Ecorazzi

Remember when PETA and Michael Vick were rumored to be hooking up on some public service announcements? What sounded like a terrible idea turned out to actually be one — and the powers-that-be over at the animal rights organization have smartly decided to back off. Why the reversal? Besides common sense, PETA received some additional nasty info on Vick’s dogfighting past and decided the guy just wouldn’t be a genuine advocate. No kidding. From the article,

“PETA said on Friday it withdrew any offer about doing the ads after a U.S. Department of Agriculture report on Vick’s dogfighting operation found ‘he enjoyed placing family pets in the ring with fighting pit bulls and that he laughed as dogs ripped each other apart,’ according to Dan Shannon, the group’s assistant director of youth outreach and campaigns. Shannon issued a statement in response to an Advertising Age report that Vick was set to do public service ads for PETA after he is released from federal prison.”

Yea, we’re pretty sure Vick won’t be a poster boy for any animal rights group for a long time to come — especially when so much of it would be a “public relations damage control” campaign. In my eyes, the guy has got to do a hell of a lot more than a couple of PSAs to apologize for his actions. Good for PETA for not stepping into this one.