UPDATE: Mary Bale has been charged with two counts of animal cruelty.

Picture this: A middle-aged woman walks down a residential sidewalk. A friendly cat jumps up on a ledge. The woman stops, pets the cat, and … looks for the cat's guardians? Keeps on walking? No. She pushes the cat to a trash bin, slams the lid, and strolls quickly away.

You don't have to picture it, because the whole sickening scene, which happened in Coventry, England, was caught on a security camera video. The cat, named Lola, spent 15 hours trapped in the bin on a hot day, terrified and eventually covered in her own waste, before her guardians heard her faint cries and rescued her. The woman has been identified.

Lola's ordeal is a prime example of why letting our cats roam outdoors unattended isn't doing them any favors. Cruel people, as well as traffic, poison, aggressive animals, disease, and countless other dangers lurk outside our doors. For tips on keeping cats content in the "great indoors," check out PETA president Ingrid E. Newkirk's book 250 Things You Can Do to Make Your Cat Adore You.

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post

So we all knew that KFC has some trashy practices, but did you know just how disgusting they can be? Recently, a delivery person recorded a KFC employee in Hong Kong picking fried chicken out of a trash can, putting it on a tray, and serving it to customers. While this might be shocking to those who still turn a blind eye to the company's hideous ways, I'm definitely not surprised. KFC has proven to be fairly heartless in the past, and we know they aren't big on that whole "ethics" thing. So, should it be such a big deal that employees don't mind serving deep-fried flesh from a trash can?

The delivery person who brought this to our attention says that trash-diving is a regular practice at this particular location. According to this source, the employees stop cooking and throw everything away before the restaurant closes. When anyone else orders, they serve them literal junk food. Oh yeah, and the manager approves of it because it saves money! Gross.

Know what else KFC seems to think is perfectly acceptable? Check out our undercover investigations to find out for yourself. I certainly know The Roost wouldn't take this laying down!

Written by Lianne Turner

treehugger / CC

While hope and optimism have struck a chord with humans for the New Year, it couldn't have started off worse for Amazon parrots. The extremely rare Brazilian species is part of a recovery project at a wildlife conservation center in Florida which is attempting to help save the species and reintroduce the birds back into their natural habitat. However, what the conservation center employees saw on New Year's Day was a big step back.

Spooked by New Year's Eve fireworks, one of the male parrots thrashed himself to death. When the catastrophe was discovered, the parrot had severe head and face injuries from which he ultimately died. The director of the conservation center said, "We're doing everything we can to save these species and the lack of enforcement on fireworks regulations is basically undoing our best efforts."

Unfortunately, this reaction to fireworks is not uncommon by any means. Animals' hearing is much more sensitive than ours, and they often panic at the confusing and frightening experience. Many holidays end in tragedy for dogs, cats, birds, and other animals as they attempt to flee and end up hurting themselves.

The conservation center director said, "This guy could have lived to be 50 or 60 years old and could have produced a generation of wildlife. The tragedy is that this animal's life is sacrificed for absolutely no reason."

And right he is. The holidays don't have to end in disasters like this one. There are many alternatives to fireworks, such as laser and light shows, which are affordable and much safer while still providing the grand experience for humans. We are sending a letter to the mayor of this Florida city asking for stricter fireworks enforcement and a letter to the conservancy about how to keep their animals safer during these situations.

To find out more and to learn ways to comfort your animal companion if he or she panics during fireworks, click here.

Written by Christine Doré