Written by PETA
They were hung from trees in the woods behind Michael Vick's house, eight dogs left there to die, kicking and screaming.The pit bulls had made the mistake of failing the test. They weren't mean enough, quick enough, strong enough in the ring, so they were of no more use to Vick's Bad Newz dogfighting operation.Imagine, killing a dog because it's just too nice.Five of the dogs finally kicked their last breaths away as the ropes cut deeper and deeper into their throats. Three somehow clung to life. Vick and two of his henchmen, growing impatient, cut those three down and one by one shoved their heads into five-gallon buckets filled with water, drowning them to finish them off.Try keeping your breakfast down after hearing that report on ESPN.The inhumanity, the callousness, the abuse of these innocent, helpless animals is almost beyond comprehension.
My guess is that this wasn’t exactly what attendees of the Indian Animal Industry Expo on Thursday were expecting when they were told there would be a barbeque outside the event. But life is full of surprises, I guess. Anyway, here’s a little tandoori cookout, courtesy of our friends at PETA India:
Three dogfighters knocked out of the ring (or should that be pit) early! Two more of Michael Vick's alleged accomplices entered guilty pleas in Richmond today, and there is no doubt that Michael Vick is huddled with his attorneys, deciding whether or not he will follow suit early next week.
According to The Houston Chronicle, "A statement of facts signed by Taylor as part of his plea agreement placed Vick at the scene of several dogfights and linked him to betting. Taylor said Vick financed virtually all the "Bad Newz Kennels" operation on Vick's property in Surry County."
If Vick is ultimately tied to betting on these dogfights, it is likely to trigger a lifetime ban from the NFL under the league's personal conduct policy, which does not look kindly on illegal gambling. Does anyone else think it might be a good idea for the policy to include a similar stance against charges of electrocution and drowning?
PETA was present at the hearing, and I've posted some images for you below.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
For those who don’t know, I am a big Peter Dinklage fan. He won me over in The Station Agent (if you haven’t seen this, add it to your Netflix list pronto, seriously) a few years ago and I’ve been keeping up with his career ever since. So I was glad to see him getting huge props from super-critic Roger Ebert for his new movie, Death at a Funeral. Ebert said that Dinklage “…is becoming my favorite go-to actor for any movie that needs someone to go to. [H]e has that ability to make you brighten up and take notice, because with such a person on the screen something is bound to happen. Dinklage can look handsome in that menacing way that suggests he’s about to dine out on your fondest hopes and dreams.” Not bad, coming from the guy who can make or break a movie, depending on his choice of two simple words: “thumbs up” or “thumbs down.”
Dinklage is also in the next Narnia movie, due out next April, but to hold you over until then, check out the “veggie testimonial” he shot a few months back.
And speaking of veggie testimonials, the next one in the hopper is so funny that an intern actually had to leave a meeting yesterday because she couldn’t stop laughing. Stay tuned for more on that soon. . .
All you heavy metal fans will probably want to throw devil horns in the air, because long-time vegan and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler just got in touch with us from the road to let us know how he feels about KFC. Here’s what he had to say about the Colonel’s treatment of our feathered friends: “Life is God’s or natures’ greatest gift. All life should be treated with respect and dignity. I am sure most people would be horrified at the way K.F.C. treats its chickens. People have a choice in what they eat, but those chickens do not have a choice in the way they are treated. If people let K.F.C. know of their concerns, then hopefully the chickens will be treated ethically.”
And for those of you who need a little Sabbath fix to get you through the rest of your day, here you go.
One of Barker's many accomplishments to help prevent animal suffering was to enact a ban on his show of giving away fur coats as prizes. He wanted to have no part in promoting something as horrible as fur, and The Price Is Right was fur-free right up until Barker's retirement. The good news that we just received this week, after writing to the show's producers to make sure that things were going to stay that way, is that the show's new host, Drew Carey, and the team behind The Price Is Right, share Bob Barker's anti-fur stance 100 percent. Here's the note they sent us:
"The Price Is Right," the show will honor Bob Barker's rule not to give away fur coats as prizes. 'The Price Is Right' is very proud that we were one of the first shows to realize, through Mr. Barker, that glamorizing fur coats as prizes must stop."
