We've developed some pretty thick skin about having our ads rejected, but this one left us feeling like we were, well, run over by a bus. The Paradise Valley Unified School District in Phoenix is selling ad space on its school buses to raise funds. Since Ringling Bros. inundates the schools with pro-circus propaganda, we thought it would only be fair if students were allowed to make an informed choice about whether to support the circus, so we offered to pay to place our baby-elephant training ad on the buses.
 

 
But the school district turned its nose up at our money, calling the ad "unsuitable." I guess tearing baby elephants away from their mothers, slamming them to the ground, and jabbing them with bullhooks is much more suitable. 
  

Sorry, Internet, but even as a blogger, I have to say that there's no better way to start the morning than to get newsprint-smudged fingers as you flip through the Times. Actually, I stand corrected: The only thing more satisfying is opening up this morning's New York Times to see an ad that exposes Ringling's abuse of baby elephants.

Didn't get a copy of this morning's paper? Check out the full-page spread here:

Written by Logan Schrer

PETA's Ellie the Elephant can melt hearts of all ages. Need proof? Yesterday, during Ellie's tour around the country to educate people about Ringling's abuse of baby elephants, the kids in Nashville, Tennessee, rushed to hug Ellie when she visited their elementary school. When one student asked Ellie why she was wearing a bandage, Ellie pointed to her "Circuses Are No Fun for Animals" sign, and the boy said, "I'm sorry that they did that to you."

Even adult onlookers couldn't resist waving at Ellie.

Ellie handed out comics educating the children and their parents about Ringling's rampant abuse and exploitation of animals. Our recent exposé reveals how Ringling trainers tear baby elephants away from their devastated mothers and use electric shock prods to force the animals into performing humiliating and unnatural tricks. Help save baby elephants by urging the USDA to revoke Ringling's license and sharing this information with everyone you know.

Written by Logan Scherer

funpeak / CC

Perez Hilton reported Monday that an Ohio woman got into a flap when she was told that McDonald's was out of McNuggets—and was apparently arrested after she punched out the drive-thru window. This altercrazion* is just the latest in a recent rash of fights, stabbings, and shootings that have taken place at various McDonald's restaurants across the country.

We know that a diet full of meat and dairy foods can make people limp, lumpy, and, er, well, dumb. And we know that McDonald's, aka McCruelty's, hideous treatment of animals makes caring people mad. But dare I say that a McDonald's-heavy diet may make people violent? Ladies and gentlemen, consider the following:

• Police in Kansas City, Missouri, are looking for a woman who reportedly threw a bucket of water over a McDonald's counter and pushed over a glass display case and three cash registers after she was told that she couldn't have her money back.
• A man in Massachusetts reportedly climbed through a drive-thru window and attacked the employees with a box cutter.
• An impatient Denver cop apparently flipped his McMuffin and pulled a gun on a drive-thru employee.
• A Naples, Florida, man went to McDonalds for a double fish sandwich—but ran into double trouble and was stabbed seven times.
• Apparently a threesome in Utah reeeally wanted their Big Macs—so much so that one of them reportedly blasted his sawed-off shotgun at the drive-thru after learning that the menu was breakfast-only.
• A North Carolina man apparently tried to cut in line by stabbing another McDonald's customer.

On the flip side, I don't recall ever having read about vegans duking it out for flesh-free Southern Fried Drumsticks at Brooklyn's Foodswings or getting into nunchuck battles over mock chicken fingers at Venice Beach's Good Karma (although I'll admit that my husband and I once thumb wrestled for the last bite of "meat loaf" at The Chicago Diner—I won, BTW).

McDonald's fast-food fights are so common that I'm thinking about suggesting that the PETA Files introduce a new semi-regular feature called "McDonald's Mayhem"—that is, unless you can think of a better title for it?

Written by Karin Bennett

*"Altercation" + "crazy" = "altercrazion."

