Written by PETA
Why is it that men get no love? A shirtless man appeared in Lycra "fishtails" and body paint beside a female "fish" sea kitten at a popular fishing spot in Naples for one of our Fish Amnesty Week demos. Cameras flashed and lively debates ensued among a huge crowd of tourists while media swarmed PETA's sea kittens. But guess who got all the media glory? The lady sea kitten.
So we'd like to do something that the media didn't do, and draw your attention to the fantastic fella on the left.
During Fish Amnesty Week, we're alerting people to the fact that sea kittens suffer tremendous stress and pain when their sensitive lips are impaled on sharp hooks and the animals are dragged to shore to slowly suffocate or have their heads bashed in. "Catch-and-release" maiming isn't any kinder, as countless victims die from stress and injuries.
We suggest that retirees, fathers hoping to bond with their sons, and others drop their fishing rods and try "shooting" fish—with a camera—instead.
Written by Karin Bennett
Thanks to a sharp-eyed shopper and the quick work of PETA's Cruelty Investigations Department, baby turtles have been rescued from a store in NYC's Chinatown.
These little guys were small—so small that it's actually illegal to sell them—yet they were being hawked as "pets" to unwitting tourists who often don't have a clue about how to take care of such delicate animals.
And that's where the concern of one compassionate citizen really made a difference. She wasn't an expert on turtle care, but after visiting the store, this young woman knew that these turtles were being inhumanely treated. Not only were they tiny, they were being kept in little plastic containers with very little water and nothing else. They were also living outside the shop in direct sunlight for most of the day.
After hitting a brick wall with local officials, the young lady called PETA. Faster than you can say "salmonella souvenirs" (according to the FDA, there are more than 74,000 "pet" turtle–related cases of human salmonella poisoning every year), a PETA cruelty caseworker got the DOH to respond ASAP. That same day, the agency seized eight of the turtles and issued citations to the seedy store for violating New York State Department of Health codes that make it illegal to sell turtles smaller than 4 inches long.
Now living large at a turtle sanctuary, these eight tiny turtles have been given the opportunity to live out their lives in luxury. But there are still aquatic animals who need our help. Won't you tell Brookstone head honchos to get their heads out of their, er, shells and end the sale of Frog-O-Spheres today?
Written by Amy Elizabeth
The following is a guest post from actor and animal rights advocate Brigitte Bardot. A dedicated activist, whose foundation to help animals has tackled issues such as fur, horse slaughter, and companion animal overpopulation, Brigitte was the first celebrity to stand up for Canadian seals. Here, once again, she speaks out against the sinister seal slaughter.
When, in 2003, some politicians and talk-show hosts called for a boycott of French products because of my country's politics against the war in Iraq, sales of French wine dropped by 26 percent in the United States in just a few days. This boycott may have cost French winemakers $112 million because of lost sales overseas.
There is little doubt that consumer boycotts hit where it hurts the most—in the wallet!
These massive ethical reactions from consumers can sometimes convince a government or a corporation to change the way that it does business. That is why I am supporting PETA's boycott of Canadian maple syrup until the Canadian government agrees to ban the slaughter of seals on the ice floes, the largest massacre of marine mammals on Earth, forever.
Canadian law authorizes seal pups to be legally killed as soon as they have lost their white baby fur, which happens about two weeks after birth. On the ice floes, the seals are bludgeoned, and some are skinned while still alive. Each spring, this vision of horror returns: The ice floes become an open-air slaughterhouse, where some pups are left in agony, their mothers trying desperately to revive their small bloody bodies.
This gruesome bloodshed has only one purpose: to fuel the fur trade!
Canadian officials are accomplices to these massacres and spend huge amounts of money to support this dying industry, which is a stain on their reputation in the eyes of the world.
This is why we must act and make Canada understand that it would be criminal, irresponsible, and economically suicidal to continue with the commercial seal slaughter.
The United States and the European Union have banned seal products, but Canada produces about 85 percent of the world's maple syrup―the maple leaf is even the symbol of this country.
As French wine was the ideal product designated by Americans to protest France's pacifist stance, maple syrup is the ideal product to boycott in order to protest Canada's aggressive stance.
Refusing to buy maple syrup so as to refuse to be an accomplice to the slaughter perpetrated on the ice floes can send a strong message to Canadian officials. That's why I am asking you to join PETA and boycott Canadian products to let the leaders of this country know that the seal slaughter is inhumane and disgraceful and that it represents a threat to Canada's economy.
I've been leading this fight for more than 33 years now, and I've already had some victories―with you today, we can win the final fight. I'm really counting on you!
Written by Brigitte Bardot
This is one of those stories that starts off sad, but gets better—I promise!
Earlier this summer, a man in Louisville, Kentucky, threw a puppy off a bridge and into the Ohio River. Kelsey Westbrook, a college student who works part-time at a riverfront restaurant, saw the dog swimming in circles and immediately raced down to the water's edge and helped nearby firefighters guide the dog to safety.
Although Kelsey had originally planned to find a good home for the dog—whom she named Sunny for her loving disposition—the bond between them grew, and Kelsey soon realized that Sunny had become part of her family. So, Kelsey and her other dog—a 2-year-old rescue mix—asked Sunny to stay.
The warm-fuzzies don't stop there. Kelsey has decided to turn the attention she's receiving towards the issue of cruelty to animals. She's organizing a fundraiser at the restaurant next month, and the proceeds will go to local low-income spay-and-neuter clinics. Now that's compassionate. And because Kelsey keeps going that extra mile to help animals in need, we're happy to be sending her a Compassionate Action Award—along with some treats for Sunny, of course.
