower than through contact with dogs or cats. Much like us, rats are sensitive and highly social: they defend their families, play with one another, and sleep curled up together.

Animal-friendly pigeon management instead of culling

Pigeons have a natural life expectancy of twelve to fifteen years, yet in German cities they rarely survive longer than two years. They are poisoned, shot, starved, or captured for “professional” killing by injection, decapitation, or neck-breaking. These culling operations, however, only reduce populations temporarily; vacated nesting and roosting sites are quickly reoccupied by newly arriving pigeons.

Significantly more effective are measures already implemented by numerous municipalities in Germany to successfully and humanely reduce the population: Specially established dovecotes make it possible to settle the birds in designated areas and control their reproduction; pigeon eggs can, for example, be exchanged for plaster eggs.

PETA's motto is: Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or exploit in any other way.

What you can do

Language shapes our worldview: choose your words carefully. But actions matter even more: find out about your city's pigeon management, get involved, or volunteer — for example by helping to maintain a dovecote. Many local animal welfare organisations are stretched to their limits and always grateful for helpers. Become an ambassador — against prejudice and for a more compassionate coexistence between humans and animals! More about Wildlife on wildbeimwild.com.