Update: Thanks to an anonymous supporter, PETA is now offering $5,000 for information leading to the identification of the men responsible for this beating. The U.S. Army has now determined that the uniforms worn in the video belong to the U.S. Air Force, and the Air Force has launched its own investigation.

The following was originally posted on January 18, 2012:

Update: After much public outcry, Army investigators are looking into the video that depict soldiers beating a sheep with a baseball bat. “We are aware of a Live Leak video depicting the killing of a sheep,” an Army spokesman said. “The actions of those involved are not condoned or supported in any way. We are currently assessing the situation to determine more information.”

The following was originally posted January 13, 2012:

Last year, a scandalous video emerged of a U.S. marine throwing a puppy off a cliff. Now there is this video of a soldier repeatedly beating a sheep with a baseball bat to the whoops and laughter of other soldiers who are looking on. I would say "beating to death" because that is probably what happened, but we do not know the upshot. We only know, from watching the video and seeing the mood of the soldiers -- and what appears to be a local lad who arrived with the animal -- that the sheep could only have come to a very nasty end. He or she tries to rise several times but the soldier continues to thwack away amid the laughter.

Life can be treacherous for everyone living in a war zone. Homeless dogs have been gunned down in Baghdad, and there are even rumors that the Taliban are training monkeys to use guns. (Hey, I said that it's a rumor.) But thanks to a few big-hearted Marines, two lucky cats, now named Kiki and Keykey, have been rescued from a dangerous area in Afghanistan.

When Lance Cpl. Chris Berry, Cpl. Brian Chambers, and Lance Cpl. Aaron Shaw of the U.S. Marine Corps noticed that some homeless cats were hanging around their base, they took the animals in and nursed them back to health, letting the cats sleep with them in the barracks. Then the men arranged for the cats to be transported to the U.S. to live with their families.

PETA is presenting each Marine with a Compassionate Action Award and is also offering to reimburse the cost of having Kiki and Keykey neutered in order to prevent more kittens from ending up homeless. Check out the photos of these Marines and their lucky rescues for further proof that real men are kind to animals!

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post

army-technology / CC

For two years, we've been protesting the U.S. government's declaration of war on animals. The military abuses thousands of healthy animals in trauma training exercises, even though superior non-animal methods are available. In these exercises, pigs are shot, stabbed, and burned; goats have their legs broken with bolt cutters and cut off with shears; and monkeys are poisoned with toxic chemicals.

Now, U.S. Representative Bob Filner (D-Calif.) has joined the effort to replace the cruel and crude use of animals in military medical training by introducing the BEST Practices Act (H.R. 4269). This act, if passed, would replace the current deadly use of live animals with sophisticated, human-focused training methods, such as high-tech human patient simulators, that better prepare soldiers to treat their fallen comrades on the battlefield.

This week, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is leading Citizen Lobbyist Week, encouraging people across the country to back the BEST Practices Act and speak out in behalf of the pigs, goats, and monkeys who are tormented on military bases. You can take action by asking your congressional representative to support the bill. Get out your pleather boots, soldiers—here's to no more animal casualties!

Written by Logan Scherer

The U.S. military has declared war on animals by burning, stabbing, and shooting them in unnecessary training exercises, and it's time to fight back! Animals need you to enlist in the army of animal lovers willing to speak out against these cruel exercises. If you go above and beyond the call of duty for this mission, you'll be in with a great chance to win an iPod shuffle.

Enlist Now
Join the battle for animals by signing our Facebook petition to end military trauma training on animals.

Recruit Your Friends
Click "Ask Friends to Sign" on the petition page to recruit your friends to this cause. The more invites you send out, the more people you will recruit. Tell them how live pigs are shot, stabbed, and burned; live goats have their legs broken with bolt cutters and cut off with shears; and live monkeys are poisoned with harmful chemicals.

Go Home Victorious
The individual who collects the most petition signatures by September 10, 2009 wins the iPod Shuffle. We'll announce the winner on September 14, 2009.

Share the petition on your Facebook wall and everywhere else you can. The harder you fight, the larger the impact you'll make, and the greater the chance is that you'll go home with an iPod in hand.

Please take action today for all the monkeys, pigs, sheep, and other nonhuman victims killed in military training. Humane, responsible training is essential in our effort to work toward a peaceful world. Learn more about this campaign at PETA.org/trauma.

Heads up: By entering the contest you're acknowledging that you've read and agreed to our privacy policy and terms and conditions.

Good luck, soldier!

Just like the Beach Boys, we wish they all could be California girls—because California girls put on one heck of a protest! Check out these Left Coast ladies in action outside Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California:

Credit also goes to the California boys who attended the protest, including Scott Adams, a retired paramedic who used to teach trauma training courses (without using animals, of course). As he told a reporter for North County Times, "If I hadn't taught trauma, I probably wouldn't have formed such a strong opinion. They could use human cadavers; that would more closely mimic what they're trying to teach."

If you want to see for yourself what the protesters are up in arms about, check out the graphic photos that PETA has obtained of pigs who were stabbed, mutilated, and killed by Deployment Medicine International, the military contractor that conducts trauma training exercises for Camp Pendleton. After viewing the photos, please send an e-mail urging the government to stop stabbing and shooting animals and start using non-animal alternatives in all trauma training exercises.

