Written by PETA
Sheep may safely graze, but foxes are out of luck at an abysmal fur farm in Joliet, Illinois, that's run by, of all people, a Catholic priest. PETA recently filed a complaint with law-enforcement authorities regarding the fox fur farm, which is operated by the Rev. Richard Ross of St. Bernard Catholic Church in Joliet. While the agencies promptly launched an investigation, they were unable to take action against Ross because the conditions on this farm, while appalling, are not illegal.
The foxes are confined to cramped, rusty wire cages—with little protection from heat, rain, and snow—until the day they are slaughtered and skinned. Cages may contain up to seven foxes apiece, and one fox was caught on video spinning in circles—a classic symptom of "zoochosis," or captivity-induced madness. As PETA researcher Dan Paden pointed out in a letter to Ross, even if such conditions do not violate Illinois law, they surely violate the church's instructions to have "a religious respect for the integrity of creation."
What kind of Christian—let alone a man of the cloth—would treat God's creatures this way? The kind of man who would say (after his brother—who is also a priest—was accused of molesting a young boy), "I don't have much sympathy for people who somehow couldn't stop whatever happened. I'll take all of these people who were abused, and I'll abuse them with a baseball bat."
After seeing how the Rev. Ross treats foxes, we believe him.
Please politely send your comments to:Rev. Richard Ross(815) 726-4474 St. Bernard Catholic Church1313 Ridgewood Ave Joliet, IL 60432-2698
Written by Alisa Mullins
As a result of PETA's letters, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology has issued retractions for two of the studies conducted by Gerardo L. Paez, the experimenter we told you about last week who cut out puppies' eyes and then lied about the results. Even better, the Foundation Fighting Blindness—which funded the experiments—has prohibited Paez from receiving future funding or working on any project funded by the organization. No more puppy mutilations for you, Paez!
It's a boy girl kitty! Nicole Richie's household recently grew by one when a stray cat showed up on the celebutante's doorstep. "[S]he was so skinny and I could tell she was starving. I couldn't resist," wrote Richie on her blog. After a nice square meal, the kitty, now called Tabitha, was "as happy as Benji Madden in a sorority house."
Congratulations, Nicole, on helping a homeless kitty girl find a place to call home and being rewarded with a furry bundle of purring perfection. Tabitha's cute—but is she the cutest cat in the whole wide world? Readers, you make the call.
Restaurants are already reluctant to post calorie counts; can you imagine how hard it is to get fast-food joints to post a skull and crossbones—or at least a warning sign—letting customers know that their grilled chicken contains a carcinogen? It's pretty dang hard—but the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) just got one step closer to making it a reality. A California appeals court just ruled that PCRM can proceed with its lawsuit against fast-food companies that sell grilled chicken without telling consumers that it contains a chemical that's linked to several types of cancer, including breast cancer and prostate cancer.
Under California law, businesses must post warning signs when they expose people to chemicals that are known to cause cancer. But get this: Some fast-food companies are countering that the signs should be thwarted because they "contradict" federal guidelines ensuring that food be cooked enough to kill food-borne bacteria.
Comforting, isn't it? It seems that any way you cook it, chicken is a health hazard.
Written by Heather Moore
This has to be a first.
Notice anything different about Dodge's ad? Not only did the company agree to "never [use] great apes in [its] advertisements again" after PETA alerted the carmaker to the beatings and other abuses that performing chimpanzees are subjected to behind the scenes, it also digitally altered the ad that started it all to make the chimpanzee disappear.
Dodge also issued a statement explaining why the chimpanzee had to go: "They [PETA and Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest] told us how these animals are usually separated from their mothers at a young age and are usually discarded at seedy roadside attractions after they get too old to act."
The news of Dodge and PETA's détente quickly went viral. A Taiwanese media company even got into the act with a hilarious animated "reenactment" of the disappearing-ape saga, complete with pyrotechnics.
Is it just me, or does Taiwan's idea of a PETA boss look eerily like Jason Statham?
We are not alone. No, I'm not talking about the existence of aliens. I'm referring to the existence of other passionate anti-fur advocates such as the South African organization Fur Free. The proof of this group's passion is in this winning poster from its recent anti-fur poster competition.
It's a powerful poster that's sure to compel people to hang up nasty old fur habits and pledge to purge their closets of animal pelts forever.
Written by Amy Elizabeth
Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but The New York Times wasn't pussyfooting around when it printed this about fish sea kittens:
We've been saying it all along, but there it is in black and white—thanks to The Gray Lady. Now, why don't you issue your own official statement, in yellow and blue?
Via Gawker
Written by Karin Bennett
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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