If you were the governor of a state struggling in the economic downturn and you had $100,000 to spend, what would you do with it? Restore programs cut from schools? Aid homeless shelters? Or promote alligator-skin golf shoes? Florida's budget currently includes about $100,000 a year to market alligator skin, but Gov. Rick Scott wants to put the money to better use. "The state shouldn't be in that business," he said.

Agreed. Really, no one should be in that business. Alligator farmers raid marshes and steal the eggs. Trying to save their children, mother alligators risk their lives jumping into the farmers' boats. On farms, alligators are piled on concrete slabs in tiny stagnant pools and are often used in "petting zoos" and shows until they are large enough to kill for their skin. 

A PETA undercover investigation of a Florida alligator farm documented gruesome slaughter methods. One person stood on the animal's mouth, and one stood on the tail, while a third attempted to chisel through the spinal column with a pointed instrument and hammer. It took many blows for the chisel to break through the vertebrae, and even then, the spinal cord wasn't completely severed. It can take around two hours for an animal slaughtered this way to die. Another common slaughter method is beating alligators to death with baseball bats.

Even if Florida fails to cut the industry's funding, you can cut its funding by refusing to buy exotic skins and complaining to the manager if you see exotic skins on store shelves.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

If you think cruel steel-jaw traps used to snare animals are a thing of the past, think again. Animal protection group Born Free USA just released the results of its undercover investigation of professional and recreational wildlife trapping in the U.S. The horrific video footage shows how animals trapped for their fur suffer, sometimes for days, before dying.

A bobcat is caught in a leghold trap in New Mexico. © Born Free USA / Respect for Animals

The trapper kills the red fox by crushing the fox’s chest and lungs with his foot in Pennsylvania in January 2011. The fox is restrained by a catch pole. © Born Free USA / Respect for Animals

Collateral damage: A non-targeted skunk’s front leg is caught in a leghold trap in New Mexico. © Born Free USA / Respect for Animals

The widely used steel-jaw traps crush animals' limbs and are so painful that animals sometimes mutilate their own bodies in an attempt to free themselves. Another trap, the Conibear, crushes animals' necks and chests, taking three to eight minutes to suffocate them. Animals caught in traps that are set underwater take up to nine agonizing minutes to drown. And the target animals aren't the only ones who get caught in these traps. Born Free USA estimates that one in three victims are other animals, including many homeless or lost dogs and cats.

Born Free's executive vice president, Adam Roberts, says, "Commercial fur trapping dates back to the 1600s and has hardly changed. It remains barbaric and most people are not even aware that this is going on in most of the U.S." Even though more than 80 countries and some U.S. states have banned steel-jaw traps, they are still legal in most of the country. What are we waiting for?

The only way not to support the fur-trapping industry is to refuse to buy any item containing fur. Please sign PETA's Pledge to Be Fur-Free today. And if you've ever even considered wearing animal fur, this video is for you.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

We recently told you about 240 cats who were seized from Sacred Vision Animal Sanctuary (SVAS) in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, as a result of our undercover investigation at the hoarding facility. Many of the cats were too ill to survive, and many more are receiving veterinary care at the county's temporary shelter. PETA was able to bring three of the surviving cats to our Norfolk, Virginia, office, and after much TLC, they are on the mend.

Nudge, before, at SVAS.

Nudge, now, at PETA.

Nudge's name comes from her love of being petted, which she makes known by nudging the nearest available hand. She spent most or all of her approximately 10 years in a cage and is now experiencing her second kittenhood, playing with toys and exploring. Nudge is finally discovering her hobbies, including cuddling up on laps to take naps or watch TV and giving foot massages by kneading the blankets covering wiggling toes.

Olaf, before, at SVAS.

Olaf, now, at PETA.

Olaf is a charming Southern senior gentleman who has overcome much adversity. He was confined to a cage for many years and now can't get enough attention, which he returns with nuzzles. At the time of his rescue, he was covered in scabs from an untreated flea allergy. His tail appears to have been broken in two places, and part of it is missing, along with his left eye. Olaf is now on the mend and is calm and curious. He loves fellow rescue Okay and snuggles with her often.

Okay, before, at SVAS.

Okay, now, at PETA.

After a lot of care, Okay looks like she'll be better than OK once she finds her forever family. The 3- to 4-year-old tabby is recovering from severe conjunctivitis and an upper respiratory infection. Her view was limited to the walls outside her cage in a stifling warehouse, and she now cherishes windows and scenery. She purrs almost constantly while she's getting attention and soaks up all the love she can. She's also discovering what it's like to run and play, and she is getting good at hiding in blankets and chasing toys.

All three cats are sweet and affectionate, despite their ordeal. If you live near the Hampton Roads, Virginia, area and would like to be considered as a forever family for Nudge, Olaf, or Okay, please e-mail us for an adoption application—please put in the subject line, "Interested in Adopting SVAS Cats."

