Written by PETA
'Tis the season to fight fur full-force, and our unstoppable campaigners have been doing just that. They took their eye-catching demos to cities across the Pacific Northwest to show folks the fur industry's horrific practices.
Animals are left to languish in sickening steel-jaw traps for days. Often, they will force themselves to chew off the injured limb to free themselves in order to get back to their den to feed their young—only to bleed to death later. Those who are not "useful" are deemed "trash animals" and discarded to die.
Since the fur industry tries hard to keep its methods under wraps, you'd best believe we will boldly display it on street corners, in living color!
So, give it up for our fearless campaigners!
PS While we're on the topic, here are detailed instructions on how to rescue an animal from a steel-jaw trap.
Written by Missy Lane
The always incredible PETA India wrapped up 2008 spreading the message of compassion for animals across the country. Check out some photos of their attention-grabbing demos below:
In Mumbai, two activists posed as horses injured by vehicle accidents to show how dangerous the streets can be for these sensitive animals. This demo encouraged Mumbaikars (Mumbai citizens) to say "neigh" to horse-drawn carriages.
Horses aren't the only animals suffering on the streets of Mumbai. Bullocks are forced to pull heavy oil carts and are denied basic necessities. Activists rode through the streets calling for a ban on these cruel carts.
On the other side of the country, in one of Ranchi's biggest schools, five children died and more than 60 became severely ill after being given tainted milk. PETA India immediately rushed to the school and distributed soy milk to more than 200 students.
PETA India also just released this gorgeous new ad asking kite flyers to stop coating their kite string (manja) in glass. While glass-coated manja may be effective in cutting an opponent's kite string, it's deadly for thousands of birds.
Way to go PETA India! Oh, and if you want to congratulate them for all their hard work in 2008, keep in mind their birthday is coming up (PETA India turns 9 on January 14!), and they really love cupcakes.
Written by Liz Graffeo
Ah, the Palins. One endless reservoir of public mishaps and cavalier insensitivity toward animals. They provide all the cathartic benefits of reality TV, minus the guilt of feeling shallow, since it's on CNN.
Well, in an effort to help safeguard the innocence of youth against merciless animal slaughter, we've sent the newest addition to the Palin clan an adorable care package of compassionate goodies. Sarah's first grandchild Tripp will receive an assortment of cute animal-friendly kid gear, and his young mom Bristol will receive Ingrid's new book, One Can Make a Difference, as well as her classic 50 Awesome Ways Kids Can Help Animals.
Seeing as the little guy probably won't be learning any empathetic values from his aerial-hunting grandparents, we're hoping our small effort will help light the way toward a more conscientious path. And with his pedigree, we think he'll need all the assistance he can get! Click here to read our full letter to Bristol Palin.
For those of you who are still too repulsed at the thought of this family's heartless ways to share in our goodwill toward them just yet, we've got something in our bag for you too. Trot on over to our latest holiday video game. In it you can hurl virtual snowballs at a certain bikini-clad, gun-toting maverick. Enjoy!
Our sexy leopard ladies recently hit the ice in San Francisco to remind fellow winter-lovers to "bare skin, don't wear skin." They suited up in spots, shed their clothes, and spread the compassionate cruelty-free message.
But ya know how some people just can't handle the heat (er … ice)? Well rink security quickly escorted our ladies out while overly concerned mothers frantically bustled around trying to cover the news camera lenses with their hands. Sorry, moms, but it's too late! Tons of press captured some incredible shots and even told our ladies that the whole thing looked great. Which it, of course, did. But ya know, haters gotta hate.
After everyone calmed down (some hot bods and leopard spots really can cause an uproar), our girls posed for pictures and passed out important information on the cruelty of the fur industry to countless curious individuals. One blushing witness of the rink tussle said, "Well, it's for a good cause!"
Written by Christine Doré
While Santa's making his list and checking it twice, you'd better believe that KFC is getting nothing but coal, coal, and more coal—and PETA's "Sexy Santas" want to make sure that the world knows why! Check us out at our demos handing out info on Kentucky Fried Cruelty!
Santa's not the only one who objects to KFC cruelty, and rightfully so! These bikini-clad hotties certainly didn't get their sexy bods by downing greasy fried chicken loaded with cruelty and cholesterol. These chicks remind everyone to ditch KFC and have a very veggie holiday instead!
Last Friday, a New York City "carriage horse" slipped on the ice and fell into a split on 59th Street. Big surprise!
Filmmaker Donny Moss asked the following to the ASPCA—which is charged with enforcing the anti-cruelty code and regulations on horse-drawn carriages:
"Why did the ASPCA allow the carriage drivers to leave the stables this morning when everyone in the City knew that a major winter storm was about to blanket NYC with snow and ice? "At about 9:00 a.m., the agent who answered your ASPCA hotline told me that the drivers would be sent in when the weather turned. As you know, the long trip back to the "stables" through midtown during a wet and icy winter storm is treacherous. The horses should never have left this morning. But they did, and I videotaped it so that people can see the cruelty taking place on your watch. "At 11:50 a.m. during the height of the storm, I saw the ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement officer greeting carriage drivers with handshakes and high fives. Shouldn't he have been reprimanding them for continuing to pick up passengers almost two hours into the storm? "In spite of the best efforts of many activists, conditions for the carriage horses are worse now than they've ever been before. Because the ASPCA has been entrusted with protecting these animals, you have a duty to at the very least minimize the abuse and publicly call for a ban. Until you do, the ASPCA isn't preventing cruelty to animals. You are enabling it."
