Written by PETA
Back in February, PETA sent out a news release about the number of sick, injured, elderly, and otherwise unadoptable animals we had to euthanize during the previous year. PETA openly publishes these figures every single year and simultaneously calls on the government and citizens to help promote anti-chaining ordinances (many of the dogs our caseworkers encounter are aggressive or horrifically neglected after having been chained outside for their entire lives), to help reduce the cost of euthanasia of old and ill animals who belong to people with a low income (these account for many of the animals PETA helps), and to implement sterilization programs and laws to reduce the homeless-animal crisis.
In other words, old news is now being regurgitated with a vindictive spin by—among others—a front group for Philip Morris, Outback Steakhouse, KFC, cattle ranchers, and other animal exploiters that kill millions of animals every year—and which do so not out of compassion but out of greed. Before falling prey to the hysteria, please have a look at BermanExposed.org and ConsumerDeception.com.
PETA's statistics are also often used, as they are being used now, in a truly perverted way by some "no-kill" evangelists to try to turn people away from the "evil" of what is actually a dignified, merciful release from suffering. They never give a complete picture, and they always use inflammatory language and labels like "puppies" and "kittens," even if the animal was a 17-year-old dog who was unable to breathe properly because of a heart condition. Such people are sure that if you shuffle enough animals around from shelters to hoarders' basements or just throw stones at shelter workers and call them "psycho" and so on, people will join their number. But they offer no realistic solution to the multiple tragic problems associated with easily acquired and easily discarded "pets."
Anyone who reads our website or receives our newsletters, in which we discuss this issue regularly, knows that PETA has a division that does hands-on work with animals. We run a shelter but in the most merciful way. We help—because no one else will—the animals who are society's rejects in the area near our Virginia headquarters. These animals are aggressive, feral, on death's door (often with large tumors hanging from their bodies), or otherwise unadoptable. We have published many blog posts about our caseworkers' heartbreaking work over the years, and more information can be found at PETASaves.com.
It's important to note that the figures used by anti-PETA campaigners are deliberately chosen because they are just the euthanasia figures. They do not include perspective—i.e., the more than 10,000 dogs and cats PETA provided with no-cost to low-cost spay and neuter surgeries and other veterinary services in the last 12 months alone, the hundreds of animals delivered to large high-traffic shelter facilities for adoption, the counseling and aid services that PETA provides in order to enable people to keep and properly care for their animals, and the animals we have put up for adoption, like the cat currently featured on our website, whom we nursed back to (almost) good health and who is still seeking a permanent home.
The "no-kill" shelters in the area surrounding PETA's headquarters, like many such places that sing the "no-kill" refrain for fundraising purposes, actually not only refuse admission to animals (because they are constantly "too full") and reject dogs and cats who are injured, sick, or dying but also refer these "undesirable" animals to PETA, which bears the veterinary or euthanasia costs. For more information on this topic, visit PETASaves.com.
People who are shocked to learn how many healthy or adoptable animals have to be euthanized annually or are questioning PETA's euthanasia record should ask themselves if they are spaying and neutering their own animal companions, helping people with a low income "fix" theirs, adopting from shelters instead of buying from breeders and pet stores, funding education campaigns about proper animal care and adoption (among other things), and demanding higher animal-protection standards in their own communities. They should also look carefully at the photographs of the animals who come out of the impoverished areas that PETA serves. Of course, they should definitely not be eating or wearing animals or their skins, using products tested on animals (who are usually killed at the end of the tests), or engaging in any activity that results in killing animals not out of mercy but for selfish reasons.
PETA is proud to continue to stand tall and roll up its sleeves to help animals.
Written by Michelle Kretzer
Comedian Fred Willard, star of Best in Show and the new show Trust Us With Your Life, is an expert at using humor to get folks to care about serious animal issues. For some fun on a Friday, here are two of Fred's greatest hits: trying to come up with the perfect name for PETA's animal birth control campaign and pondering why on Earth someone would buy instead of adopting.
A panel studying which preventative health services should be free under the Affordable Care Act has recommended that health insurance plans be required to fully cover the cost of birth control for patients. Of course, these same patients could still be dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, if their companion animals aren't spayed and neutered.
Fortunately, many veterinarians and sheltering agencies across the country have recognized the critical importance of low-cost services. PETA's mobile SNIP clinics (Spay and Neuter Immediately, Please), which operate in and around our Norfolk, Virginia, headquarters, have spayed and neutered more than 74,000 animals, preventing the births and inevitable suffering of hundreds of thousands of unwanted animals.
