Next month, thousands of bullocks, ponies, and horses in India will soon be forced to walk and run as far as 150 miles, hauling carts full of families and goods to the annual Chinchali Fair. Along the way, some of them will collapse from exhaustion, injuries, dehydration, and despair. Others will try to soldier on, enduring injuries from the heavy yoke, increasing lameness, and the sting of the whip.

Animal Rahat, an organization of veterinarians and relief workers funded by PETA, plans to set up stations along the route to and from the four-day fair to bring some measure of relief to animals in distress—and the group needs your help. 

The attention that each animal will receive from Animal Rahat may prove crucial. The veterinarians will bandage wounds, provide water and food, adjust or replace harnesses and straps that are causing pain, demand rest for those who are faltering, and give medical treatment to animals who would otherwise lack the most basic care.

What You Can Do

Have you ever had someone offer help at a moment when you needed it most? Making a gift to Animal Rahat is the perfect way to pay it forward—and with the fair only weeks away, now's the time!

Ordinarily, resolutions are far too ambitious. I mean, isn't it pretty unreasonable to give up chocolate, especially the kind with hazelnuts in it? And if you buy an exercise bike, chances are, before long, it's going to end up as a place to hang your laundry when the dryer is broken, or it'll be posted on Craigslist.

So, why not make a resolution that's easy? Here's my cunning plan: I'm going to get other people to do the heavy lifting!

I got the idea when I was having dinner with one of PETA's wonderful investigators. She told me that every year, her family asks her what she wants for her birthday. And every year, for the past four years, she has told them that she wants them to eat vegan meals one day a week. How can they say no to their beloved daughter, knowing that it means that much to her? So her family is now up to four vegan days a week, and since our investigator has prolonged their lives by getting them to eat not only more humanely but also more healthfully, that's a lot of meat- and dairy-free days ahead for them—and a lot of animals saved. What a clever idea!

Naturally, there are many variations on this theme: If I'm lucky enough to have anyone ask me what I'd like for my birthday or anniversary or for the holidays, I'm going to say, "Well, I'd love it if you'd sponsor an Animal Rahat donkey for me," or perhaps, "Would you be an angel and pledge to go vegan for just 30 days?" or "Since you always get the cupcakes for your office parties, would you please choose vegan ones over ones made with eggs and dairy products?"

Now all I can do is hope someone asks, and my resolution will be well on its way to being resolved!

During PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk's recent trip to work with our friends at PETA India and Animal Rahat, the Indian working-animal rescue group that PETA supports, she took part in an impromptu rescue herself (as she is—and more of us should be—regularly inclined to do). As she explains:

You'll be glad to know that Craig has been adopted and is now a cherished companion.

Every day, Animal Rahat is working to make India a kinder place for animals—especially the bullocks, donkeys, and other working animals who are commonly abused and neglected. Please help Animal Rahat by making a donation to support its lifesaving efforts.

While most of us are grilling veggie dogs in the park or sipping drinks by the pool today, working animals won't have it so easy:

Horses pulling horse-drawn carriages today will tromp on hard pavement all day long in the intense heat. They will breathe exhaust fumes and will not have adequate food or water. Tonight, they will be crammed into a tiny stall for a few hours until they are dragged out in the morning to start again.

Hens used by the egg industry are spending the day crammed five deep into wire "battery cages" about the size of a file drawer. Because they are packed so closely together, they will have to urinate and defecate on each other.

Today, Indian donkeys will struggle to pull heavy carts that are overloaded with bricks and sugarcane. They will toil under the blazing sun with little rest, food, or water. They may be beaten or whipped to force them to keep going.

iStockphoto.com/Rpsycho

Orcas who are enslaved at marine parks today will perform meaningless tricks in front of crowds of screaming people in order to get food. They will swim endless circles in a tank that is, for them, comparable to a bathtub. The reverberations from their sonar will bounce off the walls, adding to their frustration and anger.

