Written by PETA
And, this week's 10% Wool "Tag and Release" winner is ... Beth Ann! Congratulations.
Don't forget to check out the archive of past 10% Wool comic strips here. Get more information on the series and the writer here, and learn how to get Jeff's other comic, DeFlocked, into your local paper here.
With the passing of Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, animals and the people who care about them have lost a longstanding and true friend. The senior senator, who was a meat cutter in his youth, evolved into a tireless advocate for animals.
Sen. Byrd's soft spot for animals, fueled by his love for his little dog, Billy, was as legendary as the passionate speeches he often made on their behalf. No one who saw it can forget the speech he gave in response to the Michael Vick scandal, in which he condemned dogfighting as "Barbaric! Hear me! Barbaric!"
In 2001, Byrd gave a moving speech in defense of a bill addressing cruelty to farmed animals, saying,
"Our inhumane treatment of livestock is becoming widespread and more and more barbaric. Six-hundred-pound hogs—they were pigs at one time—raised in 2-foot-wide metal cages called gestation crates, in which the poor beasts are unable to turn around or lie down in natural positions, and this way they live for months at a time. … These creatures feel; they know pain. They suffer pain just as we humans suffer pain."
A year later, Sen. Byrd led an effort to convince the Senate Appropriations Committee to provide $5 million—a record amount—for improving enforcement of the Humane Slaughter Act.
In 2005, Sen. Byrd coauthored the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which would prohibit the transport, purchase, and sale of horses for human consumption. Versions of the bill, now called The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, have been introduced every year since then, but have yet to pass both houses. As a tribute to Sen. Byrd, please urge your U.S. representatives to at last pass this important law.
PETA named Sen. Byrd our 2007 "Person of the Year" to recognize his defense of animals throughout six decades of public service. Sen. Byrd gave a powerful voice to those with none of their own. His passionate and inspiring dedication to helping animals will be sorely missed.
Written by Alisa Mullins
One of my favorite vegan actors, Casey Affleck, is currently starring in a controversial new film, The Killer Inside Me. In it, he plays a small-town cop who turns out to be a psychotic killer. Casey always draws raves from film critics for his understated performances—and adoration from his caring fans who applaud his compassionate vegan lifestyle, a huge contrast to that of the bloody character he plays in this role.
We're giving away one five-pack of the actor's best films on DVD, including Gone Baby Gone, Chasing Amy, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Ocean's Eleven, and an exclusive autographed copy of Lonesome Jim. To win it, simply create your own film title that describes the animal-friendly secret person inside you. Confused? This might help: Mine would be The Three-Tofutti-Cuties-in-One-Sitting Snarfer Inside Me. That film title might not be Oscar-worthy—but your title might land you the Casey Affleck DVD pack.
The contest ends on July 9, 2010, and we'll pick a winner (based on the most creative film title submission) on July 13, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting.
Good Luck!
Written by Karin Bennett
It takes a big man to admit he's made a mistake, and they don't come any bigger, at least in the travel world, than Arthur Frommer. In a blog post earlier this month, Frommer expressed regret for the times that he recommended SeaWorld in his popular travel guides:
"In doing so, I was as heedless of our treatment of the animal world as most of us who traipse to zoos and never think of what it means for such cognizant animals to be contained behind bars or in tiny spaces. I received this past week a letter from an official of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), one Debbie Leahy, that makes such an irrefutable point that I, for one, am ashamed at the shallow perspective of my earlier reaction to SeaWorld.. . .Ms. Leahy is clearly right, and I have reconsidered my position. I am ashamed, I apologize for my former statements, and I will no longer recommend that tourists patronize the various SeaWorld parks."
Click here to read the letter that had such an impact on Frommer. And after you've visited his Web site to share some love, send an e-mail to SeaWorld and ask its officials if they're big enough to admit that they were wrong too.
Meet Johnnie, a badly injured black-capped chickadee who was at least lucky enough to be found by a compassionate Illinois family that called us for advice. This young bird had a broken back. PETA caseworkers guided the family through safely containing Johnnie and made sure that he was rushed to a veterinarian for assessment. Johnnie's injuries were terribly painful and debilitating, so the vet did right by him and quickly ended his suffering. Even though Johnnie couldn't be saved, the family could rest assured that they did the right thing by not hesitating to help an animal in need.
You'd have to have a heart of stone to see a struggling fledgling or other small animal and not want to help. Of course, in most cases, letting the animal's mother take care of business is exactly the right thing to do. If you see a bird or other small animal and wonder if he or she is in trouble, stand back, wait, and watch before doing anything. If the animal is alert, upright, and calm, then he or she is probably healthy and Mom is likely nearby. But if the animal is lethargic or has an obvious injury, like Johnnie, stay with the animal and call your local humane society, the SPCA, animal control, or a reputable wildlife rehabilitator for advice. If you still need help, call our emergency response team at 757-434-6285 pronto! (We are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.)
Other birds need your help right now, like the grackles who are frequently poisoned in Odessa, Texas.
Our emergency tips will give you everything you need to know about helping injured wildlife.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
It's the eve of one of Mexico's biggest bullfights. And earlier today, María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Gutiérrez de los Perales Santa Ana Romanguera y de la Hinojosa Rasten, better known as Charo, the bodacious ray of sunshine from Spain, led PETA's anti-bullfight rally in Los Angeles. The lovely Latin music icon unveiled her new anti-bullfighting video for PETA and presented a simple, straightforward message: Don't Go to the Gran Corrida!