Still, litter after litter of puppies and kittens is born into a world bursting at the seams with unwanted animals. Until healthcare plans start providing free birth control for animals, we'll all have to do our part by offering to set up appointments and provide transportation for friends' and neighbors' animals and by encouraging local animal shelters to offer low-cost "snips" if they don't already.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
After reading the last few posts about animal homelessness, euthanasia, and hoarding, some people might be wondering what they can do to help. Perhaps a few of you have even considered starting your own animal rescue group. If so, thank you for caring so deeply, but please—help us focus attention on stemming the flow.
Think of it this way: The animal overpopulation crisis is like water flooding into a sinking ship. We don't need more people bailing; we need to fix the gaping hole in the bottom of the boat! When it comes to ending animal homelessness, the most humane and sustainable solution is to pour our time, money, and effort into having animals spayed and neutered. Preventing more animals from being born stops the problem at its source. Here are some creative ways that we can work toward a no-birth nation:
Another crucial component of ending animal homelessness is educating the public about why it's so important to adopt animals instead of buying them from pet shops or breeders. If you are considering adding a cat or dog to your family, your decision will literally mean life or death for an animal waiting in an animal shelter. If you choose to buy from a breeder or a pet store, an animal at the local shelter must be euthanized. Please, always choose to save a life by adopting your animal companions from animal shelters or reputable adoption groups.
PETA has teamed up with dozens of celebrities—including Justin Bieber, Yvonne Strahovski, Lance Bass, Kellan Lutz, Joanna Krupa, Audrina Patridge, Patricia Arquette, and others—for pro-adoption public service announcements (PSAs). You can help encourage people to adopt animals, never buy, by sponsoring or obtaining free placement for one of these PSAs in a newspaper or magazine.
Thank you for caring. Animals like these are counting on compassionate people like you:
Like so many other rabbits, Bobbi was acquired on a whim and surrendered after her owners discovered how much time and effort are required to care for a rabbit. PETA found Bobbi a loving home, and she now enjoys playing with three other rabbits and sleeping in a bed with her new family.
Julie was once trapped at the end of a chain—one of the worst punishments possible for a dog, especially a collie—but PETA's fieldworkers convinced her owners to surrender her and helped place her in a wonderful home with a family who adores her.
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
Every year, following the broadcast of the Westminster Dog Show, breeders and pet shops do big business, which leads to more breeding—and to an overpopulation crisis that costs millions of animals their lives each year. That's why the always fabulous Jane Lynch, one of the stars of the Fox hit Glee, sent an urgent letter to the USA Network, which airs Westminster, asking it to run a darkly humorous PETA ad that asks the provocative question, "If you buy a dog, what will you do with the shelter dog you kill?"
"Although I played an ambitious dog trainer in Best in Show, in real life I wouldn't go near the Westminster Dog Show," Jane writes. "That's why I'm asking the USA Network to please air PETA's 'Everyday Dogs' public service announcement (PSA) during your Westminster coverage so that viewers will know the real consequences of buying animals rather than adopting from shelters."
If a dog show is coming to your community, get the word out about the deadly side of breeding and pet stores and the importance of animal birth control, just like a group of concerned folks did outside the Golden Gate Kennel Club show in San Francisco over the weekend. Let's all keep it up, for the love of dog!
Written by Jeff Mackey
As we promised yesterday, we've got exclusive photos from the unveiling of Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest's new spay-and-neuter billboard in L.A. The first 20 attendees at the unveiling scored big-time, receiving coupons for free spay or neuter surgeries:
With Spay Day less than a week away, the debut of Artest's ad couldn't have come at a better time. "These animals are literally dying for a good home," he said. "Spaying and neutering your companion animals is the way to bring an end to the overpopulation crisis."
Now that's a slam dunk!
Written by Logan Scherer
Question: Why are we obsessed with Turkish pop legend Tarkan? Answer: Deemed the "Prince of Pop" and the Turkish Elvis, the international musical phenomenon is also a friend to animals. He took time out of his hectic schedule to pose with Penny, a PETA staff member's rescued pooch, and to urge people to help control the animal overpopulation crisis by having their animal companions spayed or neutered. Check out his new ad and an interview he did with PETA Germany:
When did PETA first enter your life?During the promotional tour for my album Come Closer, PETA reached out to me to voice feelings about my wearing a fur coat on the album cover. Having been an animal lover since childhood, this instance when I was pictured wearing fur on the cover of my album was truly a regrettable one. On the day of my album's cover shoot, we tested many looks, one of which happened to include a coat with fur accents. The pictures ended up being used as the album's cover artwork. In hindsight, I wish I had never worn the coat—but I am also a believer that everything in life happens for a reason. Because of that mistake, PETA and I crossed paths, joined forces, and are now working together to protect animal rights worldwide. Once all the unimaginable circumstances being suffered by helpless animals were brought to my attention and I saw footage portraying the horrible pain that animals were enduring for the sake of fashion, I immediately swore off fur.
