Written by PETA
Here's a promising development in the midst of the recession: Charles River Laboratories—one of the world's largest suppliers of animals for experimentation—has announced that it is closing up shop in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. We're hoping these cutbacks mean that the cruel, callous industry giant will continue to suffer.
With its long history of abusing animals, Charles River Laboratories should really be called Hell's Kitchen—its facilities have literally cooked live animals to death. News broke last week of a monkey at a Charles River lab in Reno who was "literally boiled alive" last year after he was left in a cage that was put through one of the facility's high-temperature cage washers (think industrial-sized dishwasher)—despite the fact that lab workers claim that the cage was checked three times (?!). This followed an incident in 2008 when 32 monkeys under Charles River's "care" were baked alive after a thermostat malfunction—even though the procedure in place to alert staff apparently had been followed. No one even discovered the deaths until the following morning. PETA filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture about that negligent oversight, and Charles River was eventually fined $10,000.
Charles River officials attributed all these horrific and easily preventable deaths to "human error." We agree. But the human error responsible is the conscious decision that experimenters and their suppliers make every day to go to work and torment animals. Judging from its desperate downsizing, we foresee a future in which the folks of Charles River will need to find a different path of employment.
Written by Logan Scherer
Well, Alan Greenspan used the "R" word this week, which means that this country is officially in a recession (just in case anyone hadn't noticed). Fortunately, here at PETA, we have a team of financial analysts, standing by to help people get through those tough times ahead. Here's what they came up with — enjoy, and you can thank us later.
Recession? U.S. house prices continue to fall and food and fuel prices continue to rise, and a recession is upon us. Before you tap into your savings or start draining Junior’s college fund, PETA has tips on how to dispel those recession blues.Reduce…your Grocery Bill and Your Cholesterol on a Vegan Diet. High in fat and cholesterol, meat is also high-priced compared to such versatile vegan foods as beans, rice, millet, vegetables, soy “meat alikes” and pasta. Where burger beef (low grade dead cow) averages $3 per pound, dried beans, lentils and rice are less than $1 a pound. Bonus: you’ll save on hospital bills, cholesterol-reducing medications and plus-size clothing. Replace…your leather, fur and wool, as it wears out, with cheaper, cleaner and kinder natural fibers and synthetics. Tighten your belt by buying pleather accessories and natural fiber clothing that’s easier on your budget and easier to clean. You’ll smile all the way to the bank just knowing that no animals died for your shoes and no ground water was polluted by tannery chemicals. Target and Payless won’t break your bank like that $10,000 snakeskin bag.Refine…your taste in entertainment. Forget cable TV fees and nights at the opera. Study animal behavior: if a cat can have a blast with just a ball of string and a crumpled-up piece of paper, adopt one to keep you company! Don’t pay big bucks for a pet store puppy mill “pure bred” when the animal shelter has a dog or cat waiting there for you. And two can live as cheaply as one! Plus, saving an animal from death row is priceless.
Recession? U.S. house prices continue to fall and food and fuel prices continue to rise, and a recession is upon us. Before you tap into your savings or start draining Junior’s college fund, PETA has tips on how to dispel those recession blues.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
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