For every provocative stunt or nude celebrity that brings attention to PETA’s message without doing any real harm, there’s another that discredits the organization.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals recently completed the first leg of a new campaign that equates the treatment of animals with some of the greatest horrors mankind has visited upon itself – slavery, lynchings and even genocide.

Titled “Animal Liberation,” the campaign pairs photographs of animals with historical depictions of terrible crimes. A cow hanging in a slaughterhouse is shown with a photo of two black men, lynched by a mob. A photo of child workers is paired with one of egg-laying chickens. A photo of a black man being beaten during a lunch counter protest is compared to the clubbing of a seal. A black leg enslaved with leg irons and an elephant leg restrained by a chain.

PETA’s point: We are all animals.

We will not defend the brutality that is visited upon some animals in the name of food production or science. But there is no legitimate comparison between a cattle drive and the Trail of Tears, the forced removal of Cherokee Indians during the 1830s that resulted in more than 4,000 deaths. We cannot tolerate comparing minorities to animals. That hallmark of racism, segregation and relocation should be buried forever.

Earlier this year, PETA tried to convince Bates College to drop its fishing club. A giant lobster recently visited Portland and Brunswick to carry the message that being boiled hurts.

Comparing the treatment of animals, however, with the systematic enslavement, oppression and death of men and women is so tone-deaf it’s no wonder it has created a major backlash.

Responding to some criticism, PETA has temporarily stopped its “Animal Liberation” tour and is considering what to do next. Hopefully, the answer is clear – abandon the project, apologize and hope you haven’t done lasting damage to your movement.