Written by Amanda Schinke
In a recent interview with Maxim magazine, longtime vegan animal defender Woody Harrelson talks about the chance encounter that made him go vegan. He says that "[t]he first thing was dairy. I was about 24 years old and I had tons of acne and mucus. I met some random girl on a bus who told me to quit dairy and all those symptoms would go away three days later. By God she was right."
I'm curious about how the actual conversation went down. "Hey, stranger! Your skin is gross. Go vegan!" seems a bit harsh, but if it worked ...
The star of Zombieland then realized that eating hamburgers and steak made him feel—and act—like the living dead, so meat was nixed from his menu too.
So tell us: How did you get the push you needed to go vegan?
Written by Shawna Flavell
Academy Award–winning actor and animal advocate extraordinaire Kim Basinger has stepped up, yet again, to speak up for animals who are skinned alive for their fur.
Kim's classic anti-fur ad was one of the first in PETA's "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign, and the issue remains vitally important to her. Today she sent a letter to leading Chinese designer Luo Zheng reminding her that there's nothing fashionable about using the skins of dead animals in her designs. Kim writes:
As you may know, this is an issue that is very dear to my heart. I have avoided wearing real fur for many years …. PETA's heartrending investigations have documented that animals, including dogs and cats, are bludgeoned, hanged, bled to death, strangled with wire nooses, and skinned alive. Workers have been caught beating raccoons, dogs and foxes with metal rods and leaving them to convulse on the ground. Some animals are injured but still completely conscious as they are skinned, and they kick and writhe as their skin is ripped from their bodies.
As you may know, this is an issue that is very dear to my heart. I have avoided wearing real fur for many years ….
PETA's heartrending investigations have documented that animals, including dogs and cats, are bludgeoned, hanged, bled to death, strangled with wire nooses, and skinned alive. Workers have been caught beating raccoons, dogs and foxes with metal rods and leaving them to convulse on the ground. Some animals are injured but still completely conscious as they are skinned, and they kick and writhe as their skin is ripped from their bodies.
As China's leading designer, Zheng could have a huge influence on the fashion world by joining compassionate, world-class designers such as Qi Gang, Stella McCartney, Betsey Johnson, Vivienne Westwood, and Todd Oldham who have already refused to use fur.
Take a cue from Kim, and tell another behind-the-times designer that fur is cruel and outdated.
Written by Heather Drennan
With Yom Kippur just around the corner, we'd like to urge all our Jewish readers to speak out against the killing of chickens for kapporos.
Kapporos is a sacrificial ritual that takes place on the eve of Yom Kippur. This ritual is sometimes performed by swinging a live chicken around the head three times and then slaughtering the terrified, abused bird. In Brooklyn alone, 50,000 chickens are killed every year during kapporos ceremonies.
Rabbi Joseph Karo, who composed the Shulchan Aruch (an important codification of Jewish law), wrote that killing an animal for kapporos is "a foolish custom."
Using money instead of live chickens to perform the kapporos ritual is an acceptable substitute for outdated chicken sacrifices, which all compassionate Jews should condemn.
After all, you can't expect forgiveness and mercy when you have blood on your hands.
Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on this Win It Wednesday. The winner of the guitar strap is Kristen. Congratulations!
You've got the hair. You've got the eyeliner. You've got the guitar. But wait, what's the one thing every real rock star needs? A cruelty-free guitar strap, of course.
For this week's "Win It" Wednesday, we've got you covered. We're giving away one quality guitar strap from the stellar all-vegan company Couch Guitar Straps.
Leather is a co-product—not a byproduct—of the meat and dairy industries. When you buy leather, you contribute directly to the lifelong misery of cows and other animals, and you put money into the pockets of the people who exploit them.
How do you save a cow and gain a vegan guitar strap? Leave a comment about why cows are as cool as your favorite vegan musician. Whoever posts the most rockin' comment gets to choose a strap from Couch Guitar Straps (priced up to $38, including shipping and handling).
The contest ends on October 7, 2009, and we'll choose one comment as the winner on October 9, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting.
Good luck!
When real-estate flipper Geoffrey King heard that a 101-year-old church in the struggling town of Cairo, Illinois, was going up for sale, he came up with a plan to benefit the community. King spent a year fixing up the church and then listed the building on eBay for $50,000.
His plan? Donate half the profits to build a pool for local kids.
The heartbreaking part? Nobody bid on the church.
Well, PETA knows a little something about compassion—so we've written to King and offered to rent the church until it sells. If he agrees, we'll rename the church the "Praise Seitan Center" (because delicious wheat "meat" is truly heavenly) and use it to educate Cairo residents about how the Bible imparts a reverence for life—and a loving God could not help but be appalled by the way that animals are mistreated today. People can put Christian principles into practice three times a day, seven days a week, by eating healthy and humane vegetarian foods.
Our offer will help King save up funds for the Cairo pool and create a more kind community. I really hope he doesn't let this opportunity pass by.
Written by Liz Graffeo
Have you been sitting around the house, wondering why your old chum, Sir Roger Moore, hasn't given you a ring lately?
Truthfully, me neither, but if you are ever given the chance to get on his good side, you should know that opting for foie gras over truffles will get you pulled from his next party's guest list.
In a recent article for the Daily Mail, Sir Roger writes about the horrors of the foie gras industry, in which birds are force-fed, often until their livers burst. "I refuse to speak to old friends who, even when they know how it is produced, are prepared to overlook the suffering for self-gratification," states Sir Roger. "My wife, Christina, feels just the same. No creature deserves to be treated as these birds are for our delectation."
Talk about commitment to a cause.
Want to know what else Sir Roger Moore is doing in support of PETA's campaign to get foie gras eliminated from menus across the globe? Check out the rest of the article here.
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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