As members of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) tell it, Louisiana State University (LSU) biological sciences professor Christine Lattin is…wait for it… a “serial bird killer.”

That’s right, “a serial bird killer.”

Stop giggling.

It’s PETA we’re talking about.

What misdeeds has the LSU professor committed to get placed on PETA’s list of undesirables?

Among other things, PETA accused Lattin of capturing dozens of house sparrows, affixing transmitters to them, and injecting them with sex steroids for a week. A PETA press release went on to say that Lattin then torments the birds “with the sounds of predators before recapturing them and their babies, killing them all and cutting their heads off.”

When reached for comment Thursday, Lattin told The Hayride her side of the story, via email. She said she and her colleagues expose wild animals to stressors as they “help determine whether a species is going to be able to survive or whether it’s going to go extinct.” Her research, Lattin said, helps develop new veterinary medicines.

But the trouble with PETA doesn’t end there, Lattin said, adding this has gone on for five years.

“PETA has spread false and misleading information about my research, causing other people to harass me,” Lattin wrote.

“They have encouraged their supporters to flood my workplace with pre-written emails saying I should be fired. They have created defamatory videos and podcasts about me on their Facebook page and website. They have encouraged people to harass me on Twitter. They have put up posters about me on the college campuses where I have worked.”

Lattin did not elaborate on what stressors she subjects the animals to, but she said her procedures comply with all laws and regulations. Lattin said the labs and animal rooms where birds are housed get regularly inspected. Researchers and veterinarians monitor the animals to make sure they stay in good health.

“They [PETA] have organized protests against me at scientific conferences I attended, at my workplace, and even at my home,” Lattin wrote.

“PETA has been harassing me and demonizing my work since my time at Yale, and when I moved into my new home in Louisiana with my husband and our young child, my neighbors received letters from PETA saying my work was awful and meaningless. These letters included my name and home address to try to make me feel unwelcome and unsafe.”

As a show of protest (yet again), PETA members appeared on the LSU campus this week to pass out virtual reality headsets to students. Those headsets create a reality where students are abducted by extraterrestrials. The tension ramps up as students wait on the aliens to experiment on them…and possibly even dissect them.

PETA is trying to analogize what the extra-terrestrials are doing versus what Lattin is supposedly doing.

The trailer for this virtual reality program, Abduction, is available here.