Written by PETA
In case anyone needed another reason never to spend a cent at Petland or other stores that sell live animals, Animal Planet is airing a special report tonight showing how puppies suffer even before they end up in Petland stores. According to Animal Planet, an investigation of puppy mills that supply animals to Petland uncovered "more than 140 dogs housed in chicken-wire kennels, water bowls encrusted with mold and containing green water, … and one breeder's confession that she kills healthy dogs because of their less-than-stellar looks."
This appalling cruelty is business as usual at the hellholes that supply animals to Petland. At Sun Pet Ltd., a PETA undercover investigator recently found that animals were crammed en masse into tubs and that a worker bashed hamsters against a table in an attempt to kill them, among other horrors. At U.S. Global Exotics, another Petland supplier, PETA's investigator found that hundreds of thousands of animals were cruelly confined for days or weeks in pillowcases, shipping boxes, or soda bottles and that sick and injured animals were left in freezers to slowly die.
The only reason why animals continue to suffer for Petland and other stores is that people continue to buy them, so let's all get our friends and families to watch this important exposé with us on Animal Planet tonight at 10 p.m. EDT/PDT!
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
Dog and cats across West Hollywood have a little more pep in their step this week after hearing the news that WeHo's City Council voted unanimously to ban the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores. This landmark law makes West Hollywood the first city in the country where it is illegal to sell dogs and cats bred at puppy and kitten mills. Way to go, WeHo!
Written by Logan Scherer
This week, West Hollywood may become the first city in the country to ban the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores, potentially dealing a major blow to puppy mills, where constant confinement and a lack of adequate veterinary care and socialization often lead animals to become unhealthy and difficult to socialize. In a world in which U.S. animal shelters must put 3 to 4 million dogs and cats to death every year because of the overpopulation crisis, this ordinance would remind residents that adoption is the only responsible choice for people who are looking to welcome companion animals into their homes.
With its history of pioneering animal rights legislation and its influential role as a cultural and political trendsetter, West Hollywood is poised to lead the movement against pet stores and puppy mills. But you don't have to wait for WeHo to make its move. Urge your local legislators to end the exploitation of cats and dogs in your own community immediately.
Or, rather, holy smokin'…
If Joanna Krupa's previously released ad about animal adoptions somehow escaped anyone's attention, today the supermodel and Dancing With the Stars alum joined PETA for a protest outside a Los Angeles pet store to reveal the racier version of her compassionate message.
Joanna is taking action against pet shops and puppy mills that cash in by selling animals. Not only did she pose for several sultry ads with a bevy of rescued dogs and participate in the protest today, she also did a behind-the-scenes interview for us and discussed the ad yesterday during an appearance on Lopez Tonight, where George Lopez called her new ad "the hottest photo in the history of animal cruelty prevention."
Joanna aims to urge all future companion animal guardians to adopt animals from shelters, where millions of animals wait for their forever homes. She says, "[T]hey're in these little tiny cages, and all they're doing is breeding their whole life. It makes me so angry that our government doesn't do anything about it. So I am!" No matter if a person is determined to get a puppy or bent on a purebred (or even a purebred puppy!), there's no excuse to buy a puppy or a kitten from a pet store or breeder. Ever. Period.
Written by Karin Bennett
It's official: Oprah will end her show in 2011. Feel that collective surge of sadness? We sure do. Oprah's groundbreaking program has transcended the talk-show format and has paved the way for social and political change. In honor of PETA's 2008 Person of the Year and her show's long run, we're revisiting Oprah's best animal-friendly episodes:
The media mogul may be bidding farewell to her legendary talk show, but with the upcoming launch of her new cable network, we're sure that we'll be seeing a lot more of her for a long time to come.
Here's one more reason why I heart Oprah.
Yesterday, during her fall fashion style makeover show, a stylist mentioned that a furry vest worn in one woman's "after" look was faux. Oprah replied, "I was a PETA Woman of the Year so I hope that's faux!"
From celebrating vegan cuisine with Chef Tal Ronnen to airing an in-depth investigation of the cruelty of puppy mills, Oprah never hesitates to remind millions of television viewers to consider animals in their everyday lives.
From Washington state comes another story from the "why you should always adopt, never buy" files.