"Why did the ASPCA allow the carriage drivers to leave the stables this morning when everyone in the City knew that a major winter storm was about to blanket NYC with snow and ice?
"At about 9:00 a.m., the agent who answered your ASPCA hotline told me that the drivers would be sent in when the weather turned. As you know, the long trip back to the "stables" through midtown during a wet and icy winter storm is treacherous. The horses should never have left this morning. But they did, and I videotaped it so that people can see the cruelty taking place on your watch.
"At 11:50 a.m. during the height of the storm, I saw the ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement officer greeting carriage drivers with handshakes and high fives. Shouldn't he have been reprimanding them for continuing to pick up passengers almost two hours into the storm?
"In spite of the best efforts of many activists, conditions for the carriage horses are worse now than they've ever been before. Because the ASPCA has been entrusted with protecting these animals, you have a duty to at the very least minimize the abuse and publicly call for a ban. Until you do, the ASPCA isn't preventing cruelty to animals. You are enabling it."
Well said, Mr. Moss. The New York horse-drawn carriage industry is an exploitive disgrace and a shame on the city, but the ASPCA could do something. It could take its enforcement role seriously and be pro-active—get out there when a storm is expected and advise drivers that anyone working a horse when it hits will be cited. The warning should come before the storm, not during it.
Oh, and while we're at it, remember the horses trying to drink from the empty troughs? That's a violation, too, as is going out without blankets in the cold. And we believe that it's a violation of the anti-cruelty code when horses are unable to lie down at night and get the weight off their feet, because it causes the horses to suffer needlessly.
Written by Joel Bartlett
As we reported last week, now is the time of year when we on the anti-cruelty side of things need to step up our fight against ugly, ugly fur. It's cold outside and we're at the height of the shopping season—and what goes along with cold, conspicuous consumption, and callowness? Fur buyers, natch!
So we've been stepping up our protests—as you may have noticed—and one of the latest demos featured a caged PETA member in downtown St. Louis. Her presence reminded shoppers that fur does not come from the Fur-Coat-Tree Forest in Magical Ignorance Land.* Fur comes from caged-'til-they're-insane animals on farms and trapped-'til-they're- stomped-on animals in the wild—and we're not going to let consumers forget it.
You can check out photos of the demo below—and don't forget our tips on how to be the best fur fighter you can be.
*Not to be confused with Imaginationland, where those who skin animals alive would surely live on the bad side of the barrier. Too bad furriers are real.
Written by Amanda Schinke
The wonder crusaders over at PETA Asia-Pacific have been crossing country borders nonstop for the sake of animals. Their efforts as of late have reached crowds of people in China and Australia, and even more individuals are tuning in via news circuits and the Internet. We say, rock it, PETA A-P! Of course, we fancy our readers to be in the know about everything animal rights—so we've compiled a few photos of our affiliate's latest efforts below. Enjoy!
Now, don't those pics just make you want to get out there and do something? Well, get to it!
Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky
Here are the top four reasons why Fred Willard is the man:
4. This Is Spinal Tap: Seriously, put it on your bucket list.
3. Waiting for Guffman: A travel agent–slash–community theater star who's all tracksuit and no talent—nice.
2. ABC PSA (ad-libbed version): Known for his improv skills, Fred ad libs on the acronyms in this funny bit focused on our Animal Birth Control (ABC) campaign.
And the number one reason Fred Willard is the man? Well, you'll just have to see for yourself:
Written by Amy Elizabeth
There's been a lot of good news for doggie kind lately. First, our canine friends in the U.K. got a break when the (British) Kennel Club announced that it would be reviewing and revising breeding standards for its "recognized" breeds. The first step was to inform breeders of Pekinese dogs that it was no longer acceptable to breed dogs with such flat faces because (duh) it's difficult for them to breathe through their poor little squished-up noses.
Then, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recently voted to revise its policy on tail-docking and ear-cropping to say that it definitely opposes these unnecessary cosmetic procedures—and that it encourages their elimination from breed standards! (Dear breeders: Please stop lopping off pieces of your dogs to make them "prettier." Love, the AVMA.)
With these precedents in mind, PETA has written a letter to the American Kennel Club (AKC) asking it to adopt some seriously long-overdue guidelines to reduce the discomfort, diseases, and disorders that plague inbred—sorry, purebred—dogs.
Crippling hip dysplasia, blindness, deafness, heart defects, skin problems, and epilepsy: These can all be results of the genetic manipulation and inbreeding that breeders rely on to achieve "desired" traits such as perky ears or short legs. If the folks at the AKC really cared about dogs, they'd want to prevent them from being ill or in pain, right? … right?
Of course, if the AKC really cared about dogs, they wouldn't be encouraging people to add to the dog and cat overpopulation crisis in the first place—but that's another story.
You can check out our letter to the AKC here—hopefully, there will be better times ahead for doggies here and abroad.
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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