Written by PETA
After reading PETA's news release announcing that footwear giant Nike has banned exotic skins, I had to pinch myself to make sure that I wasn't dreaming. I'm not, and neither are you. According to a newly revised policy, Nike and its upscale affiliate Cole Haan will stop selling skins from alligators, crocodiles, lizards, snakes, ostriches, fish, and marine mammals.
This fabulous decision was made after the footwear giants were sent PETA Asia's undercover video footage, which details the gruesome, intense suffering that the exotic-skins industry inflicts on animals. We asked Nike to "just do it." And it did!
Nike is the world's leading shoe manufacturer. Its 2009 sales topped $19 billion, and it operates in more than 160 countries, with approximately 675 Nike-owned retail stores operating worldwide. Cole Haan stores operate in Canada, Japan, and 25 U.S. states. Nike and Cole Haan are world leaders in trendy footwear, and now they've joined H&M and Overstock.com as trendsetters for animals.
After you kick up your cruelty-free heels, please take a moment to thank the companies for their compassionate decision.
Written by Karin Bennett
We are thrilled to report that thanks to a new ordinance passed by the city of Somerville, Massachusetts, circuses setting up shop in the city will never again be allowed to use exotic animals! The legislation, signed by Mayor Joe Curtatone, states that "nondomesticated animals" may not be displayed in events held on public or private properties.
Nearby Braintree, Provincetown, Quincy, and Revere have similar laws, so the entire area is a model in fighting the abuse of animals who are trained to perform physically challenging and dangerous tricks in circuses that are concerned only with profit, not with animal welfare. Spread the compassion to your own community by pushing for local legislation to ban the use of animals in circuses. Contact us for a list of places that have prohibited circuses and to request all the information you need to get started.
Written by Logan Scherer
Dog and cats across West Hollywood have a little more pep in their step this week after hearing the news that WeHo's City Council voted unanimously to ban the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores. This landmark law makes West Hollywood the first city in the country where it is illegal to sell dogs and cats bred at puppy and kitten mills. Way to go, WeHo!
This morning, hundreds of McDonald's owners and operators who flew to Tucson for a corporate seminar heard an unlikely speaker: PETA V.P. Dan Mathews. Our own "Rabble Rouser" took over the podium at the Westin La Paloma Resort during the opening presentation to urge franchisees to convince McDonald's to switch to more humane slaughter methods.
Dan's, uh, "keynote address" centered on a topic that the company would rather ignore. McDonald's suppliers use an outdated killing method that causes birds to have their throats cut while they are still conscious, many of them to suffer broken wings and legs, and many to be scalded to death in defeathering tanks. PETA—along with members of McDonald's own animal welfare advisory panel—has urged the company to upgrade its slaughter method to controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK), which would eliminate the worst forms of cruelty, but so far McDonald's refuses to listen.
If you could speak at a McDonald's convention, what would you say?
Written by Shawna Flavell
When morning's chill is frigid and frightful, my husband and I can get into some pretty intense debates about whose turn it is to walk Charlie and Lucy. OK, I'm exaggerating: We just play a few rounds of rock-paper-scissors—and usually wind up walking them together.
But in Spain's Catalonia region, a heated battle is growing over a proposed bill to ban bullfighting, initiated by a citizens' lobbying group that opposes the hideous "sport." Of course, other politicians want to keep the bloody "tradition" alive.
We're happy to report that the bill just passed a secret vote in the regional parliament (yay!). According to news reports, it was such a sensitive issue that some legislators actually used newspaper to cover their hands when they voted. Secret voting is rare in the Catalan legislature—so the cruelty behind bullfighting really hit home for the representatives who voted their conscience in defiance of tradition.
But the vote was close (67-59), and the bill still has a long way to go: Debates are sure to intensify before the final vote, which is several months away. If the bill passes, Catalonia will be the second region in Spain to outlaw bullfighting—the Canary Islands did it way back in 1991.
Of course, there's no question that my husband and I will call a truce long enough to sign this petition to end the Running of the Bulls. Won't you do the same?
There's no need to wait until March 17—now's the time to dig out your funny green hat and celebrate.
That's because Ireland has just become the latest European country to ban fur farms! The ban will take effect in three years and will save thousands of animals from the horrors of fur factory farms.
On fur farms, animals who would roam hundreds of miles in the wild are crammed into wire cages only big enough for the animals to take a few steps in any direction. Hundreds of animals at a time may be kept inside sheds or subjected to stifling heat and numbing cold outdoors. While diseases and injuries are common, most animals on fur farms are denied even basic vet care.
