peta coronavirus
PETA is being mocked and ridiculed by social media users after implying that eating meat may cause coronavirus.

The aggressive animal rights organization made the shocking suggestion on Twitter last week, writing: 'Carnivorous is an anagram of coronavirus. Coincidence? We think NOT!'

Thousands of commenters have replied, accusing PETA of spreading dangerous misinformation and also pointing out a few unflattering anagrams of the name 'PETA.'

'Scientists have a hunch that contact with live animals or their dead flesh may be the source of the deadly virus,' PETA wrote.

On their website, the organization points to a New York Times report, which says that the virus may have initially spread from a wholesale market in Wuhan, 'where vendors legally sold live animals from stalls in close quarters with hundreds of others.'

But PETA seems to be dismissing that part about 'live animals.' With their anagram tweet, they imply that it's eating animals — 'carnivorous' means to feed on animals — that leads to coronavirus.

Other Twitter users, including those who support PETA, have noticed and were quick to tell the organization off.

'I support you PETA but this is totally inaccurate and stupid,' wrote one.

'I wish there was an option to report this. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Yet another reason nobody takes you seriously as an organisation any more,' said another, while a third said: 'And this is why you aren't taken seriously.'

'It's always good to know that no matter how weird everything is, you can always count on PETA to maintain their batsh***ery,' said yet another.

'As a vegan, I do not approve of this absolutely idiotic message,' wrote one more.

Others said that the tweet just made them want to eat more meat, with one saying: 'I'll think more about the deep meaning of this tweet tonight while eating a good rib steak.'

Some called the organization 'tone deaf,' with one accusing them of being the 'flat earthers of veganism.'

Plenty have also mocked PETA for implying that anagrams hold hidden meanings, pointing out some anagrams of PETA that the organization wouldn't like.

'In Italian "peta" is the third-person singular form of the verb "fart". Coincidence? I think NOT!' wrote one.

'In Spanish "peta" is the slang word for marihuana joint. Coincidence? We think NOT!' wrote another.

'In Portuguese, "Peta" means "Lie" Coincidence?' asked a third, while several pointed out that PETA is also an anagram of pâté .

'PETA is an anagram for "aetp" which makes no sense, just like this tweet,' snarked yet another.

Even the satirical site The Onion joined in, writing up a tongue-in-cheek article entitled 'PETA Quietly Testing 'Coronavirus Is A Living Thing' Ad Spots In Few Small Markets.'

They included a mocked-up ad for PETA featuring an image of a virus beside one of a fluffy dog.

'Why do you want to kill one and make the other your pet?' it reads.

In a statement made to DailyMail.com, PETA President Ingrid Newkirk insisted that people can prevent the outbreak of future viruses by going vegan.

'Scientists in China have linked the coronavirus to bats and snakes — and it's been widely reported that the virus appears to have originated in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, where these and other animals are sold as food,' she said.

'Any health authority will confirm — as has been widely reported in the media — that most influenza viruses and coronaviruses are zoonotic (transmissible from other animals to humans).

'Filthy farms and markets crammed full of sick animals are breeding grounds for deadly maladies, as we saw with bird flu and SARS, which killed more than 900 people in just nine months. As the current coronavirus spreads, PETA is urging the public to cut off animal-borne pathogens at the source by going vegan.'