Written by Jeff Mackey
Actor and PETA pal Jenna Dewan-Tatum has added her name to those of the tens of thousands of compassionate people calling on Riverside County, California, District Attorney Paul Zellerbach to file felony cruelty charges against those responsible for the horrific neglect of animals at Global Captive Breeders, LLC (GCB).
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Following PETA's undercover investigation of Lake Elsinore, California–based GCB, which revealed the systemic, daily neglect and shocking abuse of thousands of rats and reptiles, more than 30,000 of you have signed on to PETA's petition urging Zellerbach to take action.
On December 12, based on PETA's evidence, law-enforcement officials mounted the largest-ever seizure of animals in California at GCB. The facility reeked of death, decay, and ammonia from accumulated urine and feces. Snakes and other reptiles at GCB were so neglected that, in many cases, even their deaths went unnoticed by management—for days, leaving enclosures and rotting carcasses teeming with maggots.
Rats were routinely grabbed by the tail and slammed against hard surfaces when workers decided to kill them. Then they were thrown into trash bins or into a reptile's cage while still alive and convulsing. Tubs used for housing flooded frequently, drowning countless rats and leaving hundreds of others—exhausted, shivering, and terrified—to struggle to keep their heads above the water as it rose. As Jenna explains in her letter to Zellerbach:
As an expectant mother, I was particularly heartbroken to see photos of ailing mother rats with open wounds on their bodies who stood guard protectively over their dead or dying babies in the filthy plastic tubs that they were confined to without access to adequate food, water, or even moderately fresh air to breathe… Justice must be served for the unspeakable suffering endured by countless animals at GCB.
Please join PETA and Jenna Dewan-Tatum in politely urging Zellerbach to file criminal charges against all appropriate parties without further delay.
Written by Michelle Kretzer
In just one week, we could require the Obama administration to address the fact that animals are still being killed in gas chambers. It's up to us.
Currently posted to the White House's "We the People" petition site is an appeal asking for federal attention to the suffering that animals endure when they are gassed. It can take as long as 45 minutes for a dog or cat to die in a gas chamber. He or she may convulse, vomit, gasp for breath, attempt to claw through the walls, void his or her bowels, howl in panic, and even be bitten by other frightened animals. And some animals do not die, like Daniel, the Alabama dog who has become the face of the movement to ban gas chambers.
Compare this to an intravenous injection of sodium pentobarbital, administered by trained professionals, that assures that the animal "falls asleep," the same quick, painless loss of consciousness that we feel when we are given anesthetics before surgery.
But despite the cruelty of gas chambers and the affordability of humane injections, it is still legal to gas animals in 31 states. Let's change that. We have until February 18 to collect 100,000 signatures.
I'm going to add my name to the petition right now. Will you please join me?
Written by PETA
Watch out, Waldo—you've got some cute and cuddly competition when it comes to getting lost in a crowd. My new favorite game: Where's PETA's seal?
Yesterday, the Canadian government announced that it is increasing the quota for this year's seal slaughter and projecting a death toll of 388,200 (that's 50,000 more shattered seal skulls than last year). At almost the exact same time, this throng of PETA supporters and friends to seals gathered in Montréal for the International Day of Action for Seals. Bullhorns in hand, they made sure that the Canadian government heard their demand: The massacre of baby seals must end!
Add this compassionate crowd to the more than half a million people who have signed our save-the-seals petition and the result is clear: As long as blood is spilled on the ice floes, the protests will grow.
Written by Logan Scherer
With the seal slaughter just a few weeks away, PETA has brought in our buxom bombshell, launched our pietition, and delivered a sweet message to the masses. Now we'd like to celebrate what you have done to try saving thousands of baby seals. That's why we're giving away our "Save the Seals" T-shirt and water bottle to three lucky winners:
Ready to sport this compassionate gear? After you've signed our Facebook petition, tell us how you've stepped up to raise awareness of the plight of seals. The three readers with the seal-saving achievements that rouse us the most will each get a T-shirt and a water bottle.
Enter by posting your one-of-a-kind stories of kindness in the comments section. The contest ends on March 17, 2010, and we'll pick the winners on March 19, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!
Three-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas is proof that one man can double-team fur industry cruelty. First, he bared it all in his "Ink, Not Mink" ad, and today he hosted PETA's fur-coat giveaway in Washington, D.C., where donated coats were handed out to the homeless:
Only those who can't afford to buy coats to keep them warm have any excuse to wear fur. Do you have any skins that you'd like to shed from your wardrobe? Donate them to PETA, and your old fashion faux pas could help a person in need or become bedding for an orphaned animal.
Our "weapon of mass distraction" struck again today when PETA bombshell Pamela Anderson delivered a package to the mailbox directly across the street from the Vancouver office of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Personally I'd watch her drop off her electric bill, but this piece of mail has lives depending on it: Anderson was sending Prime Minister Stephen Harper a letter and more than 500,000 petition signatures imploring him to cancel next month's seal slaughter.
Environment Canada's new data show ice levels at a 30-year low in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Anderson is appealing to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to spare what is expected to be a historically low number of seal pups from next month's seal slaughter.
"The absence of this birthing habitat will have dangerous consequences for the entire seal population," writes Anderson. "I ask that you heed your own government's assessment and call off this year's commercial seal slaughter in light of this unique environmental situation."
Was your signature sealed inside that envelope? Sign our Facebook petition and join over half a million people who have already let Harper know that we won't rest until he calls off the annual massacre for good.
Written by Shawna Flavell
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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