Written by PETA
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!
Written by Logan Scherer
This week, West Hollywood may become the first city in the country to ban the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores, potentially dealing a major blow to puppy mills, where constant confinement and a lack of adequate veterinary care and socialization often lead animals to become unhealthy and difficult to socialize. In a world in which U.S. animal shelters must put 3 to 4 million dogs and cats to death every year because of the overpopulation crisis, this ordinance would remind residents that adoption is the only responsible choice for people who are looking to welcome companion animals into their homes.
With its history of pioneering animal rights legislation and its influential role as a cultural and political trendsetter, West Hollywood is poised to lead the movement against pet stores and puppy mills. But you don't have to wait for WeHo to make its move. Urge your local legislators to end the exploitation of cats and dogs in your own community immediately.
Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated the promised release of Robert—the tabby who was purchased by the University of Utah (the U) for $15 from the Davis County Animal Shelter and used in a cruel experiment in which his skull was cut open and electrodes were implanted in his brain. Robert has been adopted into a new home, but the majority of the 105 dogs and cats who were purchased from Davis County Animal Control last year remain caged in the U's labs and won't be given the same chance.
In the two months since we first released footage of our undercover investigation inside the U, PETA has repeatedly attempted to obtain documents related to the purchase of animals like Robert, but county officials have failed to cooperate, in what appears to be a violation of the state's Government Records Access and Management Act. So this morning, PETA filed a lawsuit against the county demanding access to these documents, which will shed more light on Davis County's betrayal of both animals and community members who are unaware that the beloved companions they surrender may be mutilated and killed in laboratories.
Today, PETA is also launching a new video called "Betrayal of Trust," which reveals the plight of some of the dogs and cats whom the U purchased from local animal shelters for its cruel and deadly experiments. The video contains footage from inside the Davis County Animal Shelter and the U's animal laboratories, including a clip of Lady, a friendly German shepherd whom the U purchased from the shelter for $20. Experimenters cut open her neck and implanted a medical device for a heart experiment. At the end of the experiment, Lady will be killed and "go to the dump," as one vet tech in our new video explains.
PETA's working overtime to ensure that shelter animals will no longer be betrayed by Davis County and the University of Utah. Please take just a few moments to help by contacting the school and demanding an end to this shameful practice.
A few weeks ago, we were thrilled to report that Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) agreed to stop using homeless cats obtained from Odessa Animal Control in deadly medical training exercises, but we weren't sure whether or not Texas Tech had abandoned the practice of shoving plastic tubes down the throats of cats altogether. Well, now it's official: News reports confirm that TTUHSC will no longer use cats for this training! I'm sure our rejected newspaper ads and celebrity support played a big part in securing this towering triumph, but the victory really belongs to the more than 30,000 (!) compassionate people who took action against TTUHSC.
With 2010 fast approaching, we've got a lot to celebrate, but there are still countless animals who are being tortured and killed in experiments. Let's start the New Year by riding on the wave of our TTUHSC success and bringing the same support to the more than two dozen monkeys whom NASA intends to torture by exposing them to massive doses of dangerous radiation. Urge NASA to cancel its cruel plans and instead direct its funds to humane methods of scientific inquiry. Here's to starting 2010 with another victory!
After pressure from PETA and our supporters, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) has announced that it will no longer use homeless cats obtained from Odessa Animal Control in deadly medical training exercises. E-mails from concerned individuals, celebrity support, and rejected newspaper ads have had an effect. Thanks to each and every one of you who took action to help homeless cats escape cruelty at Texas Tech.
Has Texas Tech abandoned the practice of shoving hard, plastic tubes down the throats of cats altogether? We're not completely sure, but documents we've obtained indicate that TTUHSC has not purchased or used cats from any source within the past year. Could it be that officials have finally wised up to recommendations from both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association, which endorse the exclusive use of manikins, not live animals, for the kind of training taught at Texas Tech?
While we nail down a definitive answer from Texas Tech officials, please take a moment to speak out against cruel experiments conducted on dogs, cats, rats, rabbits, mice, and other animals obtained from animal shelters by the University of Utah. PETA's successes depend on your support and willingness to take action. Let's keep the momentum going!
Written by Karin Bennett
"I was like, 'Um, could you make two of those?' And I'd make a cute face, and they'd roll their eyes and give me another falafel."—Natalie Portman, on how easy Brothers co-star Tobey Maguire, who brought his own vegan chef to the set, made it for the newly vegan starlet to eat humanely.
Jake Gyllenhaal hasn't issued a statement yet, but I'm willing to bet he chowed down with his co-stars on some vegan vittles too. Could you resist food from a personal vegan chef?
