Last year, thanks to several thousand e-mails from PETA supporters and members, the Department of Transportation (DOT) recommended that companies that ship chemicals conduct the required skin corrosion tests without hurting and killing rabbits. Now, thanks to another huge effort, DOT has at last updated its website to reflect this change.

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A Victory That Was Years in the Making

Almost 20 years ago, in response to a PETA campaign, DOT approved the use of non-animal testing methods, but the agency made it difficult for companies to get the results of those tests accepted.

Then last year, after PETA filed a rulemaking petition and thousands of animal advocates asked DOT to support it, the agency agreed to encourage and promote non-animal corrosion tests, although its website and guidance documents still promoted the rabbit test and even suggested that companies use both the animal and non-animal methods and choose the results that they preferred! But that all changed this week, following additional PETA complaints and a letter to the DOT inspector general, when DOT finally scrubbed its site of any reference to the rabbit test and issued new guidance highlighting the three non-animal corrosion test methods.

We responded by sending the DOT official a box of vegan chocolate rabbits as a thank-you on behalf of rabbits everywhere.

What You Can Do

Victories like this wouldn't be possible without the help of PETA members and supporters like you. Please check out the other PETA campaigns that need your action now.

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Very scary new stats released by the U.S. Department of Transportation show that dogs with short muzzles (such as pugs, bulldogs, and boxers) make up about half of all dogs who have died in airplane cargo holds during the past five years. Veterinarians surmise that "respiratory issues" are to blame for these dogs' higher death rates. Many dogs and cats who have been purposely bred for pushed-in faces have difficulty breathing and exercising even under normal circumstances.

No dog, cat, or any living being should have to endure the terror and trauma of being wedged among the baggage in a loud, dark, strange place in which they experience the unfathomable sensation of being borne aloft, far from their guardians. In order to help prevent fires, most cargo compartments are unventilated, and when systems fail, as they sometimes do, temperatures inside can quickly reach extremes of cold when the plane is in the air and extremes of heat when it's on the tarmac. Let's promise never to treat our animal companions like luggage and always to drive them to our destination or leave them safe at home with a trusted caretaker if they can't fit under the cabin seat.

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post