The Society for Indecency to Naked Animals, or SINA [pronounced "sinna"], was a satiric hoax

Hoax

A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...

 perpetrated by comedian Alan Abel

Alan Abel

Alan Abel is an American prankster, hoaxter, writer, mockumentary filmmaker, and jazz percussionist famous for several hoaxes that became media circuses.- Education and early career :...

 from 1959 to 1962. In 1959 Abel wrote a satirical story about this imaginary organization for The Saturday Evening Post

The Saturday Evening Post

The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...

but the editors rejected it. Abel then transformed his story into a series of press releases from the organization that garnered media attention. The group used the language and rhetoric of conservative moralists for the aim of clothing naked animals, including pets, barnyard animals, and large wildlife. An alleged debate within SINA was how large an animal had to be to require clothing. Slogans such as "Decency today means morality tomorrow" and "A nude horse is a rude horse" were offered. Abel persuaded the actor Buck Henry

Buck Henry

Henry Zuckerman, better known as Buck Henry , is an American actor, writer, film director, and television director.-Early life:...

 to play the group president, G. Clifford Prout, in public appearances and Abel played the group vice president.

Support and Anthems

SINA actually acquired ardent supporters, some of whom attempted to contribute a great deal of money. That aided SINA's (false) claims of gaining momentum - at one time they claimed tens of thousands of members. They also published a newsletter, in an issue of which is this anthem:

High on the wings of SINA / we fight for the future now;

Let's clothe every pet and animal / whether dog, cat, horse or cow!

G. Clifford Prout, our President / he works for you and me,

So clothe all your pets and join the march / for worldwide Decency!

S.I.N.A., that's our call / all for one and one for all.

Hoist our flag for all to see / waving for Morality.

Onward we strive together / stronger in every way,

All mankind and his animal friends / for SINA, S-I-N-A!

"Indecent" Exposure

The hoax was exposed when staff on Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite

Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...

's CBS television news show recognized Buck Henry

Buck Henry

Henry Zuckerman, better known as Buck Henry , is an American actor, writer, film director, and television director.-Early life:...

 while taping an interview. A 1963 Time magazine

Time (magazine)

Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

 article exposed the hoax. Alan Abel managed to keep the newsletter going for several more years, hoaxing members who had not seen or heard of that Cronkite episode. The hoax appears in a recording of the short-lived television series One Man Show in an episode hosted by Groucho Marx

Groucho Marx

Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...

.