Written by PETA
Folks, I have to tell you that I am freaking out about a recent government bill.
No, no—I don't mean that one. I'm talking about this one, which would allow barbershops in Tennessee to display live animals in bird cages and fish tanks for "decorative purposes."
Before Gov. Phil Bredesen puts his John Hancock on the legislation, PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman is weighing in and asking him to veto the bill. Why? Because stealing fish and birds from their native homes is cruel: Animals who are kept in tanks and cages are sentenced to a life of boredom, depression, and frustration, and many are subjected to neglect and mistreatment by owners who fail to understand their prisoners' complex needs.
There's no doubt that barbershop customers and spa patrons will breathe a sigh of relief if the current law banning such displays remains in effect—after all, as Jasmine the cockatoo will tell you, not only are caged birds quick to complain about their confines (loudly and repeatedly), some can also pass along diseases such as psittacosis to humans.
PETA is even ready to offer decorating tips. I think that this animal-friendly alternative is a cut above the tanks and cages. Don't you?
Written by Karin Bennett
"I have been in many lunchrooms during lunch period and can attest to the food that is frequently lacking from a nutritional perspective and very high in saturated fats. … What our bill will do is provide some lower-fat and lower-cholesterol ways for kids to get the nutrition that they need to be healthy." —U.S. Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) on the Healthy School Meals Act, which would start a $4 million pilot program to incorporate vegetarian food and drinks into school districts' lunch programs over a two-year period.
We'll cheer for that! Considering that vegetarian diets have been proven to curb childhood obesity, which remains a crisis in the U.S., Polis's proposed legislation would save kids and animals.
Many schools across the nation have already successfully adopted humane menus. Encourage your local schools to do the same.
Written by Logan Scherer
Fact: Violence against animals often leads to violence against humans. Conclusion? Require felony animal abusers to be placed on a public registry.
Sex offenders and arsonists are already required to be on registries, and soon California will consider a recently proposed bill that would require the same of animal abusers. By making residents aware of animal-abuse offenders in their community, California legislators would protect both animals and their human constituents.
California banned the use of gestation crates, battery cages, and veal crates when Prop 2 was passed. Then the state put an end to tail-docking of cows. West Hollywood recently banned the sale of dogs and cats at puppy mills, and PETA is opening up a new office in Los Angeles. Conclusion? If the Golden State passes this new bill (and stops abusing its unhappy cows), I will declare it the best state ever.
"California cows can keep their tails."
That sentence in the Central Valley Business Times says it all. California state proved it was full of animal-friendly folk when Prop. 2 passed last year, and now lawmakers in the state have just signed a law that will make the docking of cows' tails illegal starting this January!
During our recent undercover investigation on a Pennsylvania factory farm, our investigator witnessed tail-docking on a number of occasions. The tails of cows were removed by "banding"—which means that circulation to the tail was cut off using an elastic band, which caused the cows' tails to slowly lose blood flow and die. Once the tail is necrotic and lifeless, it is snapped off by a farm worker. Tails act as natural flyswatters for cows, who have no other way to chase off insects or stop them from biting. Once the cows on this farm had their tails removed, they still tried in vain to rid their bodies of flies, who were rampant in the manure-slicked barn.
Tail-docking is just one of the many horrendous abuses inflicted on animals on factory farms and is a practice that even the notoriously hypocritical AVMA opposes.
Cheers to the California legislature for taking this important step.
Written by Jeff Mackey
Literally. Mississippi state representative W.T. Mayhall Jr. has been all over the news recently after introducing a provocative bill that would bar Mississippi restaurants from serving obese people. I’ll refrain from commenting on whether such a bill would be a good idea, but if they are going to consider such things, we have a suggestion for an amendment: instead of royally pissing everybody off by refusing to serve overweight people altogether, PETA is proposing that restaurants be required to serve only healthy vegan meals to consumers who are struggling with their weight. As PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich says, "Vegan meals like hearty vegetable casseroles, bean burritos, and pasta with mushrooms, tomatoes, and green peppers not only are satisfying but will slim you right down too." You can read our letter to the state rep here.
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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