Written by PETA
The Onion—in a 2004 article that was recently re-posted on the front page of the gag mag's website—says scientists torture mice just for laughs. This "report" is so cleverly written that when I sent it to Kathy Guillermo, PETA's vice president of laboratory investigations, she had "palpitations," as she put it.
Sorry, Kathy, didn't mean to trick you into thinking that vivisectors had finally come clean and admitted that mice aren't good stand-ins for humans. But wouldn't it be great if they really were as refreshingly honest as this "researcher"?
"For years, I've used lab mice to research cell breakdown in living tissue—and I've been lucky enough to make some pretty important medical advancements along the way," said researcher Ellen Gresham of the Harvard Institute for Advanced Studies. "But even if there were no scientific benefit to the work I do, I'd still experiment on mice, just to watch them suffer." "The truth is, mice are particularly ill-suited for our tissue study," Gresham added. "We could construct a computer model that would yield more accurate results, but we don't care."
"For years, I've used lab mice to research cell breakdown in living tissue—and I've been lucky enough to make some pretty important medical advancements along the way," said researcher Ellen Gresham of the Harvard Institute for Advanced Studies. "But even if there were no scientific benefit to the work I do, I'd still experiment on mice, just to watch them suffer."
"The truth is, mice are particularly ill-suited for our tissue study," Gresham added. "We could construct a computer model that would yield more accurate results, but we don't care."
While Ellen Gresham is a figment of The Onion's imagination, the fact that modern, high-tech alternatives to experiments on animals are faster, cheaper, and more accurate is very real. In fact, one more such test, EpiDerm, was just approved last week by the international Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. While we're on the subject, why not drop a line to your congressional representative reminding him or her of that?
Written by Alisa Mullins
Boxes containing the remains of more than 750 raccoon dogs were found in a Netherlands meadow last week. The pelts were missing the strip of fur down the center of the animals' backs, a tell-tale sign that the animals were likely skinned to make fur collars and cuffs.
Although there are no known raccoon dog fur farms in the Netherlands, thousands of these animals are bred and skinned on fur farms in China and their pelts are shipped all over the world for sale. (Our videos show that many are still conscious when they're skinned.) The collars and cuffs on coats in your local store may be from them.
While the authorities in Holland hunt for the culprits, let's help save raccoon dogs and other animals from becoming fashion victims by sharing this video—which even YouTube won't show—with everyone we know and urging them never to buy or wear real fur.
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
Former NHL enforcer Georges Laraque may be retired, but don't call him a snowbird (he's 33—I don't think he meets the age requirement). Not only is his second vegan restaurant scheduled to open on August 5, he's also getting fired up to use his new role as deputy leader of Canada's Green Party to promote the many pluses of a humane, healthy, environmentally friendly vegan diet.
I'd say the Green Party has scored big time by landing "Big George"—after all, he's proved time and time again that he's a lean, green, cruelty-fighting machine. Let's watch him in action:
Georges Laraque is determined to improve life for animals and people: "[T]hat's what I was born for, to change the world." Words to live by.
Written by Karin Bennett
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
"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: But when I became a man, I put away childish things."1 Corinthians 13:11
When I was a child (in 1976), I entered—and "won"—a fishing contest. But when I became a man, I put away the childish rod and reel because I had learned that real men are kind to animals.
A recent study suggests that men tend to overcompensate when their masculinity is threatened, and this feeling of inadequacy can manifest itself as aggression toward others. So our friends at PETA U.K. are asking a question: Do anglers have small rods? Maybe they're overcompensating for something. I mean, why would a grown-up impale animals with a hook, pull them up out of the water, and let them slowly suffocate? Especially when we now know that fish are complex and intelligent individuals who experience terror and suffering just as land animals do. If anglers treated cats the way they treat fish, they could be put in prison on cruelty charges!
Head over to DoAnglersHaveSmallRods.com to see what's going on. And if you're not someone who stakes your manhood on the state of your tackle box, click here to find out what you can do to help fish.
Written by Jeff Mackey
It's no secret that the airline industry has been struggling to make ends meet—even the perennially profitable Hawaiian Airlines has hit some market turbulence lately. So PETA has reached out to Hawaiian with a win-win proposition: Make Hawaiian Airlines the official airline of sea kittens.
Hawaii is known for its "aloha spirit." What better way to extend love, compassion, and mercy than by standing with these smart, fascinating, and most misunderstood animals? If Hawaiian accepts our offer, the airline would be working to help change the public's perception of fish by giving these vastly underappreciated animals a new name and a new image that reflects their interesting personalities and remarkable intelligence. And PETA would promote Hawaiian to our friends (that would be you guys) as the airline of choice for sea kitten–friendly travelers.
In the meantime, if you want to wrap something (including yourself) in a pro–sea kitten message, check this out.
According to a new study by researchers at The University of Auckland in New Zealand, that whole business about the ocean being a "silent world" is a bunch of bunk. Fish talk to each other all the time through growls, grunts, chirps, and pops—we just can't hear them without special equipment. Gurnards turn out to be the "Chatty Cathys" of the underwater world, talking to one another throughout the day.
My response to this "amazing" discovery? Duh!
As the "fish lady" in the PETA Foundation's Writers Group, I've been reading and writing about fish for more than a decade. I've learned that fish can count and tell time, they are fast learners, they think ahead, they have unique personalities, and they may even have a sense of humor. So I'm not at all surprised to learn that fish communicate with each other—I'd be surprised if they didn't!
The Auckland U. scientists believe that fish talk to attract mates, warn others of danger, and scare off predators. I think they're trying to tell us that "fish are friends, not food." What do you think they're saying?
Written by Paula Moore
The Florida Marlins plan to spend millions on their new stadium, which is set to open in 2012. But they can save countless animals' lives as well as tons of money by rethinking plans to build two saltwater aquariums as part of the project.
Instead of exposing fish to the loud crowds, bright lights, and reverberations of a baseball stadium in an unnatural environment that will certainly have a negative impact on the health and well-being of the fish, the team should consider one of several innovative alternatives. We've asked the Marlins to explore the following possibilities:
Considering all these fresh and innovative alternatives, there's no reason why the Marlins can't think "outside the tank." Let Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria know that you think our suggestions are home runs!
By now, we all know what a sea kitten is—or do we?
If you're baffled by the term, you must be a new PETA Files reader (welcome!). PETA's been campaigning for sea kittens for years, but there are still some people who look at us glassy-eyed when we mention these adorable animals, which is why we are asking Merriam-Webster to add an entry for "sea kitten" to its popular dictionaries. That way, anyone who hears the term "sea kittens" will know that they are smart, social, and sensitive animals who deserve our respect and compassion—instead of being hooked, netted, and suffocated.
While we're waiting to see if "sea kitten" makes the cut for the latest editions of the dictionary, you can help make people aware of sea kittens and how to help them with one of our fab "Eat No Sea Kitten" T-shirts!
The tables may have turned on a German angler recently. A man ended up with fishing hooks in his rear end after he apparently broke into a hunting and fishing store and fell on the hooks. Police were able to reel him in quickly because he was drunk (shocking, I know) and couldn't run very fast with barbed hooks in his behind.
How's that for karma? Hopefully he'll think twice about picking up a rod and reel now that he knows how much hooks hurt! Or will he need a few through his lips first?
Written by Heather Moore
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.
Follow PETA on Twitter!