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Earlier this week, following PETA's undercover investigation of a Myrtle Beach–area hoarding facility that had been warehousing hundreds of cats and an arthritic dog named Hope in storage units, roughly 240 cats and the dog were seized from Elizabeth Owen by order of a Horry County judge. Roughly half the cats who were seized were so ill that they had to be put out of their misery.

The cats had been "stored," some for most or all of their lives, in filthy, cramped cages, unable to get away from their own waste or even stretch or walk, let alone enjoy life. Dozens of cats were suffering from chronic, painful conditions such as anal maggots, herpes, tumors, seizures, multiple abdominal abscesses, severe gum disease, and more. Some people are criticizing county officials for euthanizing the sickest cats, but the real outrage is that these cats had been allowed to suffer and languish for so long with no quality of life whatsoever. If the cats were too far gone to save, it is because of the long-term neglect that Owen subjected them to—neglect that merits state-level cruelty-to-animals charges and a prohibition on obtaining any more animals. Hoarders are notorious for starting back up where they left off if such judicial measures aren't taken.

Unfortunately, after Owen's attorney told the judge that Hope and about 30 of the cats were Owen's "personal pets," the judge agreed to have them returned to Owen's custody, following a medical exam by the county's contract veterinarian. Hope, who is old and suffering from painful arthritis, is mostly kept in one of the storage units in a small pen and on a cold, hard cement floor or tethered outside in front of the warehouse. Owen has been ordered to provide the animals with veterinary care at her own expense, but it remains to be seen if she will do so. Owen couldn't manage to keep the facility stocked with litter or food, let alone take ailing and even dying animals for veterinary care or euthanasia. Her current registration to solicit charitable funds has been suspended by the Office of the Secretary of State, which means she cannot lawfully solicit donations or items to sell in her thrift store. If the medical condition of the 107 cats whom the county was forced to euthanize are any indication, the 30 animals who went back to that hellhole are doomed.

Not surprisingly, the 101 feline survivors who remain in the county's temporary shelter facility are also sick. The county is providing veterinary care for them, and PETA is hopeful that once they recover, they will find happiness with responsible families who will give them all the love, attention, and catnip they need and deserve.

Written by Daphna Nachminovitch

Following PETA's undercover investigation and an intense year-long campaign, the University of Utah (also known as "the U") has announced that it will no longer purchase dogs and cats from North Utah Valley Animal Shelter (NUVAS)—or any other animal shelter—to be used in invasive and deadly experiments. Since the U was the last Utah purchaser of homeless animals for use in experiments, this victory means the complete end of "pound seizure" in the state of Utah!

PETA's shocking investigation at the U in 2009 has prompted a sea change in the treatment of animals in Utah. Until then, public shelters were forced by law to sell animals to the U. Soon after we broke our case, the U was cited for nine violations of federal animal welfare laws, Utah legislators amended the state's pound-seizure law so that government-run animal shelters could choose not to sell animals for experimentation, and the shelter that was then selling the most animals to the school ended the practice. A PETA lawsuit compelled a city to turn over records of the animals it sold to the U so that the public would know who these betrayed animals were. And who can forget Sheena, the loveable mutt whom PETA helped rescue from the U, where she would have gone under the knife, just in time for Christmas.

Sheena, outside, enjoying the snow.

The U's decision appears to have already pushed it to find more humane research methods. Instead of repeatedly forcing tubes down shelter cats' throats in a cruel and crude intubation training course, the scheduled animal laboratory was recently canceled after PETA protests, and modern human-infant simulators were used instead.

Now, animals entering the state's animal shelters will no longer be betrayed by those who should help them, and Utah residents with missing dogs or cats can at least know that if their beloved animal companions make it to a shelter, they won't be sold to laboratories, where they would experience lives filled with suffering and grisly deaths.

A huge thank-you to all of you who asked the U and NUVAS to do the right thing by animals. This is a major victory, but there are still too many animals suffering in university laboratories—in Michigan, South Carolina, and Ohio and in both Dallas and Galveston, Texas, just to name a few. So please keep speaking up until every cage is empty. And to help PETA continue to help animals, become a member today!

This morning, after being presented with evidence—including video footage from PETA's investigation—making the case that animals warehoused in Elizabeth Owen's Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, storage units are in need of emergency intervention and care, Horry County Judge Bradley Mayers signed an order to seize custody and control of the animals because of animal neglect. The order requires officials to seize Owen's animals—a German shepherd named Hope and some 300 cats who have lived for months or years on end (some for their entire lives) in cages and crates stacked on top of each other at the "Sacred Vision Animal Sanctuary."

The order reads, in part, "Sufficient evidence of a pattern of behavior wherein [Owen] fails to provide adequate veterinary care to ill and suffering animals has been established necessitating emergency care." According to one news story, "Judge Mayer [sic] said after reviewing evidence he would not feel comfortable allowing the animals to remain in Owen's care." We agree wholeheartedly.

