Written by Heather Faraid Drennan
It's starting to feel like déjà vu: PETA has once again filed formal complaints with the federal government about the abuse of animals in laboratories at the University of Colorado–Denver (CU). Through a state open-records request, PETA has just learned that the same neglect and incompetence that we documented there in a 2007 investigation are still occurring.
The records show that during just the past two years, at least 60 animal welfare incidents—dozens of which may constitute violations of federal law and guidelines—have occurred, including the following:
Based on PETA's undercover investigation, in 2007, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited CU for serious violations of the Animal Welfare Act and also issued the university an official warning letting it know that it would be fined $10,000 per incident if it were found violating the law again. It's time for the government to follow through on that warning and stop CU's abuses for good.
Please ask the federal government to stop funding cruel animal experiments and to put your tax dollars toward modern, humane non-animal research methods.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
Former "pussycat" Kimberly Wyatt instinctively knows that torturing rabbits, mice, and other animals for makeup is wrong. In her new ad for PETA U.K., Kimberly, who has her own line of cruelty-free cosmetics, exposes the painful and often deadly effects that chemical tests have on animals.
Hair: Klare Wilkinson|Make-up: Lan Nguyen|Studio: ShoreditchStudios.com|© karlgrant.com
Testing cosmetics on animals has been banned within the European Union (E.U.) since 2009. The E.U. also approved a ban on the sale of cosmetics containing ingredients that were tested on animals elsewhere, effective in 2013. But under pressure from some cosmetics companies, the E.U. is considering delaying that ban. Kimberly is hopeful that her ad will encourage the E.U. to uphold the original deadline.
She's got a lot of support: After PETA U.K., PETA Germany, and PETA Netherlands sent out action alerts to their members, the European Commission (the E.U.'s executive branch) received more than 20,000 e-mails urging it not to delay the ban. And when PETA U.S. sent out a similar action alert, we quickly collected and delivered more than 50,000 letters from people in the U.S. and other countries imploring the European Commission to keep the deadline and keep animals safe.
On this side of the pond, we aren't fortunate enough to have such a ban yet, but we can implement one in our homes by buying only cruelty-free products.
Gracie had been relegated to a tiny cage for weeks when a PETA staffer noticed her and asked her owner if she could give the rabbit a new home. Gracie's owner agreed. After all, she said, she didn't really want a rabbit companion—she'd bought Gracie to feed to her snake, but the rabbit had proved to be too big.
Gracie didn't let her harrowing start to life dampen her spirit, and she became a superstar, posing with actor Charlotte Ross in a PETA anti-fur ad. And in her new home, where she is wanted, Gracie enjoys romping through the vegetable garden and digging holes. She doesn't like it when her chicken companions try to eat her food, but the wily rabbit never hesitates to steal theirs.
While sweet Gracie got her happy ending, she would be saddened if she knew that rabbits just like her are confined to tiny cages every year in laboratories in the U.S. They have cosmetics and household cleaners dripped into their eyes. Their backs are shaved, and corrosive chemicals are painted onto their raw skin and left to burn away the tissue for weeks. Then they are killed.
Show rabbits a little grace. Buy cruelty-free products.
Written by PETA
As anyone who has ever forgotten to spell out "w-a-l-k" can attest, dogs can understand our language. One recent study showed that dogs can learn up to 165 words and gestures and that they can count. And dogs aren't the only animals you can depend on in an emergency either—a rabbit recently saved her human family from a house fire.
Could birds call each other "humanbrain" as an insult? Like humans, crows and ravens are very social and have large brains for their body size. They also rival humans and monkeys in their ability to delay self-gratification for a greater reward. They are articulate, too, as evidenced by escaped former companion birds who are now teaching their flocks to understand English. If a family planning to welcome a new baby is having trouble picking a name, perhaps they should consult with parrots, who name their offspring.
Dolphins talk to each other in a way similar to humans, too, by adjusting their muscular tension and air flow. Words likely not in their vocabulary? "Imprison," "abuse," and "exploit" …. But if they are familiar with those terms, it could explain why scientists in Australia are just now discovering a new species of dolphin—maybe they were hiding!
People have been safely using toothpaste, dish soap, and other household products for generations, but that didn’t stop REACH, the European Union's massive chemical-testing program, from torturing and killing about 200,000 animals in tests on the ingredients in these products, among many other chemicals. A recent report by the agency that oversees REACH reveals that companies are ignoring the requirement to use every available alternative to experimenting on animals and are instead putting thousands of animals through suffering that most people wouldn't wish on their worst enemy.
According to the U.K.'s Daily Mail, "Among these 'unnecessary' tests were 188 studies on eye irritation carried out on rabbits; 336 skin sensitisation studies on guinea pigs or mice; 254 short-term toxicity tests on fish; and 33 genetic toxicity tests on mice."
PETA U.K. is calling out the government officials responsible for enforcing REACH by placing this ad in an influential European politics magazine, The Parliament, and asking Europeans to write to the European Commission.
In related news, PETA and its international affiliates have written to the European Chemicals Agency, which oversees REACH, demanding a moratorium on reproductive toxicity testing until a newly approved refinement―that can spare hundreds of thousands of animals―is in place.
