Written by Jeff Mackey
After discovering that a family of stray dogs had taken refuge at a vacant property in Texas, a kind-hearted soul contacted the landlord to get permission to go in and remove the seriously ill and injured animals. But when local law-enforcement officials and rescue groups were unable to help—no animal shelter serves the county—the dogs' defender called PETA.
PETA's cruelty caseworker persuaded an animal shelter in a neighboring county to take in the dogs and found someone willing to drive more than an hour to transport the two dogs and five puppies to the animal shelter.
Within minutes of their arrival, however, four of the desperately ill puppies died. And one of the adult dogs—suffering from a severe head injury as a result of having been kicked by a horse—was euthanized. But the fifth puppy pulled through and is being fostered by a shelter staffer, and the other adult dog, who had been suffering from severe mange, has been treated and adopted into a loving home.
Life for homeless dogs and cats is dangerous and often deadly. Please, if you see stray animals, never look the other way—do whatever you can to get them off the streets and into a safe place.
Written by Paula Moore
Earlier this week, a federal appeals court ruled to uphold a Texas law that requires doctors to describe ultrasounds and play audio of the fetal heartbeat to women seeking abortions.
No matter where you stand on abortion, we hope you'll appreciate the billboard that we'll be erecting in Austin, Texas.
Pig: © iStockphoto.com/Chris Pethick
After all, the meat industry is responsible for immense suffering—from castration without painkillers to animals who are shackled and have their throat slit, sometimes while fully conscious—and billions of deaths, which is about as anti-life as it gets. In contrast, a vegan saves 100 lives a year in addition to reducing his or her risk of dying prematurely from many of our nation's top killers, including heart disease and cancer. Now that's pro-life by any definition!
Written by PETA
Tiny fish are a big deal in Texas. Wildlife biologists are trudging through the muddy bed of the Brazos River, rescuing endangered minnows who are trapped in small pools of water—all that remain of the river after the state's worst drought in decades. Scientists are taking the minnows to a fish hatchery until the Brazos starts flowing again.
Fortunately for the rest of us, saving fish doesn't have to include donning waders and slogging through muddy muck. It can be as easy as refusing to buy them from pet stores and relegating them to a tiny bowl to die slowly from lack of oxygen and being poisoned by their own waste. If you already have an aquarium, make sure it is the proper size for your fish.
And, of course, you can save dozens of sea kittens every year simply by leaving them off your plate.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
It's so hot in the city, you'd think I'd be making another batch of lemonade—but I've got a hankering for some Internet Soup. It's been a while since the last batch, so dig in!
Oof! I don't know about you, but I'm full after all that soup—and guac. This Special K needs a siesta. Until next time …
Written by Karin Bennett
As a seitan worshipper, I got a kick out of a recent letter that found its way to PETA's inbox: A PETA supporter (who wishes to remain anonymous) was preparing to barbeque some seitan—also known as "wheat meat"—when an image of Jesus Christ on the cross appeared in the godly gluten. Here's the photo he/she sent us:
It makes me wonder, WWJD if He knew that billions of animals live miserable lives and die violent, bloody deaths to sate our addiction to the taste of their flesh? Considering that His message is one of love, kindness, and mercy for all of God's creatures, I think that Jesus would say to hell with meat.
Right now, I'm going to practice the compassion that Jesus preached and grab some vegan eats …
OMG, there's an image of SpongeBob SquarePants in my block of tofu!
Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth
Forget the Alamo; There's something else for Texans to remember—the imprisonment of Tilly the orca:
Today, PETA's billboard went up near SeaWorld San Antonio to remind Texans not to mess with marine mammals. Our plea to free Tilly and other captive wild animals comes on the heels of last week's congressional hearing about marine abusement parks, to which PETA submitted testimony urging a ban on the confinement of orcas and other wild animals at SeaWorld and other profiteering prison-parks.
So what can you do? Remind everyone to steer clear of marine animal exhibits. And if you're looking for an animal-friendly place to visit this summer, I hear the Alamo is an interesting place to go.
Last week, authorities from at least eight agencies, including the Marion County Humane Society, seized dozens of animals—including big cats, dogs, horses, reptiles, a monkey, and many others—from Barbara Hoffman, who was keeping the animals in several trailers on a property in Texas. Hoffman and her business partner were then apparently placed under arrest on charges of cruelty to animals.
According to the county sheriff, Hoffman never requested or applied for a permit and failed to register the animals with the city. They reportedly kept 10 exotic cats—six tigers, one cougar, two black panthers, and a spotted leopard, several of whom weigh around 700 pounds—in 18-square-foot transport cages inside three trailers that allegedly reeked of ammonia and urine.
