Some people in Barre, Vermont, are in a tizzy over a recently rediscovered (but never enforced) 1973 ordinance that bans residents from allowing their cats to roam unattended. I say that this 37-year-old law is smart, kind, and ahead of its time, because allowing cats to prowl the suburban jungle unattended isn't doing them any favors. This cat, who was rescued by fieldworkers with PETA's Community Animal Project, is a heartbreaking example of why:

This cat's guardian allowed her to roam outdoors. She disappeared for several days, and when she came back her leg had been degloved and all the bones were exposed.

Every day, cats whose guardians see no harm in letting them roam are injured or killed by vehicles, shot by cruel neighbors who don't want them using their gardens as litter boxes, poisoned, stolen to be used in experiments or as bait in dogfighting, and worse. Cats also instinctively terrorize, maim, and kill countless native birds and other wildlife who are already struggling to survive challenges such as habitat loss and who aren't equipped to deal with such predators.

Protecting cats and wildlife doesn't have to mean making Kitty a full-time housecat. Many cats quickly become comfortable with wearing a harness and enjoy leisurely leashed excursions around the yard with their guardians. And then there are "catios"—cat patios that clever and compassionate people build so that their feline friends can safely enjoy the great outdoors. Whatever we do, if we love our cats, we must never let them roam out of our sight.

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post

It's spring! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the dueling robins I saw on my way to work this morning are a sign that it's mating season. With animals across the country looking for love, a $150,000 grant awarded by the Vermont Agency of Transportation's Transportation Enhancements Grant Committee (TEGC) couldn't have come at a better time. The Monkton Conservation Commission in Vermont plans to use the grant to install a "salamander crossing" under Monkton's Vergennes Road, which the state's leading reptile and amphibian expert describes as "one of the most important of the known amphibian crossings in the state." This passage will offer amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals a safe way to travel between uplands southeast of the road and an important swamp northwest of the crossing—by helping them avoid the dangers that claim the lives of millions of animals who become roadkill every year in the U.S. For recognizing that all animals deserve consideration and protection, PETA is giving the Vermont Agency of Transportation a Compassionate Action Award.

With "ecopassages" (both under and above roads) popping up all over the country—including Massachusetts' salamander tunnels and California's cougar corridors—animals everywhere are having an easier time traveling, getting food, and mating. Have you spotted any ecopassages in your community?

Written by Logan Scherer

Since Vermont is America's top producer of maple syrup, we figured that the state capital was the best place to launch our international boycott of Canadian maple syrup. Of course, Vermonters have always had a soft spot for their state's delicious syrup, but now there's yet another reason for all consumers to buy only American syrup—it's cruelty-free! Check out the pictures from the demonstration:

PETA's "seal" wielded a hakapik (the weapon sealers use to kill baby seals) and was given the chance to take out his aggression toward sealers on a 6-foot-tall bottle of gooey Canadian "maple syrup."

The blood-red contents of this bottle are symbolic of the real blood spilled by Canadian sealers during their annual slaughter.

We definitely won the fight against this massive bottle of syrup, but we still have more to do to help end the Canadian seal slaughter for good—so urge your local restaurateurs to boycott Canadian maple syrup now!

Canada has ignored calls from around the world to stop the seal slaughter, but we're hoping that a plunge in maple syrup sales will get the government's attention. So, as one compassionate Vermonter so accurately screamed out his window as he drove by the demonstration, "Vermont syrup saves seals!"

Written by Liz Graffeo