Written by Michelle Kretzer
It's Cyber Monday, the day when online shoppers can find deals on everything from flat screens to flat sheets. But there's one retailer whose sales should just flatline: bebe.
Why throw bebe out with the bathwater? Unlike many of its compassionate competitors—including J.Crew, Talbots, and Limited Brands—bebe has begun selling real fur. The company apparently thinks that nothing screams "festive" like animals screaming while the skin is ripped off their bodies.
So five animals whose friends and family members are often killed for their fur are here to show everyone that real fur looks good only on its original owner and to ask you to make bebe a no-no this holiday season.
1. Rabbits are hopping mad at bebe.
2. Dogs want you to walk them, not wear them.
3. Foxes need your help to outfox cruel companies that still sell fur.
4. Cats are ready to give bebe some serious catitude.
5. Chinchillas are chatterboxes when they're together, and you can bet they would have plenty to say about bebe's fur coats.
Please tell bebe that you won't buy while animals die and urge the company to finally ditch fur furever.
Written by PETA
After hearing the story of Lynn Jones, a baggage handler who, appallingly, was fired for protecting a suffering dog, we decided to do what her employer should have done—give her an award.
Jones was working at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Nevada when she spotted an emaciated dog inside a carrier in the cargo area who was covered with sores. The animal's paws were raw and bloody, and he was too weak to stand. Jones doubted that he would survive the flight.
She refused to give in to her supervisor's demands that she load the suffering animal onto a plane until, finally, airport police called animal control, which arranged for the dog to receive veterinary care. The animal was eventually transported to his original destination, much to the dismay of Jones, who said she would have been happy to adopt the dog.
"I wouldn't have traded that job for anything," Jones said "I wouldn't have risked it for anything. But I just couldn't turn my back on that dog. ... My supervisor said it wasn't my concern, but animal abuse is everyone's concern who sees it."
Apparently shamed by the international attention Jones' story has garnered, her employer has now reportedly reconsidered and offered Jones her job back. We'd say a new policy regarding the transport of obviously sick and injured animals would be in order as well. Call it "Lynn's Law."
When 10-year-old Nicky Schwarz learned that the principal of his California elementary school had agreed to eat fried worms if the students read for a half-million minutes, this kind kid sprang into action. Nicky circulated a petition calling for an alternative to the event and rallied his friends and classmates to speak up, too—and the stunt was called off!
For demonstrating that compassion should apply to all beings, Nicky received a PETA Kids Compassionate Action Award. We sent this smart fifth-grader a framed certificate, a letter of recognition, and a bagful of PETA goodies.
Help inspire the kids you know to turn their compassion into action by giving them a copy of PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk's book 50 Awesome Ways Kids Can Help Animals.
PETA is giving a Compassionate Action Award to Mark Greenaway, a Gatineau, Québec, resident who rescued a dog from a burning building. Greenaway isn't a firefighter, but when he saw smoke coming from a duplex, he risked his own life by running into both burning apartments to save anyone who might be inside. In the second apartment, he found a dog trapped inside a locked cage. He ripped off the front of the cage and carried the dog to safety. This dog's close call serves as a reminder of the dangers of crating. A crated dog is powerless to escape disasters like fires or floods (PETA found many dogs drowned in their cages in the wake of Hurricane Katrina), and crating also denies dogs the opportunity to engage in normal activities such as walking around, stretching out to relax, and looking out windows.
If you are tempted to crate your dog as a form of house training, please keep in mind that puppies don't develop bladder control until they are 6 months old, so crating will not necessarily prevent "accidents." Please consider alternatives to crating such as dog-training classes, doggie day care, a dog walker, or a dog door that leads to a fenced yard. It's also a great idea to post a sticker on your window in case of a fire or other emergency to let people know that you have companion animals in your home.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
PETA has given a Compassionate Action Award to three Ohio schoolteachers and a local firefighter for rescuing a dog who was trapped in the middle of an icy river.
