Written by PETA
That's the number of glue traps—123—that have now been removed from the shelves of Gelson's Supermarkets in Southern California thanks to PETA member Renee Papadapolous.
Renee's letter to Gelson's—in which she described how mice and other animals suffer hemorrhaging, shock, and other horrors when stuck in "pans of pain"—earned a speedy reply from the chain. She admits, "I was actually surprised at the quick, positive, and friendly response …."
Friendly indeed! Gelson's immediately assured Renee that it would stop selling glue traps as soon as its current stock ran out. Thankful that Gelson's was taking such swift action, Renee still thought that something more could be done, so she offered to buy the chain's remaining stock of 123 glue traps. The entire stock was shipped to her, and she destroyed them.
Renee's refusal to rest until rodents were spared has earned her our "Compassionate Action Award"—it's also a reminder that one person really can make a difference for animals by taking action. Now are you ready? One … two … three … go!
Written by Karin Bennett
Members of the lunch crowd at a McDonald's in Providence, Rhode Island, probably weren't expecting to be greeted by a giant "chicken" bearing "Unhappy Meals" when they headed out on their lunch breaks. But hardly anyone could resist the lure of our chicken, and word is that almost every driver stopped to talk with the big bird and his posse. Many people even went elsewhere for lunch once they learned how countless chickens are forced to suffer painful broken bones, bruises, and scalding—while they're still alive—at slaughterhouses run by McDonald's suppliers.
Demonstrators are revved up to distribute leaflets all summer long. Get in on the action and help bring McDonald's to its knees. Sign up for our Action Team today!
Through the Freedom of Information Act, the Physician's Committeee for Responsible Medicine (PRCM) has obtained video footage of several Department of Defense military trauma training exercises.
In training exercises that are supposed to simulate the effects of a nerve agent attack, monkeys experience seizures and difficulty breathing. In another exercise, live goats are cut open—causing severe bleeding—while the instructor repeatedly acknowledges the differences between the training and human casualties. All this suffering is inflicted in order to train military medics—who would learn more if they were provided with state-of-the-art simulators and rotations in trauma hospitals.
We have been working hard to eliminate these cruel exercises in the U.S. and in countries around the globe. After PETA campaigned against cruel dog stabbings, Bolivia banned all animal use from military training. Now, Georgia Congressmember Hank Johnson, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, is calling on the Army to phase out antiquated trauma training on animals.
Urge your congressperson to co-sign Congressmember Hank Johnson's letter and help put an end to the military's war on animals.
Posted by Karin Bennett
This Sunday is Father's Day, which means that dads who don't know any better may be taking their kids fishing. Anglers run the risk of eating someone's father (or mother) every time they rip a sea kitten out of the water, and that doesn't sound like a very good way to celebrate fatherhood to me.
To help spread the truth about fishing, we sent a former fisher and his giant finned friend to Fort Myers Beach in Florida. Check out the pics, and don't forget to wish your dad a happy Father's Day!
Written by Lianne Turner
Bristol-based graffiti artist Banksy's latest exhibit, "Banksy v Bristol Museum," is a guerilla-style installation at Bristol's City Museum and Art Gallery and features several … well … creative replacements for many of the museum's artifacts.
It's great to see Banksy continue to explore the theme of human/animal interactions, which he also hit upon in his "Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill" exhibit in New York's Greenwich Village last fall and which I was fortunate to have the opportunity to check out in person. If you live in the U.K. or are planning to visit soon, you should definitely check out what Banksy calls his "vision of the future."
Written by Amanda Schinke
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.
Written by Shawna Flavell
Caravans of caring Phish phans are sure to put their phins, er, hands together and cheer when they learn that PETA has asked the legendary jam band to change its name to Sea Kittens.
After all, sea kittens are phriends, not phood—they are intelligent beings who have unique personalities, and they feel pain, just as puppies do. People would be outraged if billons of Phidos were dragged out of their homes in massive nets and left to suffocate to death.
I'm crossing my fingers that Phish will agree. Check out these lyrics from the band's live track, "A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing":
(Run away, run away, run away, run)A song I heard the ocean sing(Run away, run away, run away, run) Shining light in darkness deep
Swap "run away" with "swim away" and it appears that Phish is warning sea kittens to escape the fishing trawlers, doesn't it?
I'm sure that once her career was over, Shawn would have been sent off to Japan and ground up into dog food anyway.
We know that fish sea kittens are intelligent. How about ingenious? Indeed!
According to recent findings published in the journal Behavioral Ecology, nine-spined sticklebacks are able to hone in on their best dining options simply by watching other fish. One of the authors of the study remarked that this makes the animals "geniuses of the fish world."
Nine-spined sticklebacks have one up on yours truly. When I dine out, I have to visit Menupages.com to figure out where to go.
I do, however, live with a genius. Watch my best buddy, Charlie, pick his squeaky beer can toy, a gift from his Aunt Lisa, out of a lineup of toys.
Think your other-than-human friend can top that? Tell all in the comments section below!
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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