Written by PETA
A big chicken exploiter, that is. While boxing fans debate whether undefeated welterweight Floyd Mayweather Jr. is too yellow to step into the ring with Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, there's no question that PETA members are seeing red after a video surfaced of Mayweather cheering at a bloody cockfight in Puerto Rico. Cheering!
After watching this video, I'd love to see PETA's pal "Sugar" Shane Mosley knock some sense (and maybe even some compassion) into Mayweather in a rematch.
Cockfighting has been outlawed throughout the U.S., so if you suspect that this illegal activity is happening in your neighborhood, contact local law-enforcement authorities immediately.
Written by Karin Bennett
All K-9 officers have an inherently dangerous job, but when you're a canine K-9 officer, being cooked to death shouldn't be among the perils you face. Yet dogs—including police dogs—die every year after being left alone in cars on scorching summer days. An officer may enter a building to interview a complainant or to respond to an emergency call. The officer leaves the car running with the air conditioning on full blast, but in some instances the engine dies—and because the department has failed to fit the car with a warning device or auxiliary system, so does the dog. Already this summer, police dogs in Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama as well as a U.S. Customs drug-sniffing dog in Texas have suffered prolonged, panic-stricken deaths in patrol cars while their human partners stepped away.
PETA wants to prevent more deaths, so we've sent law enforcement agencies across the U.S. urgent information about heat monitoring and warning systems. Ideally, of course, dogs would never be left unattended in vehicles. But if police work should leave an officer with no other choice, these devices can save a dog's life—by sounding an alarm, paging the officer, starting the car's engine, rolling down a window, or popping open a door when the temperature inside the car begins to reach dangerous levels.
You, too, can help prevent animal 9-1-1s by ordering PETA's free "Too Hot for Spot" action kit. And remember, if you do see a dog who's been left in a hot car, take action: Call local police or humane authorities right away. While you're at it, ask your local police department to post an advisory to all K-9 officers.
Written by Paula Moore
Obesity rates are climbing across the country, with one exception: Washington, D.C., is the only area in the U.S. to see a decline in the adult obesity rate. Some people may cite Michelle Obama's healthy eating challenges for D.C.'s flab-less makeover, but it seems that PETA's work to encourage the city's residents and visitors to adopt a vegan diet is having an impact. Check out other ways PETA is getting involved in D.C.:
In addition to having more than 60 stands for our vegetarian/vegan starter kit around D.C., PETA also organizes more than 15 animal rights outreach events per week. There have been patriotic vegan food giveaways outside gross, flesh-filled barbecues; volunteers have served vegan food to the homeless; PETA's "cow," "chicken," and "pig" mascots have handed out free vegan recipes; we've dispensed more than 250,000 pieces of animal rights literature over the past year; we've put up banners; and that's not all. We are also promoting buying cruelty-free products, stopping NASA's cruel monkey tests, and helping make D.C. free of fur, leather, wool, and silk!
Written by Katie Arth, PETA's D.C. area organizer
Speaking up for animals is a full-time, 24/7 job. Just ask Pamela Anderson.
As we told you earlier this month, when Montréal officials blocked the launch of Pamela Anderson's sexy new vegetarian ad campaign for PETA, she instead unveiled the ad during her previously planned news conference for the Just for Laughs festival.
Pam and PETA are grateful to Restaurant Globe for hosting the impromptu pro-veg event, but while she was there, Pam noticed that the restaurant serves foie gras. So when she wrote a thank-you note to Restaurant Globe, she added a plea, explaining the extreme cruelty that's involved in foie gras production and asking the restaurant to remove the "delicacy of despair" from its menu.
This is why Pam is an honorary PETA director—she never misses an opportunity to help animals. So if you ever notice foie gras on a restaurant menu, just think, "WWPD?" ("What Would Pam Do?") Then talk to the manager or owner, explain how foie gras is made by force-feeding geese sometimes to the point of causing their internal organs to rupture, and politely ask that the restaurant stop serving foie gras. Geese—and Pam—will be thankful!
Written by Jeff Mackey
... in her latest movie, The Extra Man. Sure, she's had lots of meaty movie roles, but it's Katie's latest nonmeaty (it's not a word but it should be) casting as a dedicated vegan that has us jumping up and down on the couch. The quirky indie flick revolves around the relationship between Holmes' character, Mary, and Louis, the carnivore who's crushing on her (played by Fast Food Nation's Paul Dano). Mary works for an environmental magazine, and we all know that there's no such thing as a meat-eating environmentalist, so it all makes sense!