Shelli Smith and Christy Lawrence spotted the dog, who was stranded on the frozen Maumee River, and stopped to help. After getting advice from fellow teacher and animal advocate Lynn Henderman, the pair called for help. Washington Township firefighter Mel Russell ventured out onto the ice in a hovercraft and eventually managed to pull the frightened animal to safety. The happy mutt will be put up for adoption if he is not claimed.
Rescues can take many different forms, from speaking up to paying up. Please, never walk past or drive by an animal in trouble. Review these tips so you'll be ready to spring into action!
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
I think that artistic people are so fantastic. But I'm even more impressed when people take their artistic talent and use it to spread a message—like "elephants never forget." Needless to say, I was bowled over when I saw this piece by Amy Grace in Hot Springs, Arkansas:
Really catches your eye, right? We were so taken with Amy's piece that we're sending her a Compassionate Action Award for spreading such an important message. Check out what Amy has to say:
What inspired you to create this piece?
When PETA sent out their mailing about circus elephants and I got to reading about what those animals go through. It's so painful for me to hear about any animal suffering, and what's happening to these poor elephants is unjust. What's more sad is that a lot of people don't even know what is happening, and so they pay their money to go to the circus, which only supports the injustice that is being done. I thought that with my photography and design combined, I could help to catch a little attention to bring some awareness to the issue.
Graphic design is a very powerful way to spread the message of Ringling's cruelty to animals. How have people reacted?
So far, people have been touched by the image, I think, and some even felt inclined to have more in-depth conversations about the issue of animal rights in general—while others, I think, swept it to the side as just another "activist stunt." If I can get through to just one person, though, then it's a job well done. Just one person can make a big difference.
Are you into any other animal rights issues?
I am concerned for all animals and their well-being—from the animals on factory farms, to those being tested for products, to those being skinned for fur, to those being beaten and abused in their own home. I may not be able to save all of them—but I do what I can to help, in the best way I can. For me, artistic expression is what I do best, and I think it is a powerful medium that when wielded right can really catch people's attention, open them up to compassion, and persuade them to make changes in their own small ways.
I totally agree. Leave a comment below with your favorite way to spread the animal rights message!
Written by Marta Holmberg
It's so hot in the city, you'd think I'd be making another batch of lemonade—but I've got a hankering for some Internet Soup. It's been a while since the last batch, so dig in!
Oof! I don't know about you, but I'm full after all that soup—and guac. This Special K needs a siesta. Until next time …
Written by Karin Bennett
It's spring! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the dueling robins I saw on my way to work this morning are a sign that it's mating season. With animals across the country looking for love, a $150,000 grant awarded by the Vermont Agency of Transportation's Transportation Enhancements Grant Committee (TEGC) couldn't have come at a better time. The Monkton Conservation Commission in Vermont plans to use the grant to install a "salamander crossing" under Monkton's Vergennes Road, which the state's leading reptile and amphibian expert describes as "one of the most important of the known amphibian crossings in the state." This passage will offer amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals a safe way to travel between uplands southeast of the road and an important swamp northwest of the crossing—by helping them avoid the dangers that claim the lives of millions of animals who become roadkill every year in the U.S. For recognizing that all animals deserve consideration and protection, PETA is giving the Vermont Agency of Transportation a Compassionate Action Award.
With "ecopassages" (both under and above roads) popping up all over the country—including Massachusetts' salamander tunnels and California's cougar corridors—animals everywhere are having an easier time traveling, getting food, and mating. Have you spotted any ecopassages in your community?
Written by Logan Scherer
A golfer is grabbing headlines, but it's not who you might think.
Michelle Wie—one of the Time 100, a list of "people who shape our world"—recently said that when she's not on the course, she likes to bake vegan cookies and muffins from her own recipes.
Is this golfer-turned-baker busy perfecting the cruelty-free donut hole-in-one? (It's OK to groan. That was bad.)
Via Vegetarian Star
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?
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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