Following last week's killing of dozens of wild animals in Zanesville, Ohio, PETA supporters gathered in front of the Ohio statehouse today calling on Gov. John Kasich to ban ownership of wild animals as "pets" immediately, before other tragedies occur. Earlier this year, the governor refused to extend an emergency ban on keeping captive exotic animals that had been put in place by his predecessor.

In a letter to Gov. Kasich, PETA noted that there are at least 10 wild-animal facilities in Ohio that are accidents waiting to happen. One facility in Massillon that holds more than 100 animals—including tigers, lions, pumas, jaguars, bears, and wolves—was found this year to be keeping tigers in an enclosure that had no top and was not tall enough to keep the animals contained. Another facility, in Perrysburg, was found to be keeping adult lions and wolves in enclosures that would not prevent them from jumping out.

Ohio's dangerously lax laws about wild-animal ownership have already resulted in human deaths, including a man who was mauled by a bear kept by notorious wild-animal exhibitor Sam Mazzola. To help prevent additional tragedies involving captive wild animals, click here to urge the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to exercise its authority to implement emergency regulations prohibiting private citizens from keeping wild animals.

Written by Heather Faraid Drennan

Pop quiz:

If you answered A without checking out the Wiki page, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you already read about the man in Leeds, England, who was cleaning his tarantula's tank when he was shot in the face with urticating hairs early last year. The incident left the man with a red, watery, and light-sensitive eye for months, and now doctors are urging people to wear eye protection when handling their spiders.

We've got even better advice: Never buy tarantulas or any other exotic animals in the first place. Tarantulas and other animals such as hedgehogs, lizards, and macaws who are purchased as pets suffer from the overwhelming stress of unnatural confinement and loneliness, so it's no surprise that they often lash out at owners who are usually unaware of their complex needs. Tarantulas are highly intelligent animals who build tented shelters, and they're compassionate—mother tarantulas are known to starve themselves so that their offspring can eat. They shouldn't have to spend their lives trapped in tanks.

If you're looking for an animal companion, visit your local animal shelter—and if you ever run into an eight-legged friend around the house, catch him or her humanely.

Written by Logan Scherer

Earlier this year, Travis, a 15-year-old "pet" chimpanzee, was stabbed repeatedly, pounded with a shovel, and finally shot to death after he attacked a Connecticut woman named Charla Nash. Yesterday, Ms. Nash, who has been in a hospital since the attack, appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and spoke for the first time about her recovery. During the show, Nash declared her readiness to move on and said that she had an optimistic outlook on the future.

nydailynews / CC

The images of Nash are shocking, her buoyant hopefulness is inspiring, and both of those points should prompt another look at Travis' trajectory from his days as a baby chimpanzee to his years as a confined adult "pet." Travis, who appeared in several commercials when he was an infant, was just one of many exotic animals who have been torn away from their mothers at a young age in order to be raised by people who don't fully understand their needs.

Once chimpanzees reach adolescence, they become too strong and aggressive for their guardians to handle. They are then often abandoned at roadside zoos or—as was the case with Travis—stay in the home of a person who remains unaware of their tremendous strength until it's too late.

Chimpanzees and other exotic animals were never meant to be confined to people's homes, and keeping them as "pets" can often be lethal to both the animals and those who live near them.

Written by Logan Scherer

Fans of PostSecret will be familiar with the format here—members, employees, and friends of PETA have been uploading stories about their companion animals and things they wish they'd done differently in taking care of them. Given the opportunity, I think we'd all make a few changes if we had a chance to go back and do more for members of the family—and this is often especially true of the animals we share our lives with. I can tell you, for instance, that (although I love every bit of her), I wish I'd been a hell of a lot more diligent about watching Princess Cuteyface's weight after she first showed up on my doorstep (she's a big, big girl). If you have a moment today, take some time to read people's confessions about their companion animals, and feel free to upload your own story. It makes for some intense reading.

The mandatory spay/neuter ordinance, which I was talking up this week on the blog, passed today at the Van Nuys City Council meeting with a 10-1 vote! There is still one more vote to take place next week which will finalize it, but the decision will be made based on simple majority. According to my colleagues in LA who were at the meeting, there were hundreds of people in attendance, including Bob Barker who spoke on the importance of spaying and neutering. Boo-ya!

A huge thank you to everyone who has helped push this historic bill into law.

Deflocked, baby. Deflocked.

Click for a larger version

To check out the archives of past strips, click here.

The Los Angeles City Council has just announced that a meeting will be held on Friday morning to discuss a historic ordinance that would require virtually all dogs and cats in Los Angeles to be spayed or neutered. If you happen to live in L.A. and have an urge to whisper sweet words of encouragement into your council member’s ear, you can find his or her phone number at http://www.lacity.org/council.htm. Just let 'em know that you support the spay-neuter ordinance, and you’re hoping they will too. Council members love that sort of thing. You can also attend the meeting to show your support.

If you don’t live in L.A., there’s probably not all that much you can do about this particular bill, but at least you don’t have to deal with the lousy traffic conditions they have in that city. That’s gotta be worth something, right? There’s also tons of information about how you can help cats and dogs in your community right here. And to continue with a theme started earlier this week, here’s a criminally adorable pro spay/neuter spot, starring animated kittens.

A sign in the window of Schumacher Furs during a lawful protest against the cruelty of the fur industry
Greenisthenewred/Creative Commons

You may remember that the good people over at Schumacher Furs saw fit to sue PETA when their store in downtown Portland was closed following regular protests by local activists and concerned citizens. There were a number of good reasons why the Schumachers didn’t have a leg to stand on with their lawsuit, such as the fact that the protests against the furriers weren’t even PETA demonstrations (not to mention that whole first amendment thing).

Well, last week, the judge in the case ordered Schumacher Furs to pay PETA more than $40,000 as reimbursement for legal fees incurred fighting the lawsuit (which he called "an extraordinary abuse of the litigation process"), and his statement in the ruling just about says it all:

So there you have it—a victory for animals and for free speech all in one go. The cash is a nice bonus, too.

I don’t know if they’re trying to put me out of business or what, but PETA Europe have just launched their very own blog, dedicated to all things animal rights, except, like, from a British perspective. So you can expect a lot of references to Eastenders and veggie bangers and mash. But they have brought in some real talent in the form of my friend Alexia Weeks to write the thing, and it’s off to a great start. So be sure to head over there and let Alexia know what you think.

Seems like there’s been quite a bit of naked going on lately, especially with all the work that went into putting together this year’s glorious State of the Union Undress, but these images—from a recent anti-fur demonstration in Barcelona—are way too good to pass up. Dozens of activists gathered to draw attention to the cruelty of the fur industry on Monday, and the results are just incredibly compelling.

Check out the photo gallery here.