Written by Michelle Kretzer
Sen. Mac Harb of Ontario is Canada's first-ever elected official to introduce a bill to end the commercial seal slaughter, and now he is Canada's first-ever elected official to receive a PETA award! Sen. Harb graciously accepted his Humanitarian Award at a ceremony Saturday in New York.
Photo: Kurt Leggard
He also wrote about the award and his bill on The Huffington Post, saying:
Animal advocacy groups such as PETA have played an important role in moving us into the future. When I introduced my bill, PETA rounded up support from prominent Canadians as diverse as Sarah McLachlan and Pamela Anderson and from international figures, including Pink, Bill Maher, and Ellen DeGeneres, all of whom—along with their throngs of fans in Canada and around the world—contacted Canadian senators urging them to support the bill and end the slaughter. As a result of overwhelming support, my bill was seconded, and the Senate recently unanimously consented to continuing this debate in the coming months. This is historic, and every single person who has taken action has made a difference.
This is the closest that we have ever come to ending the barbaric bludgeoning, shooting, and skinning of baby seals for their fur.
© Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Help make Sen. Harb's bill law. E-mail Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal Leader Bob Rae, and New Democratic Party Leader Thomas Mulcair and ask for their support for Bill S-210.
Written by PETA
Thousands of "laying" hens died an almost unimaginably horrific death when the barn that they were trapped in burned two days before Halloween. It was the first of three fires involving farmed animals in Ontario in just over a week. Three days later, 10 calves perished in a fire at a dairy farm near London, Ontario. Then, 70 cows and calves died when a fire swept through a barn at a dairy farm near Ottawa on Friday. That's not even counting the suspicious fire at a hog farm in Manitoba that we told you about last week.
A concerned citizen visited the chicken farm and captured this footage of the hens, dead in their cages:
The farmer's reaction to the carnage? He noted that neither the chickens nor the barn had any particular sentimental value and stated, rather unnecessarily, that "there won't be any income from the hens, that's for sure." Perhaps these hens' deaths won't have been entirely in vain if this tragic story convinces even one person with a heart slightly larger than a chicken farmer's to swear off eggs.
Written by Alisa Mullins
It's a hazy day here on the Right Coast. As I watch leaves fall and steam rise from my soy mocha, the mood is set for a lazy (yet highly skilled) meander through gossip rags for fun stuff. Here are my faves:
Thanks for stopping by! Catch you next time, and don't forget to hug all your vegetarian friends.
Written by Missy Lane
Last month, the Newmarket Council in Ontario voted to deny a permit to the Shrine Circus for performances that were scheduled to take place at Ray Twinney Recreation Complex on June 17 and 18 because of safety and other concerns.
Unfortunately, the circus promoter decided to challenge the council's vote. But all is not lost. On Friday, while a judge was scheduled to review the challenge, local residents stood outside the courthouse to show support for the council's ruling. But the hearing was postponed! Undeterred, our heroes hit the streets again today to ask the court to say "No!" to Shrine Circus cruelty.
Newmarket and its residents have good reason to worry about the safety of circuses that use animals, especially elephants. Captive elephants are beaten, chained, and denied everything that is natural and important to them, and they have been known to go on rampages. And because of elephants' tremendous size, even minor accidents can be dangerous. Just three months ago, 12 children were injured when a Shrine Circus elephant bumped into a mobile staircase where the kids were waiting for rides.
While we're all waiting on pins and needles for the judge's decision, we encourage you to reach out to your local lawmakers and urge them to enact legislation banning circuses with animal acts.
Written by Liz Graffeo
Last week, I shared photos of people across the globe speaking up for seals. Fortunately, many Canadians are also standing up to let the world know that they are opposed to the seal slaughter. Check out these demo photos to see what ashamed Canadians are doing to show that they're not all a bunch of barbaric orcs up north.
Are you a Canadian looking for ways to take action against the seal slaughter? You can start by signing this Facebook petition and sending it to all your Canadian friends.
Written by Lianne Turner
Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on this Win It Wednesday. The winners of the 'Mutt Like Me' collars are christine, Kelli, and Cheri Anderson-Albert. Congratulations!
President Obama has declared that he's a mutt, so why doesn't your mixed-parentage pup do the same? It's easy with this week's "Mutt Like Me" ID tag collar giveaway.
Did you know that millions of homeless animals are euthanized in animal shelters every year? Their deaths could be prevented if people spayed and neutered their animal companions and chose to adopt rather than buying animals from pet stores or breeders. Our "Change a Life: Adopt a Mutt Like Me" ID tag collar will help you and your canine companion get the word out about adoption.
How do you win? Just leave us a comment describing the mutt(s) that stole your heart. Tell us how Fido or Spot changed your life, and the three most heartfelt answers will win a "Mutt Like Me" ID tag dog collar.
The contest ends on April 22, 2009, and we'll choose three winners on April 24, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Check back every Wednesday for new prizes. Good luck!
On the "even the little guy sometimes gets a break" front, we recently received news that nine monkeys had escaped from the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC). The monkeys apparently made a break for it when a laboratory worker left their outdoor cage unsecured (great idea—lab workers reading this please take note). Sadly, all the monkeys were eventually captured, but freedom tasted good while it lasted, didn't it, guys?