This week Windsor, North Carolina, officials cut the red ribbon that wrapped PETA's very special gift to animals in this small Southern town. For nearly a decade, PETA has been working with Windsor and other area towns to provide homeless animals in their care with better housing conditions and a peaceful end when euthanasia is the most humane option.
In 2000, PETA was alerted by a caring police officer to terrible suffering and appalling conditions at several "animal shelters" in North Carolina, some of which were nothing more than outdoor shacks, like the one in Windsor. Dogs and cats left inside these outdoor "coops" suffered without heat in the winter and air conditioning, or even fans, in the scorching summer. As a result, some animals literally drowned or froze to death at some town facilities. When no homes could be found for them, many were killed by gas poisoning or gunshots.
Today, we are thrilled to announce that this week, PETA representatives were joined by Windsor's mayor, Robert Spivey, and several other county officials to celebrate the town's new animal shelter, funded entirely by PETA, to ensure that homeless animals in Windsor are housed comfortably and humanely from here on out. Get ready for a pretty amazing reveal:
As for the old shack, we're planning a very special demolition party that will take place soon.
Since receiving that initial complaint nearly a decade ago, PETA has become a lifesaving presence in many impoverished areas near our headquarters in Southern Virginia. We have provided hundreds of doghouses, free and low-cost spay/neuter services, food, toys, no-spill water receptacles, and more to local citizens and their animal companions, and we regularly work with local law-enforcement officials to prosecute those who harm animals. Every dollar PETA spends helps to ensure that a needy animal receives warmth during winter, shade during summer, fresh food, and clean water. Considering the difficult economic situation and winter's frigid temperatures, we—and animals—need your help now more than ever. Visit HelpingAnimals.com to learn how you can help neglected and homeless animals in your own neighborhood and beyond.
For more than two decades, Odessa Animal Control has sold homeless cats to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) for use in painful intubation exercises. A spokesperson for Odessa Animal Control has stated, "We don't have a problem with [selling cats to TTUHSC]. … We don't ask any questions."
If Odessa Animal Control did ask questions, it would learn that the cats are killed after hard plastic tubes are repeatedly forced down their throats and needles are stabbed into their chests—a fate that no animal guardian could bear hearing if his or her cat were the victim.
To share this disturbing information and urge local residents to push for changes in Odessa Animal Control's policy, we attempted to publish this ad in a local paper:
Unfortunately, our blog is the only place that you can see the ad because it was rejected by the paper. We aren't giving up so easily, though. By this time last year, cats had already been shipped off and killed at TTUHSC, but we recently confirmed that no animals have been sold or used in the procedures yet this year. Please help permanently end this cruelty today by urging Odessa Mayor Larry Melton and Odessa Animal Control to stop selling animals to Texas Tech and passing this along to everyone you know.
Written by Liz Graffeo
Purrrrr. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to make disabling declawing cats illegal, and other California cities are set to vote on similar measures this week.
Painful and traumatic, declawing is really 10 separate amputations in which the last joint of every single toe gets cut off along with the nail. Declawing a cat is the equivalent of cutting a person's fingers off at the first knuckle and leads to gradual weakening of cats' legs, shoulders, and back muscles. Declawed cats are more likely to have behavior "problems" such as avoiding the litterbox and biting, and they are commonly surrendered to shelters by frustrated guardians.
Germany and other parts of Europe have outlawed declawing as a form of cruelty, and many conscientious veterinarians in the U.S. refuse to declaw because they realize that all someone needs to do to save their furniture (or whatever other lame excuse people come up with to justify mangling their kitties) is take the time to simply trim their cats' nails and buy proper scratching posts.
The Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, and Berkeley city councils will be considering or voting on declawing bans this week, so please tell anyone you know in these cities to send an urgent e-mail to their councilmembers today.
Written by Heather Drennan (with help from Wellington)
Yesterday morning, Procter & Gamble's annual meeting received a special guest when a PETA doggie (a gal in a costume, not a canine in Norfolk) stopped by to urge P&G—the maker of Iams dog food—to stop making animals suffer in laboratories.
PETA's ongoing campaign to end animal testing at Iams has led the manufacturer to end all invasive and deadly animal tests involving dogs and cats—but Iams refuses to end its support for experiments on other species, and it still keeps as many as 700 dogs locked up in its laboratories for feeding trials and nutritional studies.
To encourage passersby to choose cruelty-free doggie chow, PETA demonstrators passed out free samples of V-dog high-protein dog food. Not only is V-dog not tested on animals, it's also vegan!
V-dog is one of many alternatives to animal-unfriendly dog food. You can check out a complete list of cruelty-free dog foods here.
Written by Amanda Schinke
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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