What do you think of PETA?I am happy to be supporting PETA—an organization that's fighting for animal rights worldwide. PETA's relentless efforts to protect the well-being of animals around the world is a cause that is very important to me.
How do you think we can make animals' lives better? Do you think that the existing campaigns are enough?I am fortunate enough to be able to use my celebrity to draw attention to PETA and to encourage my fans to join the animal rights movement. I feel it is up to all of us to take a stand as consumers and choose a cruelty-free lifestyle. Once we stop encouraging industries that are making a profit at the expense of animals, we will end the demand and make a change for animals worldwide.
Do you think that celebrities are doing enough to protect the rights of animals in Turkey?There have been many celebrities in Turkey who have spoken out for animal rights, including my dear friend, Sezen Aksu, who is both an animal lover and an activist. I hope that with this campaign, more of my colleagues, friends, and fans will be inspired to voice their support for animal rights.
How did you find your dogs?Over the last few years, I have rescued approximately a dozen dogs from the streets of Turkey. Some were brought to me by friends, and some have even shown up at my doorstep looking for a home. They have brought me endless joy, and I treasure their unconditional love.
How many dogs do you have, and where do they live?I currently have four dogs (all rescued), named Efe, Carmella, Johnita, and Jackie. They all live with me at my ranch just outside Istanbul.
Do you have a favorite among them? Why?I love all my dogs, as each has his or her own unique character. But Johnita is very special to me—she is the one who never leaves my side, no matter what.
Tell us a story about you and one of your dogs.I used to have a dog named Efe, who I loved—and who passed away. Just a week later, a stray dog who almost identically resembled Efe showed up at my doorstep. I immediately welcomed him into my family and named him Efe as well.
How is your life nowadays? What is the latest with you?I am currently in the studio working on my new album. In my free time, I like to work with many nonprofit organizations such as DoÄŸa DerneÄŸi (Nature Foundation), UNICEF, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and more, to use my voice for change. But most of all, I am happy to be able to come home to my loving companions at the end of a long day at the studio.
Ron Artest is the compassionate king of any court he steps on. Just in time for Spay Day on February 23, the NBA All-Star and Los Angeles Lakers forward will reveal his new spay-and-neuter billboard tomorrow in Los Angeles at 8238 Beverly Blvd. (near Sweetzer Avenue). The first 20 people to arrive will receive coupons for free spay or neuter surgeries provided by the Sam Simon Foundation—a Los Angeles–area organization that runs a mobile clinic providing free spay and neuter surgeries and low-cost veterinary services.
Check back tomorrow for exclusive photos from the event. See you then!
While some PETA India members in Calcutta faced cop trouble at a demonstration outside the Calcutta Zoo earlier this week, others hit the streets in Delhi to help residents brush up on their ABCs: animal birth control.
Delhi, Bangalore, and other parts of the country are facing a critical animal overpopulation crisis that has left dogs and cats living in misery on the streets. Did you know that one female dog and all her puppies can produce a whopping 67,000 dogs in six years if none of them are spayed or neutered?
The solution to animal overpopulation in India—and the rest of the world—is simple: Always spay or neuter your companion animals.
Written by Liz Graffeo
Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on this Win It Wednesday. The winners of the 'Fight Breedism' shirt are Emily, Kelli, and S. Phillips. Congratulations!
We all have our favorite celebrities, and Charlize Theron has topped my list since she narrated PETA's puppy mill investigation. When she was spotted wearing our new "Fight Breedism" shirt on the beach with her rescue pups, I was pretty much over the moon. She's beautiful, talented, and funny, and she jumps at every chance she can to speak up for animals. What more could you ask for?
Her awesome T-shirt, for starters.
For this week's "Win It" Wednesday, we're giving away three "Fight Breedism" shirts so that you can rock Charlize's style. They're super-stylish, soft, and a great way to spread the word about adoption.
How do you win? Help Charlize give a voice to the millions of animals abandoned at animal shelters every year and tell us about the shelter animal(s) you have rescued. Leave us a comment below, then take our quiz to find out how well you know your ABCs (as in "animal birth control").
The contest ends on June 24, 2009, and we'll choose the three people who submit the most touching comments as the winners on June 26, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Check back every Wednesday for new prizes. Good luck!
Written by Lianne Turner
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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