Written by Michelle Kretzer
Last night's episode of All-American Muslim caused many viewers to have an all-American meltdown.
One of the show's "stars," Shadia Amen-McDermott, cited allergies and insisted that her husband, Jeff McDermott, get rid of his elderly dog, Wrigley. When the cameras recorded a sad and confused Wrigley trying to follow his beloved guardians after they dropped him off at his new home, the Twitterverse exploded with cries for the couple to take back the dog and for viewers to boycott TLC until they did.
PETA supporter and Running Russell Simmons star Simone Reyes posted an online letter to Amen-McDermott beseeching her to do the right thing.
[M]y heart was beating outside of my chest with sadness and rage. … [I]f you mess with an animal I'm coming for you. So, here I am and I'm calling you out.
PETA is getting into the fray by offering TLC a public service announcement highlighting how Islam teaches compassion for animals and abstention from cruelty. The timing couldn't be better, since Lowe's pulled all its ads from the show amidst controversy over the show's Muslim theme. We're hoping that TLC can find a place for our poignant message.
And we hope that the Amen-McDermott household can find a place in their hearts for Wrigley. After devoting his life to Jeff, the last thing Wrigley deserves is to spend his golden years feeling rejected.
Written by PETA
Countless consumers, knowing little to nothing about how to deal humanely with mice, buy the Ortho Home Defense MAX Kill & Contain Mouse Trap because it promises a quick, out-of-sight death, with "no mess." But not so fast! PETA is hearing that numerous people have been horrified to discover squeaking mice inside the traps, alive and conscious but bloody and writhing from their injuries.
After Scotts Miracle-Gro Company refused to respond to our letter detailing our concerns with these cruel devices, PETA filed a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission seeking action against the company for its misleading claims—and we've asked Scotts Miracle-Gro chair and CEO James Hagedorn to pull the traps from store shelves, as we believe that the company is violating the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
"Scotts' deceptive advertising is fooling people into thinking that they are buying a humane mousetrap when what they are actually getting is a miniature torture chamber," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. Indeed, mice who become caught in these traps die slowly from stress-induced struggling, dehydration, heat prostration, or starvation.
So until further notice, put Scotts Miracle-Gro with that other company that Lowesballs both truth in advertising and compassion for mice. We promise to keep you updated on developments regarding this case—and we ask that you promise to always be kind to mice by using this humane, effective trap.
Written by Karin Bennett
Last year, PETA filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Motomco, the glue trap manufacturer that supplies Lowe's with its sticky death traps. Our complaint stated that Motomco was selling misleadingly labeled glue traps designed to make people believe that these traps were somehow acceptable. The label stated that the glue trap contained a naturally occurring anesthetic called eugenol, implying that animals caught in the trap did not suffer or feel pain. In reality, they do suffer and feel extreme pain.
We recently received a letter from the FTC letting us know that our complaint has officially been closed—because Motomco has removed the misleading claim about eugenol from its packaging and promotion materials!
Since Motomco's glue traps are the only brand that Lowe's sells—and Lowe's claims that it only sells glue traps that are "humane" because of eugenol—we hope that the change in Motomco's packaging will be the final push that Lowe's needs to pull glue traps from its shelves. Because it can no longer hide behind Motomco's misrepresentations, we've written to the home improvement company asking it to immediately rid its stores of the cruelest mouse traps on the market today.
Humane alternatives do exist and it's time for Lowe's to join other retailers, including Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Safeway, Dollar Tree, and Albertsons, in banning the sale of glue traps. Click here to find out how you can help.
G'day, mates! I'm stoked to tell you that the blokes in Victoria, Australia, have given the flick to cruel mousetraps. It's a rip snorter of a decision, and our hats are off to ya. Onya, Aussies!
Translation: Hello! Great news: The government in Victoria, Australia, just passed its new and improved Prevention of Cruelty to Animals regulations and (drum roll, please) glue traps are now highly regulated and can only be used by commercial pest-control operators and only after they get approval from Victoria's agriculture minister. This is a landmark victory for animals and will significantly cut down on the number of glue traps used in Victoria. Yay!
It seems the whole world is realizing that glue traps are cruel and unnecessary (it's about time!). Animals who become trapped in the sticky adhesive substance suffer for days before succumbing to starvation, dehydration, suffocation, and shock. The torturous conditions drive animals to rip off patches of skin and fur while struggling to escape, and many even attempt to chew off their own limbs. Safeway, Rite Aid, CVS, Walgreens, the Dollar Tree, and now the whole state of Victoria have banned the cruel traps. So come on, Lowe's! Won't you please stop selling them already?
You know what's even more amazing about Victoria's new regulations? The passing of the updated resolutions not only strictly regulates glue traps but also does the following:
You can check out the full version of the regulations here.
Anyone up for a victory barbie?
Written by Liz Graffeo
There's nothing I'd rather do than write PETA's blog while everyone else is dancing and drinking Mojitos … Wait, I mean shoveling their cars out of a snowdrift or still stranded at an airport! Around this time last year, I mentioned once or twice how much I love "Top 10" lists. Well, while some things change, like Paris Hilton's furry ways—my love of lists, however, remains. And it seems I'm not the only one at PETA …
And so, I give you the "Top 10 PETA Top 10 Lists," as agreed upon by consensus by me.
10. PETA's Top 10 Patriotic AdsBecause I was going to put our "Sexiest Vegetarian Soldiers" on this list until I realized that we only announced five winners (one for each branch).
9. Top 10 Best Meals in Norfolk, VirginiaBecause I wrote the list. And I like to eat.
8. Top 10 'Ditch Exotic Skin' CampaignsBecause the cold-blooded exotic skins industry is just as bad as the fur industry.
