Thanks to pressure from PETA, a Clarke County, Alabama, hog-dog rodeo operator was found guilty of cruelty to animals and given 30 days in jail after law-enforcement officers attended one of his events and testified that it constituted cruelty because one of the dog's mouths was full of blood and hair when he or she was released from the hog and because the hogs had no way to escape, though they were obviously trying to. One officer testified that one of the hogs was screaming and scared.

Click here to read more about hog-dog rodeos and view footage.

For two years, Clarke County, Alabama, authorities have ignored the occurrence of hog-dog rodeos, a cruel bloody event during which dogs are sicced on defenseless hogs for the sake of so-called entertainment. Thanks to public pressure triggered by this footage, which was posted on PETA TV, as well as a PETA action alert, the organizer of these events was arrested on cruelty-to-animals charges, and the rodeo was shut down.

Read more about hog-dog rodeos and view footage.

Thanks to PETA's intercession, intracardiac (heart) injections on conscious animals--painful procedures involving penetration of the needle through the rib cage, chest wall, sensitive tissue, and--in many cases--the lung and a sheath of nerves between the ribs, and then directly into the beating heart--are no longer performed at the Montgomery Humane Society in Alabama. We are currently working with the organization to address other issues as well.

Please visit HelpingAnimals.com to learn how to improve the lives of animals in your local shelter.

After hearing from PETA, Lacombe Composite High School in Alberta, Canada, made a planned chicken race fundraiser cruelty-free by choosing to host a race between two student council members dressed in chicken costumes instead of using live chickens. Principal Jayson Lovell stated that "if one person is offended by something we are doing, we are willing to make a change. We don't want anyone leaving here feeling badly about something we've done."

PETA received complaints about alligators and turtles on display at a Florida McDonald's. We learned that the animals were provided by a notoriously cruel area alligator park called Gatorland. We had investigated this facility in 1995 and found horrifying conditions for animals. Alligators were being used for photo ops with visitors and were usually killed with blows from a baseball bat to their skulls. Visitors watched as the animals were forced to "wrestle" with workers.

After learning of the display, we immediately wrote to the general manager of the McDonald's, imploring him to remove it. We also wrote to Orange County Animal Services and the Department of Professional Regulations, asking them to investigate the situation for violations of animal protection and health regulations.

The Department of Professional Regulations required the McDonald's to immediately remove the display, along with a similar one at another location.