Written by Jeff Mackey
PETCO pledged in 2005 that it would end the sale of large birds in its stores. Last month, a concerned PETCO customer noticed that a PETCO store in his area had a white-capped pionus, a kind of parrot, for sale. The bird had apparently spent 14 months in a cage at the store, waiting for someone to buy her. PETCO's price tag for the bird was $799, but for some time, there was a "Manager's Special—50% Off" sign on the cage she was in, as if this sensitive bird were an out-of-style shirt to be placed on the clearance rack.
PETA reached out to its contact at PETCO's corporate office and got the complainant in touch with the pet trade giant. For once, PETCO did the right thing and allowed the person who contacted PETA to adopt the bird, since named Tegan, for a donation to the PETCO Foundation, which provides funds for animal welfare organizations and spay-and-neuter efforts, among other things.
Tegan now has the run (fly?) of the house and the company of other birds. The kind man who took her in says that Tegan is a very affectionate bird who enjoys taking showers and who spends at least 4 to 5 hours a day riding around on his shoulder, where she seems happiest. You can find tips on caring for birds on our companion animals webpage.
Two important lessons emerge from this case. One: Never hesitate to speak up when you suspect an animal needs help. And the other? Don't support the pet trade—shop only at pet-supply stores that don't sell live animals.
Written by Michelle Kretzer
They may have been born as strays on a porch, but thanks to the efforts of some wonderful volunteers, seven Labrador retriever–mix puppies spent their first Christmas indoors, surrounded by their loving adoptive families.
When PETA suffered a "van down" earlier this year, longtime President's Circle members Adam and Leni Sender stepped up to the plate. The Sender family—tireless animal advocates who have opened their home to numerous rescued animals, including a refugee from Hurricane Katrina—donated the money for PETA to buy a new and improved van, and we dedicated the vehicle to the memory of their beloved cat Patti.
The "Patti Wagon" will urge people to save lives by spaying and neutering their animals while it ferries animals in need to and from appointments with PETA's no-cost to low-cost spay-and-neuter clinics. We love the Senders as much as the Senders love animals. Thank you for being the animals' "Spay Santas"!
And the van's namesake? Well, we think Patti would be purrfectly pleased with her mobile memorial.
Written by Heather Faraid Drennan
Making up songs about my cat, Wellington, set to holiday jingles is one of the season's great joys. ("Wellie, the Pink-Nosed Kitty" is a big hit at parties.) The best thing that we can do for our animal companions this holiday season, though, is to keep them safe. Here are some tips:
Cats are wonderful, but they don't make great gifts. And please always remember to spay and neuter.
Happy holidays to you and your furry friends!
Written by PETA
Don't let your dog or cat appear on 16 Weeks and Pregnant. Spay and neuter.
Fewer exotic animals such as hedgehogs, macaws, and lizards will spend their lives locked in cages as "pets," and it all started with a kind woman who wouldn't give up until she got help for a sick, dying ferret in an Arkansas pet store. The woman repeatedly asked the store manager to let her take the ferret home for rehabilitation, but the manager refused. Finally, she called PETA for help. We pushed animal control to check on the ferret, and the store's owner quickly surrendered the ill animal.
PETA's caseworker explained to the store's owner that animals suffer in mass-breeding facilities and animal dealers' warehouses before they end up in pet stores. The owner agreed to watch PETA's undercover video footage from the now-defunct exotic-animal warehouse U.S. Global Exotics, Inc., and the massive ferret factory Triple F Farms, Inc. He was so moved by the plight of wild-born exotic animals—who are often abducted from their families and stuffed into luggage to be smuggled into the U.S.—that he agreed never to buy or sell these animals again.
This victory is an encouragement to us all always to report cruelty and never to miss an opportunity to educate others about how animals suffer in the pet trade and other cruel industries. You never know whose mind you might change!
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
Employees at a Kentucky dentist's office were reattaching vent covers when meowing was heard under the building. A passerby then called PETA for advice.
A pretty black-and-white cat had apparently darted inside an open vent while the covers were off, but then was unable to get back out. We were able to secure the release of the cat and convinced the caller, who planned to adopt the cat, to first take her to a shelter to be scanned for a microchip. Sure enough, the cat, named Minnie, had been lost for six long weeks, and her guardian was desperately searching for her.
Minnie was lucky she was discovered before she starved to death or was seriously injured in the ventilation system and that the people who found her were kindhearted. Other cats who are let outside unattended aren't always so lucky. Outdoor cats are often abused by cruel people, hit by cars, poisoned, attacked by other animals, or stolen and sold for use in experiments or as bait for dogfights. Don't learn the hard way—keep cats safely inside, as Minnie's grateful guardian assures us she will do from now on.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
When a PETA supporter saw a picture posted on Facebook of a cat whose face was being eaten away by ulcers, she knew that she had to act. Her speedy investigation revealed that the cat was living at an auto mechanic's shop and that even though animal control had been called, the cat was still suffering. That's when she called PETA.
When we contacted animal control officials, they said that they had required the mechanic to take the cat to a veterinarian. But alarmingly, the veterinarian had refused to euthanize the cat, saying that he would be better off dying at home. Hearing this, PETA's Community Animal Project dropped everything and went to find the cat.
He was in miserable condition—weak, emaciated, matted, infested with fleas, and in the advanced stages of terminal feline leukemia. We convinced the mechanic to let us give the cat a peaceful release from his unrelenting suffering.
If you ever suspect that an animal is suffering, don't hesitate—make the call! Don't assume that someone else will take care of the problem—make sure that someone does by being that someone.
Tonight on NBC, the cocktails will flow and the bunny tails will wiggle as the network debuts The Playboy Club, a period drama about the "living, breathing fantasy world" which stars vegan PETA celebrity supporters Jenna Dewan-Tatum and Leah Renee. But bunnies (Playboy and otherwise) aren't the only ones with rampant sex drives—for unaltered dogs and cats living in the "playboy club" of the streets, life is anything but a fantasy. That's why we've asked NBC to air our frisky "Sex and the Kitty" public service announcement during the show—to give viewers a good laugh while showing them that spaying and neutering saves lives.
One unaltered female cat and her offspring can produce a whopping 420,000 cats in just seven years. The result is more animals added to the millions that are already homeless. Animals left to fend for themselves on the streets often suffer from lingering and painful diseases, starvation, exposure, or neglect or are hit by cars, attacked by other animals or cruel people, stolen by laboratory dealers, or used as bait by dogfighters.
Ending the animal homelessness crisis is everyone's responsibility. The solution is easy and practical: spay and neuter all companion animals.
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.
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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