Today, Benton County law enforcement officials seized more than 400 dogs from a puppy mill owned by 66-year-old Ella Stewart in what they are calling "one of the worst cases" of animal abuse the state has ever seen.
All the dogs reportedly require medical treatment for a variety of ailments, including malnutrition, overgrown nails (which can cause painful foot injuries), and urine burns.
Urine burns! That's because all these pups were found living in makeshift crates (including shopping carts) that were caked with feces and soaked with urine.
You can bet that this isn't an isolated incident. Puppy mills, from which almost all pet stores buy their dogs, are breeding grounds (no pun intended) for disease and neglect. The animals who are unfortunate enough to be housed in these hell holes are viewed as commodities, not as living beings who require exercise, love, and care. They are crammed together into cages that they can barely turn around in, they are fed barely enough to survive, and when they suffer from injuries, their wounds go untreated.
So, the next time you're in the mood to bring a cute, dreamy-eyed pup home, don't support the Ella Stewarts of the world. Stop by your local animal shelter instead.
Written by Shawna Flavell
Day-um. Humane societies are getting serious this week. First, the Atlantic City ASPCA busted a Wal-Mart for cruelty to birds; now, the Lake Tahoe Humane Society & SPCA has taken a bite out of puppy mill crime. At the urging of the humane society and other animal advocates, the South Lake Tahoe City Council voted this week to ban the retail sale of dogs and cats. Two non-opposable thumbs up to you, South Lake Tahoe!
The law bans pet shops from selling animals; instead—fabulous, fabulous—they can display animals who are up for adoption from local animal shelters and rescue groups. Animal defenders pushed for the ban because they know that, despite pet shop owners' protests that they "only buy puppies from 'brokers'" and "licensed facilities," this is just code for "we've never actually laid eyes on the kennels we get our dogs from so they could be seeping cesspools of toxic sludge, for all we know."
Next time you're passing by a pet shop, play this fun game: Pick out a puppy at random and ask for the address of the kennel where he or she came from. I guarantee that you'll get some run-around about brokers and dealers and AKC papers. Keep pushing—you want an address, and you want to know if anybody in the store has ever personally visited the kennel. What do you want to bet that, if you ever do get a straight answer, the kennel is hundreds of miles away in some puppy-mill–enabling state like Missouri or Pennsylvania? Go ahead—give it a try, and let us know what you turn up. Thanks!
Written by Alisa Mulins
Right about now, we bet Vice President-elect Joe Biden is kicking himself for his decision to buy a purebred dog from a breeder, rather than adopt from a shelter.
The Philadelphia Department of Agriculture has handed Wolf Den kennel—the Chester County kennel where Biden purchased his puppy—citations for various violations. The violations included failure to produce complete rabies vaccinations records, which are required for dogs who are more than 3 months old.
Authorities also detected a strong ammonia smell in the building where the dogs are housed and found structural dangers such as broken wires and piping, which could potentially start a fire or fatally injure the animals.
Geesh, not to state the obvious but, well, we did tell him so in this letter, which PETA President Ingrid Newkirk sent to Vice President-elect Biden and his wife urging them to save a life and adopt a dog from an animal shelter.
As disheartening as it was to see one of this country's future leaders give into the lies of profiteering puppy breeders, we do still have high hopes that President-elect Obama will adopt a homeless mutt from an animal shelter for his girls. Just like he said back in November, "[a] lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me."
Unfortunately, it's pretty safe to assume that the breeder who sold the Bidens their dog conveniently forgot to mention that conditions for dogs in puppy mills stink. Puppies are housed in tiny, filthy cages and forced to stand in their own waste, which might be cleaned out if the dogs are lucky.
Check out the horrid conditions at puppy mills for yourself in a video narrated by Charlize Theron:
Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky
After Oprah aired a hard-hitting exposé of puppy mills last week, the folks at the American Kennel Club had the audacity to publicly praise the show, while they were presumably maneuvering frantically behind the scenes to make sure that the breeders they’ve been vigorously defending for decades don’t take a hit as a result. PETA President Ingrid Newkirk wrote to Oprah yesterday to thank her for doing the show and to point out that the AKC is no friend of dogs and never has been. You can read her letter here.
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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