Not surprisingly, the boredom and frustration of captivity drive many animals insane; they spin in circles endlessly, bash themselves against their cage bars, and sometimes gnaw their own tails off.
The ban means that the Emerald Isle will become even greener, too: There will be no more tons of waste produced by fur farms that can pollute waterways and release ammonia into the air.
Ireland's ban on fur farms is a true pot o' gold for animals. Meanwhile, U.S. legislators have yet to enact any federal protections for animals on fur farms—tell them it's time to take a cue from the Irish and put an end to fur-farm cruelty.
Written by Heather Drennan
A few months ago, we told you about a vote by the European Union (E.U.) to end the sale of seal products. Well, now is the time to do a little victory dance, because the ban has just been finalized! According to the AP, Canada exported about $5 million worth of seal products to the EU last year, so this ban is another big blow to the country's annual seal massacre.
Since most of Europe has denounced the shameful slaughter of baby seals loud and clear, you'd think that Canada's government would finally get a clue and take action to end the annual bloodbath, right?
Think again.
Sorry to say, but once again, instead of enacting the ban that good people around the world—including a great many in Canada—are demanding, the Canadian government continues to pour all its efforts into keeping the massacre going. Until the last minute, it was still lobbying the E.U. to change its mind.
Canadian bureaucrats can be pretty thickheaded, but we are determined to keep the pressure on them until they can't ignore it any longer. That means pushing the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic Games to get involved, buying American maple syrup instead of Canadian, and spreading the word to get other folks involved too!
Written by Jeff Mackey
When we heard that the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) is selling cheap outdoor ad space to nonsponsors, you can be sure that only a few seconds passed before we signed up to place a billboard during the 2010 Olympic Games.
VANOC claims that the soft economy has created sluggish ad sales, so it's scrambling to make back some of the millions of dollars it spent stockpiling billboard space. Could it be that corporations are reluctant to spend their advertising dollars to support the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games when the word "Canada" is now synonymous worldwide with "baby seal slaughter?"
One thing is for certain—if VANOC accepts our offer, our billboard will be slated to educate visitors from all over the world about Canada's Olympic Games shame.
We’ve been getting a lot of questions on this since the European Parliament voted on it this week, so I thought I’d clear the air a bit.
I realize that it’s going to come as a huge shock to some but PETA is completely opposed to the ban. Obviously, the cruelty involved in the slaughter of dogs and cats is beyond hideous and has to be stopped, but we feel like this “ban” is really nothing more than a feel-good measure that is likely to harm more animals than it would help.
First off, the entire point of the proposed legislation, as it states very clearly, is to protect the fur industry. The language in the proposed legislation couldn’t be more clear on this fact: The bill is intended to and would in fact “facilitate the placing on the market of fur and fur products from species other than cats and dogs and prevent disturbance on the international market for fur and fur products in general.”
Even more insane to me is the fact that the proposed legislation would do absolutely nothing to actually stop the trade in dog and cat fur in Europe, since it would exempt fur from dogs and cats who have been killed for any other purpose, including meat. Millions of dogs and cats are killed for their meat and fur in China, where we did an investigation and found horrendous cruelty.
Our concerns really boil down to the fact that the ban will help the fur trade by giving consumers a false sense of security that it is safe to buy fur because they’ll believe it isn’t from dogs and cats. In the United States and other countries, similar bans on dog and cat fur simply haven’t worked; dog and cat fur is still sold, but it is relabelled as fur from other species. A ban like this won’t work any better than self-regulation, which, in the fur trade, means no regulation. The ban’s only practical effect will be to promote the acceptance of fur from other species of animals, including canine and feline species such as coyotes and lynx, who are just as abused as dogs and cats in the fur trade.
Essentially, this legislation will just grease the wheels of the fur industry so it can kill millions of animals for their skins while assuring consumers that none of them is like their family pets. And of course, it’s just as messed up to skin minks or foxes alive and wear their fur as it is to skin dogs or cats alive for their fur.
I hope this helps make our position a bit more clear. Where do you stand? Comments much appreciated.
I don’t know about you, but I always get a little bristly when my “almost” vegetarian friends tell me that they “only eat fish.” Of course, I totally believe that nobody is perfect, myself included, and that every small step people take to help animals is important. I just don’t understand how fish got so removed from the compassion radar that some people actually call themselves vegetarians while scarfing down tuna melts?
Anyway, my point here is that everything I read about fish intelligence and sentience just blows me away. And this story from the UK put a smile on my face. It’s just kind of nice to see the plight of our piscine friends finally being taken seriously . . .
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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