You can check out Katie in all her vegan glory when the movie opens on July 30. Don't miss it!
Via Ecorazzi
Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth
Here's "The Situation": Sexy Jenni "JWoww" Farley of Jersey Shore fame has launched her new clothing line, Filthy Couture. No word yet on whether or not it'll include Snookits, but PETA members everywhere united in a resounding fist pump when JWoww's camp confirmed that Filthy Couture is free of fur and exotic skins.
Perhaps this headline will be coming soon to a newspaper near you: "PETA Implants JWoww in 'Rather Go Naked' Campaign." Would you like to see that become a reality?
The folks in PETA's Cruelty Investigations Department are looking for the cruel, cowardly individual who apparently forced this dog to fight, beat her, shot her in the chest, and left her tied to a tree by an extension cord earlier this week—and they need everyone's help!
PETA is adding up to $3,000 to the Danville Area Humane Society's $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever committed this violent crime. Fliers with the dog's photo and the words "DO YOU KNOW THIS DOG?" are also going up all around Danville, Virginia, where the animal was found covered in bruises and puncture wounds. Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact the Danville Area Humane Society.
This case is a reminder of why it's so vital to report cruelty to animals before it's too late. We can't undo this poor dog's suffering, but we might prevent other animals from meeting similar fates by keeping our eyes open for animals in need, being "nosy neighbors," trusting our instincts, and always alerting police and animal control officials right away if we know or suspect that animals are being abused or neglected.
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
Just three months after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down as "overly broad" a law intended to ban the distribution of videos depicting illegal cruelty to animals, a new bill aimed at stopping these vile videos has passed the House of Representatives in a landslide.
This bill, called the Prevention of Interstate Commerce in Animal Crush Videos Act, would outlaw "obscene" depictions of acts that violate cruelty-to-animals laws, such as "crush" videos—in which women kill puppies, kittens, and rabbits by stomping on them with their bare feet or in high heels. "These videos have no redeeming value and clearly fall outside the realm of protected speech," says Rep. James P. Moran, D-Va., one of the sponsors of the bill. "Not only are they viciously inhumane to the animals involved, but they also teach behavior that can lead to other violent crimes against animals and humans." Thank you, Rep. Moran!
Please get everyone you know, today, to urge their senators to do the right thing and approve this bill.
Ram Prasad spends his days chained by all four legs on a concrete platform at a temple near Sangli, India. Like other temple elephants in India, he is essentially a moneymaker, used to encourage devotees to donate money and gifts. Years of being kept virtually immobilized have caused Ram's back legs to atrophy, and he has developed a painful foot infection as a result of being forced to stand day in and day out on a hard surface (such foot problems are common in captive elephants—and are the number one cause of elephant deaths in American zoos and circuses).
When veterinary staff with Animal Rahat, a PETA-supported relief program for working animals in India, discovered Ram, he was also suffering from a huge, gaping abscess on his side. Animal Rahat is working with Ram's caretakers to allow the veterinarians to treat him and has also persuaded them to make other improvements in his care.
Ram is just one of thousands of animals whose lives have been made better by Animal Rahat. Find out more about this lifesaving work here.
Written by Alisa Mullins
Bullhooks are heavy batons with a sharp metal hook and point on the end. If someone routinely smacked you with one, wouldn't you eventually fight back? Video footage taken at the Toledo Zoo shows that a young elephant named Louie did just that: He charged his bullhook-wielding keeper, leaving him hospitalized with serious injuries. In the video, Louie is shown backing away when he sees keeper Don RedFox approaching him with a bullhook. Louie then turns around and charges at RedFox after RedFox jabs him with the implement.
The Toledo Zoo still uses the archaic free-contact elephant-handling system. In free contact, elephants are dominated and punished with force, and that puts keepers at constant risk. The zoo's use of the free-contact system has previously been discussed in Toledo. The zoo failed to act on a July 8, 2005, "Lucas County Commissioners Special Citizens Task Force for the Zoo Final Report" that confirmed that keepers have been injured under the current free-contact system. Now we are asking the zoo's board of directors to allow us to bring in a team of elephant experts who can train zoo staff to eliminate the use of bullhooks and transition to a protected-contact system, which more than half the accredited zoos in the country already use.
For the elephants' well-being and for the safety of zoo employees, please join us in asking the Toledo Zoo to eliminate cruel and outdated circus-style handling.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
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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