Written by PETA
A recent Pew Research Center poll found that 43 percent of American adults—and nearly 60 percent of those under 30 years old—oppose the use of animals in experiments. If I made my money addicting animals to drugs and then killing them or drilling holes into their skulls for sexual behavior experiments, I would take this news as a sign that I should quit my day job and start looking for another way to make a killing earn a living.
Apparently, this kind of clear thinking is in short supply at the national conference of the Society for Neuroscience. Instead of embracing modern, humane non-animal research methods, some members of the society met in Chicago yesterday to brainstorm ways that they can drum up support for archaic and cruel experiments on animals.
PETA held a demonstration outside the conference, and was joined by Dr. Larry Hansen, whom the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease just named one of the world's top 100 Alzheimer's researchers. Dr. Hansen is one of many progressive, forward-thinking scientists who realize that animal experimentation should be replaced.
More than 100 million sensitive, intelligent animals are experimented on and killed in U.S. laboratories every year. Take a minute to visit StopAnimalTests.com and find out how you can speak up for these animals.
Written by Shawna Flavell
For months, we had received calls from tourists, residents, and whistleblowers about six horses in Chicago who were under the "care" of carriage-ride operator JC Cutters. These horses were reportedly forced to endure Chicago's freezing winter weather in a tent without adequate food or water. In February, we let you know that Chicago officials had investigated the horses' living conditions and their quickly diminishing weight and had impounded the horses.
After receiving endless complaints about these cruel operators, working with tireless Chicago activists, and making repeated calls and sending numerous letters to city officials, we're glad to report that two former employees (a manager and horse owner) of JC Cutters were found guilty Wednesday on six misdemeanor counts related to animal neglect and one misdemeanor count for failing to meet the minimum standards for feeding and sheltering the animals in their care.
The story of these six horses has a happy ending, but unfortunately, there are still countless others in the carriage industry who are living in decrepit conditions in cities across the U.S. How about taking a cue from our friend Jon Stewart? While you might not have an Emmy-winning talk show, you can speak up for the tired and weary horses who are forced to pull carriages day in and day out. Let city officials know that horse-drawn carriage operations should be shut down in Chicago, New York City, and in your own hometown. With the widespread availability of humane transportation around the world, horse-drawn carriages are clearly a thing of the past.
Written by Liz Graffeo
Elvis swiveled his hips to that hit single decades ago, and today his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, is singing a similar tune in behalf of a baby chimpanzee who is named after her.
An anonymous whistleblower at an Illinois Park District contacted PETA after witnessing the owners of Ed and Annette's Monkeys & More—a company that provides animals for parties and other functions—transport Lisa Marie (the baby chimpanzee) in a Rubbermaid bin to and from events.
Ed and Annette purchased Lisa Marie from a Missouri primate breeder who removed her from her mother within weeks of birth. Now, when she's not being dragged to community events and children's parties, Lisa Marie lives alone in a barren cage. She will likely grow too strong for her handlers by the time she's 8 years old and be tossed aside to a roadside zoo to languish for decades—if she doesn't have a breakdown and hurt someone first.
To show support for our efforts to rescue Lisa Marie and other baby chimpanzees from abuse in the entertainment industry, Lisa Marie Presley has written to Ed and Annette's Monkeys & More urging them to release her namesake to an accredited sanctuary.
As a lifelong Elvis fan, I think he'd agree that any business that cashes in on chimpanzees is "Too Much Monkey Business."
Written by Karin Bennett
Here's your first look at PETA's newest campaign: "Animal Testing Breaks Hearts."
We first launched "Animal Testing Breaks Hearts" as a youth-oriented peta2 campaign, but the reaction from everyone, regardless of age, was "Awww!"
So below are pictures of our first "Big PETA" "Animal Testing Breaks Hearts" campaign event. We promise more to come. So who knows? You just might be greeted by our giant, loveable rat on your next trip to the pharmacy. He's traversing the U.S. and letting everyone who crosses his path know that reducing animal suffering is as easy as refusing to buy products from companies that test on animals.
So next time you head to the store to stock up on cosmetics and household products, arm yourself with PETA's free shopping guide and don't go breakin' any hearts.
