Written by PETA
VICTORY! PLRS Closing; More Than 200 Animals to Be Freed.
"You could cringe watching this cat being yanked from a chain-linked fence. Or gasp in disbelief when you see this dog's tooth being pulled by pliers. Snapshots of sores on dogs—heartbreaking."
Those aren't PETA's words—they're some of the opening lines of a news story about our investigation of Professional Laboratory and Research Services (PLRS). Our undercover investigation documented the shocking abuse of dogs, cats, and rabbits by employees at PLRS. The story broke in this Associated Press piece, and the abuses have caught the attention of both local and national media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog.
Facebook fans have linked our video to their newsfeeds, and PETA pals Pam Anderson, Bill Maher, and Sophia Bush have Twittered about our campaign. Now we'd like to know what actions you've taken to get the word out about animal cruelty at PLRS. Tell us below.
Written by Karin Bennett
Come on now, can you really help animals and support PETA's lifesaving work with just a few minutes online?
That's a resounding "yes"—just ask some of our top members on Causes. Causes is the number-one tool on Facebook to help you speak up for the issues you care about. You can create a cause to support a nonprofit (such as PETA), create petitions for your favorite campaigns, and donate to your favorite Causes. We here at PETA are lucky to be connected to more than 300 Causes with a total of more than 5 million dedicated members!
With so many supporters signing petitions and recruiting new members, it's hard to choose the best. So instead, we bring you just some of our most active members on Causes. These are the people who go all out—invite everyone they know, promote petitions and messages, and keep the Cause pages active.
Top Petition Signature–Gatherers
Top Recruiters
Join me in giving a huge thank-you to these 10 committed people. Show your appreciation for their work by giving them props on each of their linked Causes profiles.
Think you can beat these members' achievements? Join PETA on Causes and show us what you can do!
Got plans this upcoming Monday night? Cancel them. Spend the evening with Jane Velez-Mitchell instead! If you've watched her show, Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell on Headline News (HLN), you know that this longtime vegan and PETA supporter is a dedicated animal rights activist who never misses an opportunity to speak up for animals. Now, she's hosting an unprecedented hour-long special devoted entirely to animal rights!
An exciting opportunity to bring animal welfare issues to the masses, Jane's show will take on topics such as the impact that the oil spill is having on animals, factory farming, the government's round-up of wild horses, the breeding of monkeys in Puerto Rico, and so much more. The program will also include interviews with PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange, Bob Barker, and actors Pierce Brosnan, and Jorja Fox. So grab your friends (or set your DVR), and watch!
"Jane Fights for Animal Rights" will air on Monday, July 5, at 7 p.m. ET on Headline News (HLN).
It's important to show networks that people are interested in animal rights issues, so please watch the program and thank CNN for airing it. Head on over to Facebook to RSVP to this event, and we'll even remind you to tune in!
Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth
From plane flyovers to 18-hour tub-ins, people are saying "enough" to SeaWorld's exploitation of orcas, bottlenose dolphins, and other animals. And now, even if you live nowhere near Orlando, San Antonio, or San Diego—where SeaWorld forces marine mammals to spend their entire lives in tiny tanks—you can still make a difference for animals if you RSVP to our virtual protest on Facebook and participate in it on June 18.
SeaWorld, which owns most of the captive orcas and bottlenose dolphins in the U.S., has a hideous history of animal exploitation. Marine mammals suffer for years in tanks that are only a few times larger than their bodies. They are never able to swim freely, feel the ocean current, or enjoy life in a closely knit pod, and they die far short of the life span that they would enjoy if they lived in the ocean where they belong. And the park's death toll is staggering, counting not only orcas such as Taima, her mother, and her stillborn calf but also humans, including the trainer who was killed by Tilly the orca in February.
If you RSVP for the Facebook event now and update your Facebook status with a comment about SeaWorld on Friday, you and all the friends you can muster can show park officials that their deadly attraction belongs in the history books.
Spread the word to your friends and family: Never buy a ticket to SeaWorld.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
OK, so the weekend's almost here, but if you need a little something to get you through the workday, jump on over to Facebook to check out our new game, Shivering Kittens.
Don't let the sad-sounding name throw you. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to rescue the chilly kitties from a frigid fate—and invite your friends to join in. As a bonus, they'll learn a bit about how to help protect cats here in the real world. Gameplay is simplicity itself (think Tetris with a twist), and the grateful felines will even give you a thankful "meow" when you help them out of their predicament. Who knows? Trying to beat my high score of 134 saved kittens could even inspire you to spend the rest of your weekend—or your life—being a champion for animals!