Newsflash: The best sequel of 2009 was not Fast & Furious 4. Nope, the best update on a classic was the revamp of one of the greatest fur-busting tools on the market—the FURminator. As far as brushes for companion animals go, the FURminator 2.0 is like The Godfather II (or New Super Chick Sisters)—it may be the second installment, but it's the mane event. With a new ergonomic rubber handle and a FURejector button that allows the brush to clean itself, the "deLuxe" FURminator is an awesome advancement in companion-animal hair removal, making life a little nicer for your furniture and for Fido (dogs who are brushed regularly have healthier skin and coats).

petsitusa / CC

How can you win this groundbreaking gadget? Just pick a movie and come up with a clever title for its animal-themed sequel—like "Catvatar: The Feline Colonization of Pandora." (Admit it, you'd see it!) We're giving a FURminator 2.0 to the reader who comes up with wittiest title, so put your linguistic superpowers to work. Come on, I know you can do better than "Catvatar"!

Enter by posting your sequel idea in the comments section. The contest ends on January 20, 2010, and we'll pick the winners on January 22, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Written by Logan Scherer

At the rate victories are rolling in, 2010 is set to be a great year for animals! In addition to a victory for greyhounds, yesterday, online mega-retailer Overstock.com announced that it will no longer sell products made from exotic skins.

Overstock.com Chair and CEO Patrick Byrne made the announcement that his company would remove all listings of items with alligator, lizard, ostrich, stingray, eel, shark, and kangaroo skin from Overstock after he viewed our newest exotic-skins footage and was prompted to make a change for his company, his customers, and animals. "I do not believe that animal skins should be treated as decorative objects," he said.

From decapitated lizards to clubbed alligators, millions of animals suffer each year in the global leather industry, even though there are tons of cruelty-free, chic alternatives to animal skins. You can send a powerful message to those who profit from this cruel industry—and convince other companies to follow in the footsteps of Overstock and H&M—by pledging to shed exotic skins from your wardrobe and by sharing our exposé on Facebook.

Written by Logan Scherer

After reading an article in the Duluth News Tribune about the goings-on at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I took my dogs, Charlie and Lucy, for a long walk. My brain needed to mull over the angle I'd take in writing this blog—my soul needed to witness happy dogs doing dog things like sniffing tree trunks and greeting strangers, canine and human alike.

The article discussed a lengthy report compiled by government inspectors after a surprise visit last month revealed a filthy facility in which depressed dogs who underwent major invasive surgical procedures were vomiting in their cages and did not receive any veterinary treatment, university personnel did not notice or treat a gerbil who was severely emaciated and struggling to breathe, and staff were inadequately trained to handle primates. The Duluth News Tribune notes, "One major finding is that in five studies, UW-Madison researchers did not show that they tried to find an alternative to painful experiments on animals."

supercentenarian / CC

Unfortunately, this kind of treatment happens so frequently in university labs that it is almost routine—as awful as it is to call such horrors "routine." A recent PETA undercover investigation exposed similar cruelty suffered by cats, kittens, and dogs (purchased from local animal shelters), along with monkeys, mice, rats, and other victims of experiments at the University of Utah. At the U, what appears to be incompetence, indifference, and neglect forced many of the animals to endure severe trauma, prolonged suffering, and grisly deaths. Apparently, vivisectors at UW-Madison follow a similar modus operandi in the treatment of the victims of their experiments.

Our fingers are crossed that UW-Madison receives more than a slap on the wrist for these violations. While we keep an eye on the story, take the time to give our fight against laboratory atrocities some muscle by taking action today. Then go hug your own dog and give him or her an extra treat.

Written by Karin Bennett

We've just received word that Arlington (Texas) Municipal Judge Michael Smith has divested Jasen and Vanessa Shaw—owners and operators of animal warehouse U.S. Global Exotics, Inc. (USGE)—of the more than 26,000 mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and arachnids who were seized from USGE on December 15. U.S. Global Exotics, Inc., is a major player in the pet trade. For years, the company has imported and exported hundreds of thousands of animals every year for eventual sale at major pet stores and pet store chains all over the world, including at U.S.-based PETCO and PetSmart.

A PETA undercover investigator spent seven months working at U.S. Global Exotics and documented horrifically cruel conditions for animals. On December 15, Arlington officials and humane agents rescued more than 26,000 animals, including wallabies, sloths, ringtail lemurs, kinkajous, coatimundis, agoutis, hedgehogs, chinchillas, hamsters, gerbils, rats, mice, flying squirrels, guinea pigs, sugar gliders, prairie dogs, ferrets, snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs, spiders, crabs, and scorpions from this facility. This seizure is believed to be the largest animal confiscation in history.