The animals will be immediately evaluated by a veterinarian and sheltered. They will finally have a clean, soft spot to curl up, the ability to groom themselves without swallowing their own waste, room to stretch and walk about, and desperately needed veterinary attention. Future court hearings will determine when the animals can be offered for adoption and find the permanent, loving homes that they deserve and should have been afforded long ago. Judge Mayers' compassionate decision marks a long-overdue new beginning for these animals, many of whom have been caged in Owen's dungeon-like, stifling warehouse for years. Stay tuned for more updates on this case.

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post  

First, Professional Laboratory Research Services shut its doors just days after PETA released the findings of our disturbing undercover investigation there. Now, Covance's horrendous Vienna, Va., laboratory, which PETA investigated five years ago, is closing up shop. 

During PETA's 11-month investigation at Covance, our investigator documented that workers struck, choked, and screamed obscenities at frightened and "uncooperative" monkeys. Monkeys suffered from rectal prolapses as a result of constant stress and diarrhea, and baby monkeys' noses bled daily because workers shoved hard tubes up their nostrils to pump experimental chemicals and drugs into their stomachs. As a result of PETA's investigation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited and fined Covance for serious violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

PETA has actually been battling this laboratory for nearly two decades. I remember participating in a protest outside the facility back when Covance was known as Hazleton Research Labs, a name made famous by the book The Hot Zone, which was about the Ebola outbreak among monkeys at the now-defunct Hazleton laboratory just a few miles away in Reston, Va.

In addition to closing the hellhole in Vienna, Covance has also scrapped plans to build a massive facility in Prince William County, Va., meaning that thousands of animals will be spared years of loneliness, misery, and pain. Pop the champagne corks, folks! And let's hope that this trend involving the shuttering of animal laboratories continues into 2011.

Written by Alisa Mullins

PETA's recent undercover investigation of the largest slaughterhouse in Uruguay exposed that the facility was using the primitive and cruel "shackle and hoist" method for kosher slaughter.

This slaughterhouse is the largest foreign supplier of kosher meat to the U.S. and a major kosher meat exporter to Israel. Thanks to the PETA investigation, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel has just announced that by 2011 it will no longer certify meat as kosher if it's from a slaughterhouse that use "shackle and hoist"—that's about 80 percent of the meat imported into Israel, so we're not talking small potatoes!

This is a great step. Of course, the only way to know for sure that you are not supporting slaughterhouse cruelty is to go vegan. Plant-based foods are naturally kosher, and a vegan diet is in keeping with Jewish laws mandating that animals be treated with compassion and respect.

Written by Heather Moore

Some people in Barre, Vermont, are in a tizzy over a recently rediscovered (but never enforced) 1973 ordinance that bans residents from allowing their cats to roam unattended. I say that this 37-year-old law is smart, kind, and ahead of its time, because allowing cats to prowl the suburban jungle unattended isn't doing them any favors. This cat, who was rescued by fieldworkers with PETA's Community Animal Project, is a heartbreaking example of why:

This cat's guardian allowed her to roam outdoors. She disappeared for several days, and when she came back her leg had been degloved and all the bones were exposed.

Every day, cats whose guardians see no harm in letting them roam are injured or killed by vehicles, shot by cruel neighbors who don't want them using their gardens as litter boxes, poisoned, stolen to be used in experiments or as bait in dogfighting, and worse. Cats also instinctively terrorize, maim, and kill countless native birds and other wildlife who are already struggling to survive challenges such as habitat loss and who aren't equipped to deal with such predators.

Protecting cats and wildlife doesn't have to mean making Kitty a full-time housecat. Many cats quickly become comfortable with wearing a harness and enjoy leisurely leashed excursions around the yard with their guardians. And then there are "catios"—cat patios that clever and compassionate people build so that their feline friends can safely enjoy the great outdoors. Whatever we do, if we love our cats, we must never let them roam out of our sight.

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post

Sue Sylvester, the sardonic cheerleading coach on the breakout TV hit Glee, is a pretty ruthless character, but thanks to the fabulous actor who plays her, Jane Lynch, there's at least one thing that Sue will never resort to: Violence against animals.

When a script called for Sue to intimidate her nemesis, show-choir director Will Schuester, by threatening to give him an adorable cat and then kill him or her, Jane balked, reportedly saying, "I'm not going to say that. I work for PETA. I can't say kill the cat." So, instead, Sue said:

Go, Jane! Not only is this line funnier (it's so Sue Sylvester), it also avoids the very unfunny consequences that occur much too often when sick individuals emulate acts of violence against animals when they see or hear about them in the media—acts that often escalate into attacks on other humans.

This story also offers more proof, if any is needed, that the famous faces who help with PETA's campaigns are walking the walk, even outside the public eye!

Written by Jeff Mackey