Written by PETA
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
The list of celebrities who have been spotted wearing Stella McCartney's luxe animal-friendly fashions reads like a Hollywood who's who: Jada Pinkett Smith. Kate Winslet. Charlize Theron. Could the Queen's Guards be next?
We hope so. After a faux-fur prototype of a Queen's Guard's bearskin cap was presented during a meeting earlier this week with several Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials, we're encouraged by the possibilities. Stella, who collaborated with Canadian eco-designer Atom Cianfarani on the prototype, has been working with PETA UK for several years to develop a faux-fur hat that will pass the MoD's rigorous water-resistance tests.
"Historically, England has a very high regard for animals, so it makes perfect sense that the MoD should continue shedding ceremonial furs from uniforms," she says.
The new material is lighter and more breathable than bear fur, is less expensive, and of course, no bears were killed to make it. Currently, one bear is killed for every hat that's produced.
The MoD officials were impressed by PETA UK's prototype and have greenlighted further testing. Check back here for updates.
Written by Paula Moore
Hot on the heels of news that some doctors are recommending that elementary school–age kids be put on statin drugs (seriously—I wish I were making it up) comes a better prescription for dealing with the side effects of the childhood obesity epidemic. Several of the U.K.'s leading doctors are recommending a junk-food jihad.
"If we were really bold, we might even begin to think of high-calorie fast food in the same way as cigarettes—by setting stringent limits on advertising, product placement, and sponsorship of sports events," said Professor Terence Stephenson, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Meanwhile, PETA is taking the Detroit Public Library system and Detroit's first lady to task for bribing encouraging kids to read books by promising them a free McDonald's Happy Meal. Hopefully, kids will turn up their noses at this shameless gimmick after they read That's Why We Don't Eat Animals, a copy of which PETA has sent to the library.
"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: But when I became a man, I put away childish things."1 Corinthians 13:11
When I was a child (in 1976), I entered—and "won"—a fishing contest. But when I became a man, I put away the childish rod and reel because I had learned that real men are kind to animals.
A recent study suggests that men tend to overcompensate when their masculinity is threatened, and this feeling of inadequacy can manifest itself as aggression toward others. So our friends at PETA U.K. are asking a question: Do anglers have small rods? Maybe they're overcompensating for something. I mean, why would a grown-up impale animals with a hook, pull them up out of the water, and let them slowly suffocate? Especially when we now know that fish are complex and intelligent individuals who experience terror and suffering just as land animals do. If anglers treated cats the way they treat fish, they could be put in prison on cruelty charges!
Head over to DoAnglersHaveSmallRods.com to see what's going on. And if you're not someone who stakes your manhood on the state of your tackle box, click here to find out what you can do to help fish.
Written by Jeff Mackey
The results for PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian contest just came out, and it seems that we left one sexy gal off the list! In a recent interview with the Phoenix New Times, Ke$ha reveals that her compassion for animals includes a meat-free diet.
When asked why she adopted a vegetarian diet, the pop sensation and party girl of the year replied, "I just love animals, and I'm an advocate for animals' rights, and my family has rescued dogs from all over the world. I don't believe in animal testing. If you see me in fur, it's always fake. Sometimes you see me wearing skulls, but those are all from roadkill."
Ke$ha gets it—if you love animals, don't eat them. Maybe her animal-loving ways will rub off on Rihanna during their summer tour.
Written by Shawna Flavell
It's no secret that the airline industry has been struggling to make ends meet—even the perennially profitable Hawaiian Airlines has hit some market turbulence lately. So PETA has reached out to Hawaiian with a win-win proposition: Make Hawaiian Airlines the official airline of sea kittens.
Hawaii is known for its "aloha spirit." What better way to extend love, compassion, and mercy than by standing with these smart, fascinating, and most misunderstood animals? If Hawaiian accepts our offer, the airline would be working to help change the public's perception of fish by giving these vastly underappreciated animals a new name and a new image that reflects their interesting personalities and remarkable intelligence. And PETA would promote Hawaiian to our friends (that would be you guys) as the airline of choice for sea kitten–friendly travelers.
In the meantime, if you want to wrap something (including yourself) in a pro–sea kitten message, check this out.
You know that tofu has truly arrived when homemaking bible Better Homes and Gardens features herbed tofu cakes as one of its "prize tested recipes" and Jessica Simpson extols the virtues of tofu on Twitter. So it was only a matter of time before tofu started getting its own T-shirts.
First came PETA's runaway bestsellers "Powered by Tofu" and "Tofu Never Screams." Now, the folks at 11:11 have come up with this retro-cool little number:
To take home your very own "Say 'Tofu'" tee, just post a comment below sharing your most creative use or recipe for tofu. Remember: You can sauté it, marinate it, grill it, fry it, crumble it, scramble it, stew it, skewer it, slice it, dice it, bake it, shake it, shred it, bread it, freeze it, squeeze it, whip it, flip it, dip it, and sip it—just about the only thing that you can't do with tofu is skip it!
The five people to leave the most impressive uses for tofu will each walk away with a "Say Tofu!" heather tee. The contest ends on August 4, 2010, and we'll pick the winners on August 6, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. May the tofu god smile on you.
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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