This New Yorker usually steers clear of Midtown, thanks to the crowds, the horse-drawn carriages, and Macy's.
But I'm willing to ride the jam-packed Q to Times Square because I'm excited to see PETA's eye-popping McCruelty posters, which features an illustrated eye of a chicken who's been scalded to death and have been plastered all over Midtown. These posters are a follow-up to last week's Chi-town light show and are meant to pressure McDonald's to implement new slaughterhouse technology that would eliminate the worst abuses of chickens killed for McNuggets.
If you're like me, you're wondering where our eye-catching ad will show up next. Maybe on a huge banner draped over the St. Louis Arch? Share your suggestions in the comments section below.
McDonald's corporate headquarters is located near Chicago, so ever since we launched our McCruelty Campaign, the city's residents have seen some pretty interesting demonstrations asking the company to stop abusing birds immediately. We've been keeping our latest stunt under wraps—but last night, two groups of stealthy crusaders were in the Windy City, projecting this pretty scary image on the façades of Chicago's buildings:
While everyone loves a good light show, I have a feeling that these antics didn't elicit any "oohs" or "ahs" from McDonald's executives. That's because our display definitely caught the attention of potential McDonald's customers who now know that chickens slaughtered for McDonald's "happy meals" are still conscious and able to feel pain—even though there are more humane slaughter methods available.
So, Chicagoans, keep the light on for us. Until McDonald's makes the decision to require its U.S. suppliers to switch to a less cruel slaughter method, we'll be in town.
We warned you that Andy Dick was going to make an appearance in Chicago dressed as "Ronald McDonald" to scare McDonald's executives straight and try to convince them to switch their current method of chicken slaughter—which often involves scalding live birds to death—to controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK).Yesterday, Andy delivered on that promise and was out in front of the Clark Street McDonald's theatrically slicing demo posters in half with his "knife" and making menacing faces for the photographers. Check out the raw footage and some images of the protest below.
Andy's "Ronald" sure is scary, isn't he? I'll bet he has McDonald's head honchos shaking in their boots.
On Sunday, a group of visitors to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium took part in what can only be described as one of the most morbid lessons in fish appreciation that we've heard of.
After aquarium patrons had had their fill of staring at aquatic animals in glass prisons, they were taken to a back room and taught how to cut up and make raw sushi out of the dead cousins of the fish and crabs they'd just oohed and aahed over.
It's all part of the aquarium's "Right Bite" program, which aims to teach people that they can continue eating fish as long as it's not an "overfished" species. What the program fails to teach its students is that all ocean animals, whether bluefin tuna or Dungeness crabs, feel pain when they are drug up from their watery home in a net and forced to suffocate on the deck of a ship. Did they miss the recent study about crabs?
This institution says it "connects people to the living world," but it actually teaches visitors—including children—that fish are just things: food without feelings. Any way you slice it, that's just plain wrong.
Forget paying to check your luggage or being charged for an in-flight drink; if you're a passenger on United Airlines with a little extra "personal baggage," the airline might charge you double. United says that overweight passengers must pay for two seats instead of one.
That's why PETA is asking to put up a billboard at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport with this advice for passengers:
It's a fact: Vegetarians and vegans are, on average, some 10 to twenty pounds lighter than meat-eaters. So, switching to a vegetarian diet isn't just good for your health—it could leave you with some extra cash for cute souvenirs.
John Salley is the first man to win four different NBA championships with three different teams, the man who helped lead the Bulls to their record 72-win season, the current host of the Best Damn Sports Show Period, an actor in one of my favorite movies of all time and … alright, I'm gushing. We'll just leave it at this: This dude is a pretty big deal.
John's going to be in Chicago today, talking to hundreds of kids about the amazing things his vegetarian lifestyle has done for his game, both on and off the court. And to give the kids a taste (literally) of what he's talking about, John and PETA are going to be giving away free veggie burgers from Chicago's Soul Vegetarian East. I don't think I could be more jealous!
If you're in the area, stop by and try getting an autograph (and a burger) for me. If not, no worries: We'll have pictures from the event for you tomorrow. Until then, check out John's vegetarian testimonial:
Here are some photos from the event:
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.
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