Written by PETA
Why would the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) order up animals for experiments from a company that has repeatedly violated federal animal welfare laws? I'm not sure.
The CDC has had contracts with the now notorious Pennsylvania ferret-breeding factory farm Triple F Farms, Inc., totaling more than $1.5 million since 2006. But PETA's recent undercover investigation at Triple F found that its owners, supervisors, and employees left ferrets with bleeding rectal prolapses, gaping wounds, herniated organs, painful mammary gland infections, and ruptured, bleeding eyes to suffer and die without veterinary care. Workers threw live animals into an incinerator, and employees with no veterinary training cut organs and anal sacs from ferrets who were not given adequate pain relief. Our evidence prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to inspect Triple F repeatedly, and federal officials corroborated our findings and have opened an investigation, citing Triple F for a dozen violations of federal laws.
PETA immediately sent CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden the results of our investigation and the USDA's first damning inspection report. But the CDC, which abuses ferrets for respiratory experiments, signed another contract with Triple F, worth $16,750, just weeks later. PETA has filed an urgent complaint with the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services because the CDC's latest contract may violate a federal law requiring the government to award business contracts only to reputable and ethical companies. Click here to ask the CDC to determine whether Triple F should be made ineligible from receiving taxpayers' money because of its horrendous record of abuse and noncompliance. Written by Michelle Sherrow
… into Primate Products. Alert readers may recall the horrifying photos of mutilated monkeys at this facility that were leaked earlier this year. Shockingly, when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was looking for somewhere to "retire" a group of owl monkeys who had been used in experiments, it couldn't seem to think of a better place than a company that is in the business of ripping monkeys away from their homes in the wild and making restraint devices for them to be tormented in.
Yes, you may well scratch your head. Incredibly, it gets worse. According to the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF), Primate Products—apparently after unsuccessfully looking for a buyer—callously gave the monkeys to a horrendous roadside zoo, Everglades Outpost, apparently without bothering to ascertain whether or not the zoo had the space or the know-how to properly care for the monkeys. Turns out that it doesn't seem to have either.
Owl monkeys mate for life, prefer to live in small family groups (parents and offspring), are very territorial, and can become easily stressed if their living conditions are disturbed. Any disruption can lead to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and even heart attacks. According to reports from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspections—which resulted in the agency citing Everglades Outpost for multiple violations of the Animal Welfare Act—after 61 of the monkeys were delivered to Everglades Outpost and carelessly placed into group cages, 11 died within hours, and nine more died within several days. Primate Products was apparently so disinterested in whether the zoo could care for the monkeys that it transferred 31 more there a week later, and six were dead within two days.
The USDA inspection report concludes that Everglades Outpost demonstrated "a lack of knowledge and experience regarding basic housing and social needs of this species" and that "the sudden group housing … caused overt behavior stress and physical trauma."
ARFF is demanding a full investigation, and PETA has called on the CDC—which has also purchased monkeys from Primate Products for use in experiments—to follow the lead of other organizations that are horrified by Primate Products' callousness and cruelty and cut ties with this abusive facility once and for all.
Written by Alisa Mullins
Fancy a bout of the runs, severe fever, septicemia, or perhaps meningitis? Then head on out and get yourself a snake or other reptile as a pet. According to a recent report, hundreds of people were exposed to salmonella bacteria from dead mice they were feeding to their reptiles—but that's just the tip of the iceberg. For years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been sounding the alarm about contact with reptiles because every year tens of thousands of people in the U.S. contract salmonellosis—a serious bug that can land you in the hospital … or worse—as a result of direct or indirect contact with reptiles. In the last year, there have been two other reptile-related salmonella outbreaks, one tied to the sale of pet turtles and the other to the sale of African dwarf frogs.
Should pet stores give away a free hospital stay with each reptile they sell? You tell us. Meanwhile, please help stop the wobbly stomach blues (not to mention the blues that every snake and lizard who's stuck in an aquarium must experience) by adding your support to the proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ban the sale of nine species of snake.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
Victory Update: Following a national PETA campaign against Brookstone's sale of Frog-O-Spheres —tiny plastic boxes containing two African dwarf frogs—the retailer has discontinued the sale of these little frog prisons in its stores. Learn more about this victory for frogs.
Want some stomach cramps, fever, and vomiting with that Frog-O-Sphere?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported this Monday that a national salmonella outbreak has afflicted at least 48 people in 25 states—many of whom say they've been in contact with frogs like the ones Brookstone imprisons in its filthy Frog-O-Spheres. Huh, that's strange … the illnesses began in June, the same month Brookstone started selling Frog-O-Spheres, and officials warn that African dwarf frogs are among the believed causes of these infections. Brookstone markets the Frog-O-Spheres as an educational product for kids. Seventy-seven percent of the people infected with this salmonella strain are children under 10, so I'd have to say that it's evident that Brookstone doesn't care about animals or people.
Our recent undercover investigation inside Brookstone's Frog-O-Sphere supplier revealed thousands of frogs trapped in unfiltered water ridden with excrement and molted skin. And many of the plastic tubs that housed frogs shipped to customers contained the bloated, fungus-covered remains of decomposing frogs. That seems like a breeding ground for infectious bacteria to me. Now, I'm not a biologist, but Clifford Warwick—one of the experts who viewed footage of our Wild Creations investigation—is, and here's what he had to say about the bacterial potential of Frog-O-Spheres:
[P]otential pathogens are so frequently carried and shed by frogs that it should be presumed that all frogs and every drop of water in the cube, as well as the cube itself, may potentially be harbouring microbes that may cause disease in many animals and humans.
Want to help prevent the spread of potentially lethal diseases? Take a minute to urge Brookstone to stop selling Frog-O-Spheres immediately.
Written by Logan Scherer
When we read that the CDC recently published a report that showed that only one in 200 American kids is vegetarian, we were confused to say the least. With peta2's e-news list alone reaching well over 1,000,000 kids and growing at a staggering rate every month, the math just didn't add up.
We decided to do some digging around. After speaking with the lead author of the study, we learned that the intention of the survey was not to find out the eating habits of American children, but instead was focused on complementary and alternative medicine. In fact, the only two questions regarding a vegetarian lifestyle were the following (via VeganHealth.org):
During the past 12 months did [your child] use any of the following special diets for two weeks or more for health reasons? Please say yes or no to each. [Vegetarian was one of the options.] During the past 12 months did [your child] use a vegetarian diet to treat a specific health problem or condition other than weight control or weight loss?
During the past 12 months did [your child] use any of the following special diets for two weeks or more for health reasons? Please say yes or no to each. [Vegetarian was one of the options.]
During the past 12 months did [your child] use a vegetarian diet to treat a specific health problem or condition other than weight control or weight loss?
So, this study only accounted for kids who are vegetarian for health reasons. Any child who is vegetarian for ethical, environmental, religious, or other reasons wasn't factored in. And since the majority of kids we talk to go vegetarian because they care about the animals, it's pretty obvious that the number of vegetarian kids in America is waaaaay higher than one in 200.
Written by Liz Graffeo
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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.