Pet Shop Boys asked to rename themselves the Rescue Shelter Boys by animal rights organisation PETA Europe

A bizarre story on the BBC that pop band Pet Shop Boys have refused to rename themselves the Rescue Shelter Boys when requested to by animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA.

One hesitates to blog about this, as it gives publicity to the Pet Shop Boys (a band that don't arouse any feelings in me whatsoever, the polar opposite of the terrible James Purnell), and an organisation who I sometimes agree with and often find ludicrous.

Like many animal rights organisations, PETA annoys me by failing to campaign for lifetime bans and longer jail sentences for those convicted of abusing animals. I don't really care about renaming fish "sea kittens" when every day animals are neglected by a minority of pet owners.

Do PETA really believe that the Pet Shop Boys are causing people to visit pet shops? Maybe they could blame primate abuse on the Arctic Monkeys (Gordon Brown's favourite band)? What about Atomic Kitten or The Beekeepers?

Comment Central in the Times is also debating a similar question, though Alice Fishburn has slightly missed the point!

Renaming is also a costly and lengthy exercise. How long would it take before people remembered that the band called the Rescue Shelter Boys had released West End Girls?

This reminds me of the proposal to rename London tube station Aldgate East as Brick Lane and the new Shoreditch High Street tube station as Banglatown by Tower Hamlets councillor Abdal Ullah.

According to Transport for London, changing the name of Shoreditch High Street to Banglatown will cost £2million.

I doubt PETA ever thought that the Pet Shop Boys would change their name. They simply wanted publicity, and I may have played into their hands. Oh well.