Hoffman and her late husband have a long history of abusing and neglecting animals. The couple, who for years used exotic cats and other animals to perform in traveling circuses, regularly failed to comply with the minimum standards of the Animal Welfare Act and collected U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) citations for repeatedly not providing animals with sufficient space, regular veterinary care, or adequate nutrition. PETA filed numerous complaints against the Hoffmans with the USDA—including one in 2007 alleging that their tigers were abused and malnourished and one in 2005 when concerned observers saw exotic cats allegedly left in dark, poorly ventilated cages in scorching daytime and freezing nighttime temperatures. Back in 2004, while performing with a circus in Washington State, a bobcat and at least 10 domestic cats died in the Hoffman's travel trailer when a fire broke out in the arena that housed the trailer.
Hoffman's initial hearing is set for later this week, and we're hoping that the Marion County District Attorney will prosecute Hoffman aggressively, ensuring that she pays for the many animals who allegedly suffered at her hands. We'll keep you updated.
Written by Logan Scherer
In his historic decision earlier this week, Arlington municipal judge Michael Smith noted that the evidence that our undercover investigator collected during months as an employee of the exotic animal warehouse U.S. Global Exotics (USGE)—including a picture of a hedgehog whose leg had been chewed off and video footage of dying snakes and a wallaby who had been left to perish in a filthy, windowless room—depicted conditions that are not unique and that even reflect the entire industry's standards:
Evidence was received which indicated that this facility was operated in accordance with industry standards of the exotic animal trade. While this may be true, this Court is not free to substitute those standards for the standards set by Texas statutes.
Think about that for a minute or two. USGE was a model animal dealer for the pet trade and, as Fort Worth Zoo employee Mike Doss testified, a facility by which others could be judged.
PETA's evidence was vital to Judge Smith's ruling to divest Jasen and Vanessa Shaw—owners and operators of USGE, which supplies pet stores and pet store chains all over the world, including suppliers of PETCO and PetSmart—of the more than 26,000 animals who were seized from USGE on December 15. Since the ruling, the media has remained abuzz with outrage over the widespread, "standard" abuse of animals in the pet trade industry.
This isn't the first time we have gone undercover behind the tightly shut doors of the pet trade. Our investigation of Rainbow World Exotics revealed similar conditions. Unfortunately, that investigation didn't make an ounce of difference to the multimillion dollar pet-supply companies, which both refused to sever ties with Rainbow and continue to buy animals there to this day. It just goes to show that the only "standards" the industry has are the ones that have to do with profit, not animal welfare.
We're urging PetSmart shareholders to support our resolution to ban the purchase of animals from all distributors that are under investigation for violations of the law. Not much to ask, is it? Until everyone shuns pet stores and tells everyone they know to do the same, hellholes like USGE will continue to operate.
I think we can all agree that in this day and age, there's no excuse for pore poor Photoshopping, but someone at Bloody Burberry seems to have missed that memo.
In what must have been a tragic Photoshop accident by the oh-so-tragic Burberry, actor Emma Watson seems to have lost one of her legs. Luckily for her, that nub can be transformed back into a leg again with a few clicks of the "undo" button.
The question I'm asking about the whole fiasco is this: Can the magic of Photoshop help the countless animals who have suffered chewed-off limbs in the horrific process of making Bloody Burberry's fur cuffs, collars, and coats?
No, I guess not.
In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the dolphins know to leave Earth before the planet is destroyed—and it looks like Douglas Adams was on to something.
No, the planet isn't in immediate peril (depending on your definition of "immediate"), but dolphins really are geniuses, second only to humans in intelligence, according to a new study.
This study revealed that the brain cortex of dolphins has the same complicated folds associated with human intelligence, and it has the scientific community buzzing. Thomas White, professor of ethics at Loyola Marymount University, argues that dolphins (i.e. "non-human persons") deserve rights and "qualify for moral understanding as individuals." PETA couldn't agree more! And because we wouldn't force our relatives to live in cages tanks, we're writing a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service, asking it to place a permanent ban on issuing permits allowing dolphins to be captured and used as attractions at theme parks and resort hotels.
Dolphins are thoughtful animals with distinct personalities, and each dolphin has a strong sense of self. They think, plan, and communicate with one another. In the wild, they spend their entire lives in large groups; removing them from their natural communities is traumatizing and often results in stress-related illness and premature death. If we don't start treating our cognitive cousins with more respect, in the end we might really be left holding that note that reads, "So long, and thanks for all the fish."
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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