Female dogs in puppy mills will likely spend Labor Day in either a crude, filthy cage or chained to a tree. They will suffer from painful medical conditions, such as ear infections, mange, and abscessed feet, for which they will receive no veterinary care. They will either be pregnant with or nursing yet another litter of puppies, who will be taken away from them and sold.

Pregnant cows on dairy farms will be hooked up to milking machines several times today. They may be suffering from a painful udder inflammation called "mastitis," likely brought on by the drugs that increase their milk production. They may also be lame from being intensely confined and being forced to stand amid their own waste.

This Labor Day, resolve to help the animals who rarely have a day off. To learn what the PETA-supported working animal relief organization Animal Rahat is doing to help animals in India, visit AnimalRahat.com. 

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The perfect kickoff to the weekend: captivating photos of a mother dog who rescued her puppies one by one from a burning building and placed them safely on a fire truck.

Employees at a Sanderson Farms chicken slaughterhouse say they are forced to work in miserable 100-degree heat inside a building that's "nasty" and that they have inadequate bathrooms and few water breaks. Sounds kind of like a factory farm … 

This is your brain on yolks. Any questions?

Finally, scientists conclude that animals are, in fact, "conscious beings." And animals respond, "Um, duh?"

New Action Alerts

Tell Louisiana Tech to quit baking bulldogs. School mascot Tech XX died after being left outside in scorching heat, and his predecessor, Tech XIX, had to be retired after he nearly died of heat exhaustion during a game. Ask the school to use costumed human mascots at its sporting events instead of vulnerable dogs.

© Rahul Deshpande

Scene and Heard

If you haven't yet read about Animal Rahat, treat yourself to some of the PETA-supported working-animal relief organization's touching rescue stories.  

"Shanthi" means "peace, rest, calmness, tranquility, or bliss." So it's appropriate that Shanthi and her friends (pictured below) enjoy such a blissful life at a sanctuary in India—but that wasn't always the case.

© Aneesh S

Once, these little donkeys worked all day long in the blistering heat, carrying heavy loads of bricks from the fiery kilns starting at dawn. At night, they were left to root through garbage and dirt in the hope of finding enough nourishment to survive. Animal Rahat, which PETA supports, rescued Shanthi and all the other survivors of accidents involving trucks and cars and arranged for their retirement. Now, they live, jump, run, and play with their rescued friends from the streets—and they'll never be beaten again.

Animal Rahat saves the lives of India's working animals. To help animals such as Shanthi and his pals, please make a generous donation to Animal Rahat.

Like her namesake, 4-month-old pup Snow White was in dire need of rescue when Animal Rahat, the animal-relief organization that PETA helps fund in India, got the call. The frightened puppy had tried to negotiate a busy road, only to be struck by a speeding bicycle. Running blindly, she was hit again by another bicycle, leaving her bruised and bloodied, with a gaping wound on her leg.

The Animal Rahat team rushed to the scene, scooped up the frail puppy, and  took her back to the sanctuary, where the veterinarian and other staff members cleaned her wounds, treated her for fleas, and fed her what was probably her first square meal in her entire short life. Her stomach full, Snow White curled up and conked out, fast asleep.

This energetic puppy is now a cheerful addition to the sanctuary and has made friends with all the former working animals who are retired there. 

But Snow White is still waiting for her Prince Charming—a sponsor to help Animal Rahat with her care. Can you help give her a fairytale ending? Make a generous commitment to Snow White and other animals rescued by Animal Rahat to help working animals of India.

What can you buy the bride and groom who have everything? PETA found the perfect wedding present for PETA supporter Alec Baldwin and his bride, Hilaria Thomas, halfway around the world: an Indian bullock named Raja who had carried a heavy weight on his shoulders for years, pulling a cart overloaded with tons of sugarcane. Raja has now been renamed Baldwin Thomas in honor of the newlyweds, and he will spend the rest of his days relaxing at the PETA-funded Animal Rahat sanctuary in India.

