[color:"orange"]I'm sure that in all groups there are some nutcases, like everywhere.[/color]
Those kind of nuts I have in my own family. PETA (like other animal rights groups) has some real nut cases, and a lot higher up in the organization, not just at the fringes. I'm not saying you shouldn't support them or any of their causes, I'm just not recommending you take everything they say as gospel.
[color:"orange"]I also wanna add this: The image of a still living skinned seal, lifting his head towards the camera, is a vision I will never forget[/color]
As something which would evoke a strong emotion and sympathy for the animal rights movement, this shot sounds almost too good to be true...
The only person who would skin an animal alive is a sadist. Any hunter, trapper or farmer who gets a certain amount per pelt is not going to risk damaging the fur with nicks, cuts and blood (unless they are also a sadist, in which case there are cheaper and easier animals to get ahold of).
Have you ever tried to clip a dog's nails that was scared of clippers? It takes much longer than it should, requires much more effort and you risk getting bit, if only a nip. Skinning an animal alive would magnify that greatly, with absolutely no benefit.
There was a video released quit awhile ago reported to be of a seal being skinned alive. The seal was in fact dead (a news crew tracked down the hunter after the video as released), and the supposed twitches shown in the carefully edited video were just movement due to the hunter skinning it. I tried searching for this, and found a link to a different video, with its authenticity also challenged;
PeTA: Indoctrinating Kids, Encourging Harrassment, Exploiting Staged Brutality 
