Written by PETA
… by going vegan. Sure, we at PETA sing the praises of electric cars, but hybrid car owners who load bags of revolting meat and dairy products into their trunks need to start humming a different tune.
That's why PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman has written a letter to James Hunt, chief of Boston's Environmental and Energy Services, offering to buy space on the city's planned electric-car charging stations for PETA's "Meat's Not Green" ads.
The raising of billions of animals to become meat-lovers' main courses is a main contributor to environmental destruction—it's a leading source of greenhouse-gas emissions and causes water pollution and topsoil erosion. The meat industry runs on enormous amounts of fossil fuel and water—and the denials of those who ignore the fact that each package of meat represents immense, intense animal suffering.
Will PETA's ads grace electric-car charging stations in Boston? We'll keep you updated.
Written by Karin Bennett
Whenever people ask where my parents got my name, I never miss a beat before saying "The X-Men." Am I really named after Wolverine? Maybe, maybe not, but as a lifetime comic book fan I think it's a better story than "My great-great uncle three times removed was a Civil War hero …" and, well, you get the point.
After today, though, I just might start mixing my story up a little, considering that I now share my name with another hero for animals: Boston's Logan Airport has agreed to stop using glue traps and is the latest recipient of PETA's Compassionate Action Award. Massachusetts Port Authority CEO Thomas Kinton Jr. made the decision to pull glue traps after learning about the days of starvation and dehydration suffered by animals who become ensnared in the inhumane death pads. As a result, airport employees have agreed to implement a no-glue-trap policy and are working with PETA to implement more humane methods of catching animals.
Boston's Logan sticks it to glue traps, I have animal-tastic blogging skills, and Wolverine is on our list of the Top 10 Animal-Friendly Superheroes … I'm beginning to see a connection. Anybody else notice that Logan and vegan only differ by two letters?
Written by Logan Scherer
Despite complaints from thousands of concerned consumers, undercover photos of frogs living in decrepit conditions, reports of dying frogs, and a run-in with the law in New Jersey—Brookstone still refuses to stop selling its cruel Frog-O-Spheres.
As the death toll mounts, we're turning up the pressure:
Please urge Brookstone to immediately stop selling Frog-O-Spheres and implement a policy against the sale of any live animals at Brookstone stores.
Written by Liz Graffeo
The Zookeeper has recently begun filming at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston. It's a movie about, well, a zookeeper, played by Kevin James, who wins Rosario Dawson's heart with the help of his animal charges. Well, presumably he wins her heart—what a bummer of a movie if not!
Something else that would make the The Zookeeper a bummer? If it used exotic animal "actors" to portray its animal characters, who are voiced by stars such as Cher, Adam Sandler, and Sylvester Stallone.
PETA has written letters to the film's stars asking them not to work with animal "actors" and pointing out that Birds & Animals Unlimited, the company that has been contracted to supply animals for the film, has a long list of USDA violations. Not only that, but exotic animals who are used as involuntary "actors" are routinely subjected to cruel training methods that can include being beaten, shocked with electric prods, drugged, and deprived of food in order to coerce them into performing acts that are stressful, confusing, and even painful to them.
Movies like The Chronicles of Narnia and King Kong have exclusively used computer-generated imagery, animatronics, and other technology instead of trained animals—and they ended up being blockbusters. We are suggesting that The Zookeeper use these modern techniques as well—or simply use footage of animals who already live at the Franklin Park Zoo.
As PETA's own Debbie Leahy said, "When it comes to exotic animal characters, the best casting choice is to 'fake it.' Even under the best of circumstances, captivity can be hell for exotic animals."
Written by Amanda Schinke
When my beloved Boston Red Sox famously traded Nomar Garciaparra to the Chicago Cubs back in '04, I knew that it was for the best. But when Manny Ramirez was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers just one short year ago, I had the opposite reaction. I knew Manny was trouble. I knew he was dragging the team down. But deep down, I was sorry to see him go.
Now that Manny has been hit with a 50-game suspension for failing a drug test—allegedly because of an impotence treatment to counteract the, um, negative side effects of steroid use—Boston fans can rest a bit more easily knowing that the Red Sox made the right move shipping him off to L.A. last summer (Jason Bay slugging .667 through 32 games doesn't hurt, either). But we here at PETA are left wondering: Why would Manny turn to pharmaceutical "performance enhancers" when the best way to combat impotence is a healthy vegetarian diet?
Most people these days understand that the saturated fat and cholesterol in meat, dairy, and eggs clogs the arteries to your heart, leading to an increased risk of heart disease. But eating meat actually impedes the blood flow to all your organs—including the one that comes with a Y chromosome. And the best way to be sure that organ will continue to come through for you is to go vegetarian.
With that in mind, PETA is urging Manny to consider switching to a vegetarian diet so that he can continue to come through in the clutch without failing any more drug tests. You can read our letter here, and you can learn more about the performance-enhancing benefits of a vegetarian diet here.
Written by Dan Shannon
Someone needs to cut Boston's bookworms a break. First, one of the ducklings from the Make Way for Ducklings tribute statue in Boston's Public Garden was stolen. Then, the city announced budget cuts that will result in layoffs for 26 library employees.
Since lots of Boston's book lovers must be duck lovers too, we just might have the solution to save the city's Mallard brood and the librarians' jobs. We are offering to pay the Boston Parks & Recreation Department to erect a permanent sign behind the Make Way for Ducklings tribute statue that reads, "Say 'No' to Foie Gras!"
No one who's read Make Way for Ducklings would support the sale of foie gras, especially once they learn that Mrs. Mallard's close relatives are force-fed by having pipes shoved down their throats until their livers become painfully engorged and their internal organs sometimes rupture. The ducks and geese used for foie gras shiver with fear and pain between feedings and become so ill that they stop preening and have difficulty walking. That several restaurants in Boston still sell this ugly, cruel "delicacy" means that some people apparently didn't read the book—or are just "ducking" the issue. That sign would be a hard-to-miss reminder of how Mrs. Mallard and her brood shouldn't suffer for someone's gluttonous, fatty meal.
Written by Shawna Flavell
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If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.