When Animal Rahat veterinarians first met Baldwin Thomas, his owner had brought the aging bullock to them for medical care. But when the vets saw that the 22-year-old animal was suffering from arthritis and squamous cell carcinoma in his left eye, they convinced his owner to let him retire.

After a successful operation to remove the cancerous growth, treatment for his arthritis, and lots of TLC, Baldwin Thomas is now much healthier and much happier. And after a life spent toiling under the hot Indian sun, the bullock with the famous name is content to spend his "moment in the sun" resting in the shade.

It's a common sight in Maharashtra during sugarcane season—bullocks panting and frothing at the mouth from straining to pull carts piled high with sugarcane. Their knees are swollen, and their necks and shoulders bear wounds that are a silent testimony to their daily toil under the yoke.

The bullocks who are forced to work on India's sugarcane farms are commonly denied proper food, fresh drinking water, sufficient rest, and relief from the blazing-hot sun. They are yanked roughly by wires threaded through their pierced noses and are often beaten or whipped. Strands of barbed wire are sometimes put under the wooden yoke, and a thin piece of leather is attached to the whip to make it sting even more.

Before

PETA's friends at Animal Rahat, which offers relief for India's working animals, are improving conditions for these bullocks. For years, Animal Rahat has provided bullocks with medical attention, persuaded owners to let sick and injured animals rest, and replaced painful nose ropes with harnesses. But Animal Rahat's groundbreaking new initiative, "The Tractor Project," is a way to eliminate the use of bullocks completely and replace them with small tractors. It's the start of a terrific plan that could eventually relieve untold suffering.

Sugarcane farms are largely staffed by migrant workers who live on the factory land for six to seven months of the year, harvesting and hauling. These poor farmers cannot afford to buy a motorized vehicle to haul the cane, but The Tractor Project is changing that. Animal Rahat made a donation toward the purchase of five new tractors for workers at the Kranti Sugar Factory. The factory then gave the employees an interest-free loan for the rest of the cost.

Last week, the first five owners were presented with their new tractors, and their 10 old, worn-out bullocks were released from servitude in a touching ceremony at the factory. When the bullocks arrived at Animal Rahat's Retired Bullock Home later that same day, caretakers removed their nose ropes and offered the relieved animals jaggery, a sweet treat that they love, to welcome them.

After

Animal Rahat and the Kranti Sugar Factory plan to distribute more tractors as they find the funds to do so. And Animal Rahat is preparing to expand The Tractor Project to other areas if possible. Each sugarcane factory uses about 1,200 working bullocks, so it will be no small task. But Animal Rahat is dedicated to ending the suffering of bullocks.

To contribute to Animal Rahat's overall efforts—which fund new initiatives, including The Tractor Project—visit Animal Rahat's fundraising page.

When a baby monkey fell off an electric pole high above a highway in Sangli, India, and plummeted to the road below, she was knocked unconscious and one eye was left swollen and bloody. Someone saw the monkey fall and alerted officials. Knowing the superb rehabilitation work that PETA's friends at Animal Rahat ("rahat" means "relief" in Hindi) do, forest officials asked them to go to the scene immediately.

Animal Rahat took the injured animal to its rehabilitation facility, where workers gently flushed her eyes and gave her antibiotic eyedrops for a few days. It was delicate work helping the monkey to heal while handling her as little as possible so as not to cause her stress, which can lead monkeys to mutilate themselves. 

A week later, with her health improving, it was safe to give the tiny monkey the freedom and space that she craved, so she was taken to the Katraj wildlife rescue center, where she could enjoy a forest-like setting while continuing to heal.

The monkey relished her freedom and continued to improve while she built a trusting relationship with her caretakers. But life in captivity is not what nature intended for monkeys, and after two months there, her rescue team bid her a tearful goodbye and released her back into the forest. Animal Rahat workers still visit the forest from time to time to see if they can spot her and even managed to get one last picture of the now fully recovered monkey doing what monkeys do best.