Judge Smith's decision to award custody of the animals to the city of Arlington comes on the heels of a seven-day hearing during which lawyers for the exotic-animal dealer tried every trick in the book to downplay Jasen and Vanessa Shaw's failure to provide animals in their care with basic, minimal necessities such as food, water, and adequate housing. However, the evidence that our investigator meticulously documented while inside U.S. Global Exotics' facility—as well as the evidence gathered on the day of the seizure—could not be refuted. Here is some of what we found:

• A staff of only three or four people was tasked with providing care for tens of thousands of animals. Animals suffered greatly from cruel confinement in severely crowded and filthy containers, including soda bottles and milk jugs, litter pans, cattle-feeding troughs, and barren wire cages. Hundreds of animals were denied basic necessities such as food, water, and veterinary care.
• Hundreds of sick, injured, and dying animals were put in a chest freezer to die. Some of them, including a squirrel whose neck had been severely lacerated and a chinchilla who was bleeding from a prolapsed rectum, survived for hours before succumbing.
• Countless wild-caught animals were forced to make grueling journeys from their native habitats. They were subjected to deplorable, substandard conditions and care and were kept for days or weeks in pillowcases, shipping boxes, or soda bottles without food or water or even proper heat and humidity.
• Exotic animals—some of whom were members of endangered species—were continually kept inside barren bins, wire bird cages, and dungeon-like metal troughs, sometimes for months or years. Many developed abnormal, stress-induced neurotic behaviors such as incessant pacing, frantic clawing, and fighting for space and food.
• Hundreds of iguanas and other lizards who were never unpacked upon arrival perished inside mesh bags and "shipping cups"—and at least 12,000 turtles remained boxed up for weeks in the facility's warehouse, deprived of food, water, light, and adequate ventilation. In one day, 657 turtles were recorded on the facility's dead list.
• On the day of the seizure, the decomposing, liquefying remains of more than 200 iguanas were extracted from bags containing almost as many live iguanas, all of whom had been crammed into wooden crates at USGE's frigid warehouse and left without food or water for nearly two weeks in preparation for a shipment to Egypt.
• Green tree frogs were kept for weeks on end at USGE in soda bottles that were sitting in a cardboard box in the facility's washroom. No single person was assigned to their care, which meant that the animals went without food or water for weeks at a time. When it came time to ship the frogs, whose bodies are very small and delicate, some employees—including then–USGE supervisor Ari Flagle—violently shook the fragile animals out of the bottle and pulled them out by their legs—click here to watch video. Flagle is currently working with frogs, among other animals, at the Fort Worth Zoo under the supervision of Mike Doss, who testified on behalf of USGE.

While the animals at U.S. Global Exotics, Inc., have been rescued, millions of other animals in similar facilities are still suffering, and they will continue to suffer as long as people support companies such as U.S. Global Exotics by buying animals from pet stores such as PetSmart, PETCO, Petland, and others. Please share this information with everyone that you know and urge them never to buy any animals from stores and to always adopt from animal shelters and rescue groups.

Written by Karin Bennett

cm1.theinsider / CC

Pamela Anderson's got to have more frequent flyer miles than George Clooney's character in Up in the Air. And wherever she goes, she makes sure the people and the media talk about her efforts to help animals. The latest destination of PETA's jet-setting BFF? Chile.

Chile recently ratified a national animal welfare law, which is good, but it could go further. And in July, Chile's neighboring country, Bolivia, took a strong stand against cruelty to animals by passing a law forbidding the use of animals in circuses. Now Pamela has asked the president of Chile to do the same.

Abuse of animals in circuses is standard practice, and it begins before babies are old enough to leave their mother's sides. PETA recently released images of employees of Ringling, one of the largest circus outfits in the world, as they use ropes, bullhooks, electric shock prods, maternal deprivation, and corporal punishment to force baby elephants into doing tricks that are never seen in the wild and are confusing for them.

We'll keep you updated on Pam's efforts to fight animal abuse worldwide—in the meantime, help save baby elephants by asking the USDA to revoke Ringling's license and pursue criminal prosecution of Ringling trainers right here at home.

Written by Logan Scherer