In the meantime, you can help animals on both sides of the pond by buying only cruelty-free products. Visit the PETA Living page for lists of companies that do and don’t test on animals.
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
You may want to start preparing some celebratory (non-animal tested) tea and (vegan) biscuits. The United Kingdom has taken a significant step toward ending tests of household products on animals. As a member of the E.U., Britain has already made it illegal to test cosmetics or their ingredients on animals, and now the government has made a commitment to ending household-product tests after consulting with companies, trade bodies, and animal protection organizations to come up with a working plan for ending the cruelty of animal testing.
In household-product tests, experimenters feed or inject animals with high doses of toxic chemicals or rub irritants into their skin. New testing methods will include laboratory-grown cultures and computer modeling.
British Home Office Minister Lynne Featherstone said, "We believe it is possible to sell household products without inflicting pain and suffering on animals, and it is unacceptable that testing in this area continues."
While experiments of household products on animals might not be banned in other countries yet, they can be banned in your home. Choosing cruelty-free products gets animals one step closer to freedom from the laboratory.
Dozens of animals were rescued from a ramshackle farm in Arnsberg-Hüsten, Germany, after a whistleblower alerted PETA Germany that the animals were being kept in filthy, dilapidated sheds or were enclosed in broken wire fences—exposed to the elements, predators, and the beer-bottle-littered ground.
Upon investigation, staffers found 59 chickens, 34 rabbits, 25 ducks, and six geese, as well as the skins and heads of two dead rabbits and the carcasses of three dead and decaying animals, which were being eaten by rats. The whistleblower stated that the owner of the farm slaughtered animals and sold them to his neighbors.
PETA Germany staffers shot video footage, which they used to file a complaint with authorities, who ordered the farmer to surrender most of the animals. The church that owned the property also ordered the man out, and the city bulldozed the shacks. The man subsequently surrendered the rest of the animals, who were taken by PETA Germany and two other rescue groups and placed in sanctuaries. Not a bad weekend's work, PETA Germany!
Three … two … one … happy New Year! Today marks the beginning of the traditional Chinese New Year, and 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit. There are a lot of great ways to make a difference for rabbits this year. You can e-mail the bunny butcher herself, Donna Karan, and urge her to switch to faux fur. You can make a donation in any amount to PETA's anti-fur campaign to help us put an end to rabbits being killed for their fur. You can also encourage friends and family members not to buy rabbits on a whim (for the Chinese New Year, Easter, or anytime).
To celebrate the Year of the Rabbit, many people often purchase rabbits from breeders or pet shops. Sadly, most of these rabbits end up neglected, dumped at an animal shelter, or turned loose in the wild, where they have little chance to survive. According to the House Rabbit Society, rabbits have fragile skeletons that are prone to fractures, and they do not like to be carried or cuddled. Rabbits also need considerable exercise, not confinement, and they do not like noise. Educate yourself on the needs of rabbits before adopting one and please do not give them as gifts or give to a child. Anyone considering welcoming a rabbit into his or her home as a companion should adopt one from an animal shelter or rescue group—rather than supporting greedy breeders—and plan on making a 10-year commitment.
PETA is known for moving mountains, and the mountain known as the U.S. Department of Transportation has finally moved. In response to pressure from PETA and thousands of our supporters, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has just issued a new rule promoting the use of non-animal testing methods to replace the use of rabbits in cruel skin corrosion tests.
Almost 20 years ago—also in response to PETA pressure—the DOT approved the use of the non-animal Corrositex® tests to replace the use of rabbits in painful skin corrosion tests. (The DOT requires companies to test chemicals for corrosivity before they are transported.) But rather than promote the kinder test, the DOT required companies to jump through hoops to avoid the animal test and actually told some companies to conduct both the rabbit and the non-animal test and to use whichever results they preferred! All this, even though the agency acknowledged that Corrositex® results are more precise than the results of the rabbit test!
Now, thanks to a PETA rulemaking petition and all of you who spoke out against this cruel practice, the DOT will promote and encourage Corrositex® and other non-animal testing methods, thus saving the lives of countless rabbits.
Skin corrosion tests are a one-way street to pain and suffering and are as ghastly as they sound: Experimenters apply corrosive chemicals to the shaved backs of rabbits for up to two weeks before the animals are killed. The chemicals often cause severe burns, and the animals are given no pain relief.
And because the non-animal methods that use human skin models are more reliable than the rabbit tests, the DOT's new regulation will improve protections for humans as well, thus proving once again that good science and humane science do go hand in hand (or paw in paw, as the case may be).
P.S. While we're thrilled with this victory, we still need to pressure the DOT to update its website, so please stay tuned in case we need your help again!
Written by Jessica Sandler
For some reason, Donna Karan seems to think that it's a good idea to highlight the fact that the rabbit-fur collar on this coat is from China:
Yes, indeed, China—the land of melamine-tainted baby formula and corrosive drywall. It's practically synonymous with quality! Not to mention cruelty.
We think a better selling point is the fact that the collar is detachable, which means you can stop people from pointing and frowning and wondering what on Earth that poor little bunny ever did to you. Of course, they'll still wonder what you have against North African lambs …
Written by Alisa Mullins
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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.