Perhaps those monkeys were reading The PETA Files? Just last month, we reported that ONPRC had been cited for three violations of the Animal Welfare Act and slapped with a formal warning from the USDA, which told ONPRC that if it didn't shape up, it could face civil or criminal penalties. This after PETA repeatedly brought to the USDA's attention abuses such as botched surgeries, the forced separation of infant monkeys from their mothers, and the deaths of monkeys who had been denied veterinary care. PETA also told the USDA about how monkeys at ONPRC were forced to eat food out of waste-filled trays, blasted with high-pressure hoses in their cages, and much more.
Even though we were rooting for the escaped monkeys to catch a freight train out of there forever, we have filed yet another complaint with the USDA. We pointed out that the USDA had told ONPRC that if it screwed up again, it was going to be in serious trouble. So, USDA, please stand by your word. ONPRC has been given more than enough opportunities to clean up its act, and it has failed. If only the 4,000 monkeys who are imprisoned at ONPRC could receive as many "second chances." There is nothing good in their future, we fear.
To pass the time on long, boring drives, I often stare at passing license plates and rack my brain to decipher the messages. There are definitely some hilarious ones, but I'm most stoked when I see a plate with a compassionate message.
Unfortunately, no one driving through Colorado will be seeing the personalized license plate "ILVTOFU" anytime soon, thanks to the DMV's rejection of the message as "possibly offensive to the general public."
Wait, what? How is loving tofu offensive? (Aside from this video, of course.)
As it turns out, the license-plate approver had an entirely different interpretation of the message, as in I-LV-TO-eff-you.
While it's a creative interpretation, it's not exactly what the Colorado mother of three vegetarian kids had in mind. Hopefully, with a little explanation and maybe even a tasty sample of the jiggly white stuff, the rejection will be overturned and her car can become the vegetarian-message-on-wheels that it was meant to be.
How about you? Do you have a personalized plate with an animal rights message? Spill the details below.
Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky
We've all had moments when life throws you such a curve ball that you just want to say, "Eff it!" I like to keep those moments to myself, but FMyLife.com is Internet proof that some people (lots of people) like to share their embarrassing, funny, and frustrating moments with the world (anonymously of course). The posts are so hilarious that the site has become my newest online addiction.
The posts on FMyLife got me thinking about PETA's campaigners. Does everything always go right for our warriors on the front lines as they wear bikinis in blizzards and parade down crowded streets with little more than pasties to cover their naughty bits? So I asked around and, sure enough, dug up a few great FML stories to share:
I went to a fire station dressed as a Lettuce Lady to hand out Tofurky sandwiches. The firefighters just stared at my chest the entire time I was trying to explain the benefits of a vegetarian diet. At the end of the hour, I looked down and saw my fake boob (and a little bit of my real one) hanging out of my lettuce. FML
I organized a "naked" demonstration in a busy downtown location. I was responsible for talking to the media and the police, should they stop by—and they did. The officer was trying to get me to pack up our display when I smugly whipped out my permit and handed it to him. He took one look at it and said, "This is for tomorrow." FML
Before Christmas, I was protesting outside a KFC holding a sign reading "KFC: On Santa's Naughty List" and wearing a sexy Santa costume. Thanks to extremely high winds, I spent the entire demonstration trying to keep my skirt from flying up. Despite my greatest attempts, the story that came out in the paper the next day made a point of describing my "pink 'Red Sox' panties." FML
Last year, I flew to Knoxville to protest a fishing tournament that was taking place the next morning, only to find that my fish costume had never arrived. I spent three hours running around Wal-Mart, throwing every blue and green sparkly thing that I could find into my cart, and then I sat up all night constructing a fish costume out of pieces of fabric, blue lingerie, and shimmery window trimmings. At the crack of dawn I was ready to prepare my "fish" volunteer by spraying her face, arms, and chest blue with some nauseating hairspray dye. After all the scrambling and improvising she looked great, and we drove to the fishing tournament only to find that it had been canceled due to lack of interest. FML
Yep, it's definitely difficult to make everything go perfectly when you're on the road campaigning for animals. And now I'm wondering if you have any FML animal rights moments to share.
Written by Shawna Flavell
When President Obama appointed Daniel Fried (aka "the Guantanamo Closure Czar") to oversee the closing of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, many people let out a sigh of relief. Some would like to close Gitmo's doors and forget about the alleged torture that took place there. But those who forget their history are destined to repeat it, so we've approached Mr. Fried with a better idea.
We've written a letter to Mr. Fried suggesting that, once all of the detainees have been relocated, Gitmo keep its doors open as an "empathy center." The detention center would change its name to the Guantanamo Bay Empathy Exhibit (GBEE) and display our Animal Liberation Project. The GBEE would teach people that—regardless of race, religion, ability, gender, or species—everyone deserves respect and compassion, and it would allow people to explore ways that they can promote nonviolent and non-exploitive relationships with all beings.
We really hope that Mr. Fried takes us up on our offer. With the Senate's proposal to lift the 47-year-old ban on travel to Cuba, now is a great time to show the world that we are willing to learn from our mistakes. After all, if the U.S. and Cuba can break down barriers, shouldn't people be able to do the same with 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.
Follow PETA on Twitter!