As a young girl in Spain, Charo went to weekly bullfights with her father, so she understands the gruesome, bloody reality of the corrida, which she's protested in her dance music video for España Cañi and her appearance on Dancing With the Stars.
"Cuchi-cuchi"* convince tourists to steer clear of bullfights? No doubt, but Charo—and bulls—need your help too.
*Two things I can't resist: Guacamole and painful puns. Sorry.
Here's another reason not to visit zoos and circuses: The lions you gawk at today could end up on a restaurant menu tomorrow.
A restaurant in Mesa, Arizona, made headlines this week for serving lion-meat burgers as part of a promotion related to the World Cup in South Africa. CNN reports that the meat was supplied by an Illinois butcher who was sentenced to six months in prison in 2003 for selling meat from federally protected tigers and leopards.
And where, exactly, did he get the lion meat? PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk gives her view—and reminds meat-eaters that lion burgers aren't really any worse than what's already on their plate (hint: factory farms are no walk in the park):
Lion meat served in restaurants could come from old lions who lived in roadside zoos or were forced to perform in circuses. They could be unwanted grown-up cubs from ever-prolific lions—ones the zoos love to breed, as any baby animal draws a crowd and boosts ticket sales. Or they could have been "hunted" in a fenced-in compound by cowards who want a trophy to hang on the wall—so that's what anyone who buys a lion burger is likely to be supporting. But the most manly meal is one that won't make you impotent by the time you reach 40—and that's one with no meat at all. So PETA's advice is to give a thought for the majestic old lions—not to mention the cows and chickens whose flesh is being served in the restaurant down the block: They went kicking and screaming to their deaths too.
Tell us what you think about this sordid story.
Written by Paula Moore
Security screeners at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport waved all three passengers through with their pet turtle in a carrying case. Gate officials welcomed them on their flight to Milwaukee. But as the plane pulled away from the gate and then turned back around, AirTran staff told the three young Helm sisters that their beloved turtle pal—a 2-inch baby red-eared slider named after Avatar princess Neytiri—was not allowed to fly in the cabin and that they had to dump her or get off the flight, literally.
Apparently the crew members even refused to watch the tiny animal for a few minutes to allow the girls' father time to dash back to the airport to pick her up. Instead, a staff member allegedly instructed the crying sisters to toss their tiny turtle into a trash can. The animal was initially presumed dead, but we have since learned that she narrowly escaped being crushed in a trash compactor after an airport employee took it upon herself to pluck the animal out of the trash and take her home. The Helm sisters and Neytiri are being reunited in Milwaukee today.
PETA wants to make sure that this never happens again. We have contacted AirTran CEO Robert Fornaro to ensure that the incident is investigated and that appropriate disciplinary action is taken. Please keep this horrific incident in mind the next time you choose an airline!
Mark Twain may be famous for his love of steamboats and jumping frogs, but some people may not be aware that he was also staunchly opposed to experiments on animals. He once wrote the following in a letter to the London Anti-Vivisection Society:
"I believe I am not interested to know whether Vivisection produces results that are profitable to the human race or doesn't. To know that the results are profitable to the race would not remove my hostility to it. The pains which it inflicts upon unconsenting animals is the basis of my enmity towards it, and it is to me sufficient justification of the enmity without looking further. It is so distinctly a matter of feeling with me, and is so strong and so deeply-rooted in my make and constitution, that I am sure I could not even see a vivisector vivisected with anything more than a sort of qualified satisfaction."
In honor of Twain's spirited defense of frightened animals who are caged and killed in laboratories, PETA has presented its first Mark Twain Ethical Science Award to the Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS), a nonprofit organization that has worked with scientists from hundreds of companies to design testing programs that replace tests on animals. PETA has donated more than $500,000 over the past decade to fund IIVS' work to develop non-animal tests.
In one case, IIVS developed a rapid screening method that allowed a company to eliminate the use of 750 rabbits per year, while almost doubling the number of products that the company was able to test each year. IIVS also works closely with regulators such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on non-animal testing strategies. With partial funding from PETA U.K., IIVS was instrumental in obtaining European Union approval of a non-animal skin irritation test as well as the first stand-alone non-animal eye irritancy test for certain classes of chemicals.
We think that Mark Twain would have been proud to have his name on an award recognizing IIVS for saving thousands of unconsenting animals.
Thanks to the efforts of compassionate people like Keely and Pierce Brosnan—and the many PETA Files readers who voiced their concerns (We love you guys!)—an attempt to end the moratorium on commercial whaling was defeated during the meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Morocco. This move is all the more impressive in the wake of news reports detailing the desperate attempts of Japanese representatives to manipulate the outcome, from applying backroom pressure to paying poor countries to vote on their side!
While this is good news, it's not yet time to pop those champagne corks. Whales still face huge threats, from spewing oil (and oil development) to miserable lives in captivity to—as any fan of Whale Wars knows—killer nations that subvert (or just ignore) the international ban on whaling. So while we have momentum on our side, let's keep the efforts going until all whales are free to live their natural lives! Thank you for your role in all this.
Written by Jeff Mackey
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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