"Shanthi" means "peace, rest, calmness, tranquility, or bliss." So it's appropriate that Shanthi and her friends (pictured below) enjoy such a blissful life at a sanctuary in India—but that wasn't always the case.

© Aneesh S

Once, these little donkeys worked all day long in the blistering heat, carrying heavy loads of bricks from the fiery kilns starting at dawn. At night, they were left to root through garbage and dirt in the hope of finding enough nourishment to survive. Animal Rahat, which PETA supports, rescued Shanthi and all the other survivors of accidents involving trucks and cars and arranged for their retirement. Now, they live, jump, run, and play with their rescued friends from the streets—and they'll never be beaten again.

Animal Rahat saves the lives of India's working animals. To help animals such as Shanthi and his pals, please make a generous donation to Animal Rahat.

Protesters in the (in) defense (of donkeys) zone!

Last night, high school students, parents, and PETA supporters gathered en masse outside Snohomish High School in Snohomish, Washington, to inform people who were attending a donkey basketball fundraiser that exploiting animals for a cheap thrill is both cruel and far from educational.

During donkey basketball "games," participants often drag, kick, and punch the animals in order to get them to "play." Full-grown adults ride on the backs of animals who are only able to bear a little more than 100 lbs., and this is dangerous for both the donkey and the rider. The only thing that spectators and participants learn from events like these is that it's OK to dominate, torment, and humiliate those who are weaker than they are.

Dunk tanks and bake sales are just two of the many fundraising opportunities available in which all participants are willing participants. If you are a student or a parent at a school that wants to host a donkey basketball game, don't let event organizers resort to cruelty in order to cash in—take action by contacting your school district's superintendent and asking for a policy that bans the use of live animals in fundraisers forever.

Written by Logan Scherer

There are plenty of movies about basketball that will make any true sports fan groan: BASEketball, Space Jam, The Air Up There … but I'd willingly sit through a marathon of those movies before setting foot into a gymnasium that allows "donkey basketball" to take place.

toflyagain / CC

Donkey basketball is cruel and, just as the name suggests, more ludicrous than anything the movies could ever concoct. During this "sport," which some schools use as a fundraiser, high school students ride donkeys, and the animals are subsequently dragged, kicked, and punched by participants who have no animal-handling experience. The game sends the message to kids that it's OK to torment and humiliate those who are weaker than they are. And in order to keep the donkeys from having "accidents" on the court, the animals are often deprived of food and water for hours before the "games."

Beating, starvation, and thirst—sounds like a ball, right? Yet Streator High School in Illinois plans to hold one of these "games" as a fundraiser next Monday. We've already written to the school urging the superintendent to cancel the game and implement a policy against the use of live animals for entertainment. Now we are asking you to urge Streator High School to cancel this barbaric event. If you know of any schools or organizations in your area that intend to host a donkey basketball game, ask them for a permanent ban on the use of live animals for entertainment as well.

Written by Logan Scherer

Tomorrow, PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk will celebrate her big 6-0, and we've received some queries from people wondering what to get her. Well, wonder no more, friends. We've got just the thing!

One cause that's very close to Ingrid's heart is Animal Rahat, and no wonder: Animal Rahat helps hard-working bullocks, donkeys, ponies, and horses in India, where Ingrid spent much of her childhood. Animal Rahat gives them relief (that's what "rahat" means) from the heat, water to quench their raging thirst, a place to rest when they fall lame, veterinary care for their yoke and harness injuries, and sometimes even fodder during periods of draught when the subsistence farmers who own them can't afford to feed them.

Rahat also offers a program that allows bullocks to retire and live out their lives with their human families instead of being sent to slaughter. You may recall the story we shared with you recently about Shilya's retirement—and he's just one of Rahat's success stories.

Animal Rahat is doing great things for some of the least fortunate animals on Earth. To help them out—and to sign Ingrid's birthday card—just zip over here.

Written by Jeff Mackey