Written by Alisa Mullins

Through the Freedom of Information Act, the Physician's Committeee for Responsible Medicine (PRCM) has obtained video footage of several Department of Defense military trauma training exercises.

In training exercises that are supposed to simulate the effects of a nerve agent attack, monkeys experience seizures and difficulty breathing. In another exercise, live goats are cut open—causing severe bleeding—while the instructor repeatedly acknowledges the differences between the training and human casualties. All this suffering is inflicted in order to train military medics—who would learn more if they were provided with state-of-the-art simulators and rotations in trauma hospitals.

We have been working hard to eliminate these cruel exercises in the U.S. and in countries around the globe. After PETA campaigned against cruel dog stabbings, Bolivia banned all animal use from military training. Now, Georgia Congressmember Hank Johnson, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, is calling on the Army to phase out antiquated trauma training on animals.

Urge your congressperson to co-sign Congressmember Hank Johnson's letter and help put an end to the military's war on animals.

Posted by Karin Bennett

After less than a month of PETA campaigning, the Bolivian minister of defense went on that country's national television to announce an historic ban on all animal abuse in military training exercises, stating that the Bolivian government is issuing Resolution 217 to prohibit all acts of violence, exploitation, and mistreatment that provokes the death of animals. Not only has Bolivia beaten the U.S. military to the punch, this ban is also Bolivia's first military animal protection regulation ever.

This news comes as a direct result of PETA's and PETA Germany's campaigns, which were launched after horrific video footage was uncovered showing the Bolivian military's mutilation and killing of dogs in combat-training exercises. More than 20,000 supporters joined in the effort, including a leading Bolivian congresswoman, Ximena Flores Castro, who talked with PETA and then met with the defense minister in order to get the resolution on the books.

Resolution 217 puts an end to military training exercises in which dogs were mercilessly stabbed to death as they screamed in pain. Not one more animal—dog or otherwise—will have to suffer such a miserable fate at the hands of the Bolivian military. The resolution also includes sanctions for those who violate the regulation.

This is a giant step in the right direction for Bolivia, and we hope to continue working closely with government officials to enact more animal protection laws.

Everyone who spoke out against this cruelty deserves a big pat on the back! Let's keep up the momentum and urge the U.S. military to follow Bolivia's compassionate lead.

Written by Shawna Flavell

Over the past 16 months, PETA has waged a relentless campaign to end the military's archaic trauma-training exercises. In these exercises, thousands of live goats and pigs are shot, stabbed, cut apart, and burned, and monkeys are poisoned with nerve chemicals. We called on the Department of Defense (DoD) to investigate the military's methods immediately, and they appear to be taking our request seriously.

The DoD has chartered a Joint Analysis Team (JAT) to "examine the use of animals for medical education and training across the Services." The JAT will also submit a report containing "actionable recommendations" for the DoD to follow.

DoD regulations specifically state that non-animal methods must be used whenever scientifically valid and comparable alternatives are available. The DoD's use of live animals in trauma-training exercises is unnecessary. Various installations in the Air Force and Navy have been using alternatives, such as high-tech human patient simulators and rotations in trauma hospitals, for several years. Additionally, these second-rate training methods put our soldiers at risk.

We're hopeful that the JAT will come to the obvious conclusion that the DoD should end these cruel tests immediately and opt for more humane, educational alternatives. Check out the letter we sent to them about this issue here, and leave a comment to let us know what you think.

Written by Liz Graffeo

In case it's never been said before, I'm going to go ahead and say it: Colorado activists rock!

Activists in Colorado Springs showed that they are fed up with Fort Carson for stabbing and reportedly burning and shooting live goats in bloody trauma-training exercises that attempt to mimic human battlefield injuries. They staked out a busy intersection near Fort Carson and got busy alerting commuters that the exercises are not only cruel but also archaic and unnecessary.

PETA "troops" expose Fort Carson's dirty little secret.

An activist makes darn sure that no driver gets by without getting the message.

PETA signs caught the attention of many military folk on their way to the Fort Carson base.

Oh, did I mention that some of the activists in attendance were ex-military? You know that things are shady when even former soldiers start breaking rank. (I can think of a few other soldiers who would probably agree.)

Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky

olifantenhuis / CC

On Sunday, a 45-year-old elephant named Annabel was euthanized after falling into a ditch that surrounded her compound at Emmen Zoo in the Netherlands. For more than two and a half hours, zoo workers tried to help the struggling elephant pull herself out of the ditch. Ultimately, firefighters used a truck to lift her out.

Annabel entered a deep state of shock. Once freed, the 3-ton elephant was unable to stand up, so she had to be euthanized. Heartbreaking images of her struggle can be viewed here.

The zoo was aware that elephants regularly fall into this ditch and strain to drag themselves out, but even after this tragic incident, a spokesperson has announced that the zoo has no plans to modify the elephant's outside area because of space concerns. If this horrible situation doesn't cause the zoo to think twice about the environment it provides for the animals, I shudder to think what would.

No animal deserves to live his or her life in a pitiful cage, but zoos have the obligation to provide—at the very least—a safe facility for animals. In the end, Annabel paid the price for the zoos' irresponsibility. It is time for the zoo community to stop capturing and breeding more animals to be put on display and to leave animals in their natural habitat where they belong.

Please, never support the cruel zoo industry.

Written by Liz Graffeo