Psycho Star Not Crazy About Fishing
Janet Leigh has a new line—trying to get fishing banned from U.S. state parks. The star wrote to the National Park Service, pointing out that birds, turtles and other wildlife get caught in fishing lines and swallow lost hooks.
“While fish may not be able to scream out in pain, they certainly do suffer when hooked and torn from their element,” she wrote in a letter to National Park Service Director Robert Stanton. “There are so many ways to enjoy the parks without disrupting the lives of the animals who live there.”
Please join Ms. Leigh in urging the National Park Service to get hooked on compassion by banning fishing in state parks. Write to: Mr. Robert Stanton, Director, National Park Service, 1849 C St. N.W., Washington, DC 20240.
USDA Suspends Chimp Farm License
Last summer, we told you about a notorious roadside zoo called Noell’s Chimp Farm, the source of more complaints to PETA than any other zoo. Calling itself a “sanctuary” for “retired” animals, the farm had actually bred 58 chimps, five orangutans, and an unknown number of monkeys. While most remained at the zoo, some were sold to circuses and laboratories.
Over the years, PETA and local activists have filed numerous complaints about the decrepit, substandard facility with the USDA, which has previously suspended the farm’s license and fined the owners for violating the Animal Welfare Act; yet the facility remained open. Now, the USDA has at last revoked the Chimp Farm’s license and fined the owners $25,000.
Thank the USDA for taking action and urge it to stand by its decision to revoke the Chimp Farm’s license: USDA, 4700 River Rd., Unit 84, Riverdale, MD 20737-1234.
“Angel” Asks Parliament to Ban Fur Farms
A PETA “Angel” and a pitchfork-wielding “Satan” greeted members of Parliament in London to remind the Labour party of its pledge to abolish fur farming in Britain.
“Labour must listen to the British public who have worked legally and peacefully to end this evil trade,” said PETA’s Toni Vernelli. She urged the U.K. government to follow Austria’s lead and honor its campaign promise of outlawing Britain’s 14 fur farms. According to a Cosmopolitan poll, 94 percent of the British public support a ban on fur farming.
“Don’t Buy the Charmin!”
PETA’s own Mr. [Brett] Whipple, Media Department secretary, put the squeeze on Procter & Gamble when he handed out rolls of cruelty-free toilet paper to high school students in Wyoming, Ohio, near P&G’s headquarters.
Mr. Whipple asked students to boycott P&G because thousands of animals are still killed in the company’s laboratories, while more than 550 companies, including Gillette and Revlon, ensure their customers’ safety by using accurate non-animal tests.
• Refuse to buy P&G products, including Charmin, Tide, Downy, Pringle’s, Cover Girl, and Dawn. Write to PETA for a free list of companies that don’t test their products on animals.
• Contact P&G’s new CEO, Durk Jager, and ask him to institute a new animal-free testing policy at P&G: One Procter & Gamble Plaza, Cincinnati, OH 45202; 513-983-4602. In the U.K.: St. Nicholas Ave., Newcastle Upon Tyne NE99 IEE.
Supermodels Take to the Sheets
Top models from Q Model Management got into bed with PETA—literally—in the middle of New York’s Times Square for a “Fur Out, Love In” rally. Vogue cover girl Magali, Elle model Kahshanna Evans and the Brewer Twins, who were recently featured in People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” issue, reminded those gathered in New York for Fashion Week that animals shouldn’t be victims of fashion. The event was a huge success, garnering news coverage on Entertainment Tonight and in newspapers worldwide, including USA Today.
“Leopards” Invade Russia
Their bodies painted like endangered cats, Canadian, U.S., and Russian PETA members protested outside the Moscow Fur Fair. Said PETA’s Toni Vernelli, “Fur coats are a throwback to a bleak, violent period in human history. Young people refuse to wear fur and all that it symbolizes.” News of the protest appeared in papers all over the world. And the protests are having an impact. Last fall, Fur World reported that “Russia was beginning to become a substantial market for North American fur...but...trade in both fur skins and garments has slowed to a snail’s pace.”
Calling All Teachers!
PETA’s Teachers Network keeps educators informed of opportunities to promote humane education and help animals in classrooms and communities. Members receive free books and videos, lesson plans, and more.
If you’d like to be part of the network, please contact your nearest PETA office or e-mail us: education@peta-online.org. Please specify grade(s) and subject(s) you teach.
Want to Be a PETA Intern?
If you care about animals and want to do behind-the-scenes work, perhaps even be part of events like protesting Procter & Gamble dressed as a rabbit or hanging a banner from an overpass during rush hour, we have the job for you. For more details on PETA’s internship program, drop a line to our Personnel Department (501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510) today!