Written by Jeff Mackey
We are happy to report that Zynga, the creator of the phenomenally popular Facebook crime game Mafia Wars, has nixed the pit bull as a fighting tool. Countless social gamers stopped plowing their FarmVille fields long enough to voice their objections to Zynga about the game's negative depiction of this most used-and-abused breed, and the company quickly responded in just the right way.
We'll be sending Zynga a thank-you note and a box of vegan chocolates as a token of our appreciation, and Mafia Wars "maniacs" can voice their approval to Zynga's customer service center.
Ronald's busy peddling dead, dismembered chickens to children, so McDonald's hired Rick Wion to promote its cruel products on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. So let's welcome Rick to our big, happy online family and politely let him know why we're not eating at McDonald's.
PETA has more than 60,000 followers on Twitter, so this is a great opportunity for us all to band together and encourage McDonald's new director of social media to do what he can to help chickens from the inside by signing our Twitition.
If you haven't already, "like" PETA on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay in the know about ways you can help chickens and other animals!
Written by Heather Moore
The popular Facebook game Mafia Wars has just introduced a new game "tool": animals to use in the fights, including but not limited to snarling pit bulls.
Sure, it's just a game, but perpetuating the image of pit bulls as fighting machines is reckless and wrong. It is particularly troubling in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a law banning the distribution of videos glorifying such cruelty to animals. Pit bulls already face a public relations battle and are the most abused breed of dog. PETA's fieldworkers see pit bulls in horrific conditions every day. They are frequently kept chained or penned, they are taunted and trained to be aggressive, and they are beaten and starved—sometimes to death.
This is a rare, er, misfire for Zynga, the maker of lots of popular online games (you might have heard of a little one called Farmville). Zynga recently started offering special bulldogs in YoVille, the proceeds of which are donated to the San Francisco SPCA. So let's hope that it will listen to our appeal. You can also send the company your own polite comments asking it to leave animals out of Mafia Wars.
Thanks for all your support and your fantastic comments about this awful addition to Mafia Wars. Please be sure to let Zynga know how you feel, too, by sending a polite comment to Zynga's customer help center.
Victory Update: Following a year of vigorous campaigning, PETA has learned that government officials have grounded plans for a cruel and ineffective radiation experiment on monkeys. Learn more about this victory for monkeys.
It's World Week for Animals in Laboratories—do you know where your tweets are? Hopefully, they will soon be winging their way to NASA, with 140 characters of outrage (politely worded, of course) at its absurd plan to spend $1.75 million to bombard up to 30 squirrel monkeys with radiation and then lock them up and watch their bodies and minds deteriorate (which, based on past radiation experiments, could include blindness, brain tumors, and other types of cancer).
After you've tweeted at NASA, head on over to Lori Garver's Facebook page (she's NASA's deputy administrator) to let her know where you weigh in on the "Save the Monkeys" debate. And don't forget to link to PETA's action alert on your home page.
Then pick up the phone and give Garver (202-358-1020) and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden (202-358-1010) a call. Tell them you'd much prefer that your tax dollars be spent on modern, humane research methods that actually have some relevance to humans.
Finally, ask your congressional representative to use his or her influence to blast NASA's cruel, wasteful, and possibly illegal plan to another galaxy—preferably one with no life forms that the space agency can exploit.
Written by Alisa Mullins
It was 20 degrees in Michigan, and this small dog was tethered outdoors without any shelter to protect her from the plummeting temperatures. She was shivering, lonely, and suffering from a severe skin infection that was causing her fur—her only defense against the bitter cold—to fall out.
A compassionate passerby alerted PETA's Emergency Response Team that the dog appeared to be in danger. It was late, but we promptly notified a solid dedicated humane officer who with whom we'd worked with in the past. Despite being off duty at the time, he rushed to the scene and made a heartfelt plea to the dog's guardians, who, thankfully, agreed to relinquish her into his custody on the spot. The dog, later named Suzy, was whisked to a nearby animal shelter for immediate assessment and care. Shortly after the rescue, the wonderful humane officer posted pictures of Suzy and an account of the incident on his Facebook page. His post stated, "Strange thing just happened; I just got a call from PETA requesting I check on a dog …. Don't know how they got my # but I'm off to go check, after all I gave my word that I would."
Every winter, we're inundated with calls about dogs who are relegated to lonely back yards by people who refuse to allow them inside and make them a part of their family. These dogs are often forced to withstand freezing temperatures, often with nothing more than a plastic barrel or a lean-to as shelter from the ice, sleet, and snow. Not only are these dogs cold and miserable, they are susceptible to hypothermia, frostbite, and even death. Although winter is especially harsh, chaining a dog is never a safe or acceptable option. Dogs are social pack animals who want and deserve companionship. If you ever spot a dog in need, please do everything you can to help, including alerting local officials to your concerns. Your voice can make a difference!
Written by Logan Scherer
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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