Right on, guys—we wish you the best of luck with the new show.
In a horribly misguided attempt to teach Palestinian kids not to abuse animals, a show called Tomorrow’s Pioneers on Hamas’ Al Aqsa TV just featured a costumed “bee” named Nahoul tormenting animals. I watched the video (which I’m purposely not linking to), and I’m sorry, but showing a giant bee swinging cats by their tails and throwing rocks at caged lions is about the worst way I can think of to teach kids to be kind to animals.
And yes, in case you’re wondering, this was the show that was criticized in June when it featured a character in a Mickey Mouse suit, who preached against Israel and the U.S. until an episode portrayed him being beaten to death by an actor playing an Israeli agent.
Anyway, here’s the letter we sent the producers. I’m sure we’ll hear right back from them. Yeaaaaaah.
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is the world’s largest animal rights organization with 1.6 million members worldwide. We have been made aware of an episode of Tomorrow’s Pioneers featuring a costumed character on the Hamas TV children’s show tormenting animals as part of a segment that is apparently meant to teach children to treat animals humanely. Unfortunately, while the intention of these segments may be good, the lesson is almost certainly lost on most children, who are more likely to imitate people they see treating animals cruelly rather than understand that this behavior is wrong. We are asking you to please refrain from harming animals in future episodes of Tomorrow’s Pioneers, even if the intention is to teach children a valuable lesson.Instilling in children empathy for animals is indeed vital to helping them become compassionate, responsible citizens. Since young people are more receptive to new ideas, and since children have a natural empathy for animals, it is important that we teach them to make responsible choices that will affect how they live the rest of their lives.Studies around the world have found that a history of cruelty to animals is one of the traits that regularly appear in the records of serial rapists, murderers, and child abusers (because domestic abuse is directed toward the powerless, animal abuse and child abuse go hand in hand). If unchecked, this abuse can later escalate to abuse of their fellow human beings, completing the cycle of violence.Demonstrating for children a respect for even the smallest and most defenseless among us can help them to value and respect and protect one another. We hope, for the sake of humans and animals alike, that future episodes of Tomorrow’s Pioneers will work to teach children to respect individuals of any species, no matter how “different” they may be, without demonstrating for them cruel behavior in the process. For more information about teaching children about empathy and compassion, please visit: http://www.islamicconcerns.com/kids.asp.Sincerely,Martin Mersereau, ManagerCruelty Casework Division, PETA (www.peta.org)
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is the world’s largest animal rights organization with 1.6 million members worldwide.
We have been made aware of an episode of Tomorrow’s Pioneers featuring a costumed character on the Hamas TV children’s show tormenting animals as part of a segment that is apparently meant to teach children to treat animals humanely. Unfortunately, while the intention of these segments may be good, the lesson is almost certainly lost on most children, who are more likely to imitate people they see treating animals cruelly rather than understand that this behavior is wrong. We are asking you to please refrain from harming animals in future episodes of Tomorrow’s Pioneers, even if the intention is to teach children a valuable lesson.
Instilling in children empathy for animals is indeed vital to helping them become compassionate, responsible citizens. Since young people are more receptive to new ideas, and since children have a natural empathy for animals, it is important that we teach them to make responsible choices that will affect how they live the rest of their lives.
Studies around the world have found that a history of cruelty to animals is one of the traits that regularly appear in the records of serial rapists, murderers, and child abusers (because domestic abuse is directed toward the powerless, animal abuse and child abuse go hand in hand). If unchecked, this abuse can later escalate to abuse of their fellow human beings, completing the cycle of violence.
Demonstrating for children a respect for even the smallest and most defenseless among us can help them to value and respect and protect one another. We hope, for the sake of humans and animals alike, that future episodes of Tomorrow’s Pioneers will work to teach children to respect individuals of any species, no matter how “different” they may be, without demonstrating for them cruel behavior in the process.
For more information about teaching children about empathy and compassion, please visit: http://www.islamicconcerns.com/kids.asp.
Sincerely,
Martin Mersereau, ManagerCruelty Casework Division, PETA (www.peta.org)
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!