7. Top 10 Animal-Friendly SuperheroesBecause I'm a nerd. That's right!
6. Top 10 Impotence AdsBecause how many organizations or companies could compile a list of their top impotence ads?
5. Top 10 Vegetarian-Friendly PrisonsBecause in some places prisoners get so obese they have to let them go. No joke.
4. Top 10 Most Karmic Moments for Animal Abusers in 2008Because you get what's coming to you.
3. Top 10 Vegetarian-Friendly BallparksBecause it's a classic! Come on, Norfolk Tides—let's get you back on the Minor League List next year!
2. Top 10 Most Over-Bred DogsBecause it is shocking and absolutely awful how much breedism is out there. I cringe every time I hear someone ask what type of breed an animal is.
1. Top 10 Reasons Not to Eat Tuna or Salmon Because people kill so many fish for food each year. But ya know we also have lists for pigs, turkeys, cows, and chickens.
What's noticeably missing from this list? Along with um … PETA's Top 10 Products to Stock Your Desk With and 28 years' worth of other top 10 lists, you might also notice the absence of peta2's popular annual Top 10 Most Vegetarian-Friendly Colleges. Well after my alma mater lost in the final round to someone else's, I'm still demanding a recount!
And lastly, if that's not enough for you, I suggest you check out our Top 10 Reasons to Go Vegetarian in 2009.
Written by Joel Bartlett
Our fearless campaigners have been hard at work exposing cruelty to animals—and sometimes quite a bit of themselves—all across the country!
A Lowe's in San Diego received a visit from a bikini-clad "mouse," who lay in front of the store on her own glue trap. In case you didn't know, Lowe's still sells hideously cruel glue traps— the kind in which animals can suffer for days before succumbing to starvation, dehydration, suffocation, and shock.
Meanwhile, PETA demonstrators have been visiting cities in Iowa and Nebraska to show the eating populace exactly what factory farming means for animals with these eye-catching gestation crate sculptures. It's hard to buy ham and Spam when you are crying!
Finally, our "tiger" visited some cities in the southeastern U.S., where she sat in a cage to demonstrate the cruelty of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Shreveporters were especially interested to see our tiger, because the last time PETA came to their town, the demonstrators were dragged off by the police! This time, law enforcement officials behaved themselves. Our tiger also captured a lot of attention in Little Rock!
And, while we're on the subject of Ringling Bros.—we heard that Hansons Windows, a home repair company in Michigan, was offering free circus tickets. No, that's not the great news—the great news is this: When we wrote to the folks at Hansons Windows and explained to them how animals in Ringling circuses are beaten, forced to perform tricks, and kept in chains or tiny cages for most of their lives, the president of Hansons ended the promotion!
Kudos to Hansons Windows for making the compassionate choice—and kudos to our campaigners for the great demos!
Written by Amanda Schinke
Though we can all agree that neglecting to feed an animal companion is pretty low, what about knowingly starving or denying an animal water until he or she dies? Well, that's what glue traps do, which is why selling them makes Lowe's the lowest of the low.
We've sent out one of our custom campaign vans to visit Lowe's stores in North Carolina, to remind shoppers of what, exactly, the glue traps that Lowe's sells inevitably do—cause immense suffering and ensure a slow death to whatever animal is unlucky enough to touch one.
Check out the photos from our demo (and just imagine what you'd think if you passed this van with our mouse friend here in the driver's seat … yeah, we're good at grabbing attention):
Unlike other major retailers, such as Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Albertsons, and Safeway, Lowe's has refused to drop these deadly devices from its inventory. Join Ms. Giant Rat in encouraging Lowe's to change its cruel policy.
Written by Sean Conner
Imagine stumbling into a sticky substance so strong that you couldn't break away from it. Frantic, you struggle to pry yourself free, but all that happens is that you tear patches of your skin and hair off or get your mouth and nose stuck in it and start to suffocate.
That is exactly what mice, rats, birds, squirrels, hamsters, kittens, and other small animals stuck on glue traps endure. Some even try to chew off a paw in order to escape otherwise certain death. Some, helplessly trapped, die of dehydration. Motomco, which makes some of these little torture devices, is telling shoppers that one of its products is humane. George Orwell might be spinning in his grave.
Here's the scoop: Motomco puts a substance called eugenol in the trap, citing that it is a "naturally occurring anesthetic." Eugenol can be a pain reliever but only when it is injected into an animal's bloodstream or pumped directly into the stomach. But just as you don't get drunk by rolling around in alcohol, animals' pain isn't taken away when they come into contact with eugenol. In fact, studies show that eugenol can cause animals to suffer more by causing a painful burning sensation, vomiting, and nausea.
Is Motomco trying to sell its sticky glue traps by duping compassionate consumers who don't want to harm animals? We think so, and PETA has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeking action against the company for false advertising.
You can read our FTC complaint here. If you have purchased a Motomco trap, thinking it was a humane solution, or if you know people who have, please let us know!
Oh, and if this whole ordeal with Motomco weren't bad enough, Lowe's is still selling these terrible contraptions.
Written by Grace Friedan
We have an urgent action alert up on our site right now, asking department store chain Lowe’s to pull the glue traps from its shelves ASAP. The deal with glue traps (as a lot of people find out the hard way when they use them) is that they’re exactly as crude as they sound. Animals trapped by glue boards generally die of starvation, dehydration, self-mutilation, or shock after they’ve finally exhausted themselves struggling to get free. The whole process, as you might imagine, is just supremely unpleasant, and not the sort of thing that any self-respecting home improvement warehouse should be endorsing.
You can make that point to Lowe’s through the handy little web form on this page.
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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