PETA's Laboratory Investigations Department (LID) learned about an Oakton Community College anatomy and physiology course in which dozens of rats and salamanders were dissected alive so that students could observe their working organs before the animals were killed. LID immediately contacted the school to urge its administrators to end the cruel procedures. We sent information about modern, humane, and educationally superior simulators and rallied our members and supporters to urge the school to drop the cruel laboratories. In response, the school evaluated the information we provided and announced that the use of live animals in all classroom experiments has been replaced with sophisticated computer simulations and other learning methods that do not involve animals.
An Ohio horse trainer was hired to transport two horses to New Jersey, and upon their arrival, the guardians found them to be so severely emaciated that they were half their normal weights. Their ribs, spines, and hip bones were clearly visible. After PETA put pressure on authorities, the trainer was charged with cruelty for nearly starving the animals to death.
PETA contacted an Ohio judge to ensure that a man would be charged with felony cruelty to animals for attacking his neighbor's terrier. The abuser attached the wandering dog to a leash, repeatedly beat and kicked her, doused her in gasoline and oil, and set her on fire. The dog made her way to a water hole to put out the flames and staggered home but died the next day. The judge called it "the worst form of this offense that I have ever seen" and sentenced the abuser to five years in prison.
Read about the link between animal and human abuse.
PETA secured the presence of a veterinarian during euthanasia at the Lake County Ohio pound, where, we were told, animals were not sufficiently sedated before receiving an intracardiac (heart) injection.
Please visit HelpingAnimals.com to learn how to improve the lives of animals in your local shelter.
Thanks to pressure from PETA, an Ohio man who trapped a squirrel, spray-painted his nostrils shut, and saturated his body and mouth with tar remover was convicted of cruelty to animals and illegal possession of a game animal. He served 15 days in jail, got 3 years' probation, and is prohibited from owning or even approaching any animal for 3 years. The judge told him that even if a dog or cat wanders into his yard, he is not permitted to go near the animal.
Click here to read about the link between animal and human abuse.
