Written by PETA
Reigning Scummiest CEO of the Year Bob Parsons of Go Daddy claimed in his now infamous video that the elephant he gunned down was a "problem bull." Actually, it seems that Parsons killed a young female elephant. Joyce Poole, director of research and conservation at Elephant Voices, has studied elephants for more than 30 years. She said that the elephant's slender tusks and lack of visible genitalia leave her with "little doubt" about the elephant's age and sex.
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As for Parsons' self-promoting claims of charity, the chair of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, Johnny Rodrigues, said that by killing a member of the elephants' family, Parsons only scared and angered the elephants, making the situation worse. "They have very good memories and the trauma makes them aggressive toward humans …," he said.
With his "charity" excuse discredited, what will Billionaire Bob's next excuse be? Don't wait to find out. Send him an e-mail telling him that you are dumping Go Daddy's services today.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
Tonight, on her CNN Headline News show, PETA pal Jane Velez-Mitchell is going after gun-slinging Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons. Jane will be hosting PETA campaigner Ashley Byrne, who will talk about Parsons' gunning down of an elephant in Zimbabwe, although anyone who is smart enough to pronounce the words "bloodthirsty millionaire CEO" can see that there are many ways to keep elephants from getting into villagers' crops that don't involve violence.
Also on tonight's show, True Blood's Kristin Bauer will talk with Jane about a group of 14 chimpanzees who were "retired" to New Mexico's Alamogordo Primate Facility after years of torment in cruel experiments, only to be dragged back to a laboratory by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to be used in more invasive tests. PETA and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine are working to get the animals retired for good.
Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell airs tonight on CNN Headline News at 7 p.m. ET. If you take issue with cruelty to animals like Jane does, send an e-mail to Bob Parsons telling him you won't be using Go Daddy's services until he agrees to stop blowing away animals. And tell the NIH and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that the Alamogordo chimpanzees need to retire right now.
Bob Parsons, CEO of Go Daddy, is so heinous that we created an award just for him: the Scummiest CEO of the Year Award.
Parsons recently boasted on his blog that he traveled to Zimbabwe to shoot elephants and posted a graphic video of the slaughter. He tried to justify the killing by pointing out that elephants sometimes eat farmers' crops, saying, "It's one of the most beneficial and rewarding things I do."
We don't see how it could be "beneficial" or "rewarding" to mow down animals who are among the most intelligent and social on Earth. Elephants reason, use tools, and have exceptional memories. They are the only species besides humans, great apes, and dolphins who have been shown to be "self aware" (meaning that they can recognize themselves in a mirror).
Elephants form deep bonds and comfort and protect each other. Their mourning rituals over the death of a family member rival any that we humans have developed. How many elephants are mourning the family member whom Parsons killed for fun? And it certainly was for fun, since there are many humane ways to keep elephants away from crops, like chili-infused string, cowbells, and spotlights.
PETA is canceling our account with Go Daddy and taking our domain-name business elsewhere—and we're asking everyone to do the same. Please email Bob Parsons and tell him you will not use Go Daddy's services until he agrees to stop shooting animals.
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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