Authorities in Texas and Oklahoma are acting on complaints from PETA that a "kill buyer"—someone who purchases horses and transports them to slaughterhouses or feedlots—falsified forms certifying that horses who were being transported to slaughter were free of a deadly equine disease.

Twice last year, a PETA investigator rode along with the kill buyer as he moved dozens of horses he had purchased in Iowa through Missouri and Kansas to feedlots and transfer points in Oklahoma and Texas. The kill buyer was caught on tape admitting that the veterinary forms he carried "certifying" that the horses in his trailer were free of deadly equine infectious anemia (EIA)—a potentially fatal viral disease with no known cure or preventive vaccine—were actually those of other horses, not those on board his truck.

PETA alerted the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry and the Texas Animal Health Commission that the kill buyer, by his own admission, was bringing horses into the states without valid EIA paperwork, risking the health of hundreds of other horses when potentially infected horses were unloaded onto crowded feedlots.

The latest allegations in Oklahoma are part of a wider horse slaughter investigation involving allegations of stolen property, concealing stolen property, transporting stolen property across state lines, and other crimes.

What You Can Do

Obviously, this kill buyer needs to be brought to justice, but he is just one piece of a large and corrupt industry. This case is just more evidence of the pressing need to pass the Safeguard American Food Exports Act, which would make it illegal to slaughter horses in the U.S. and to transport them to slaughter in Canada and Mexico. Please contact your representatives today and urge them to support this vital bill. 

Newly elected Pope Francis is already making clear that his focus will be to embrace the disadvantaged. He chose his papal title in homage to St. Francis of Assisi, a renowned advocate for the poor and the patron saint of animals and the environment. PETA has written to His Holiness to congratulate him and to offer a couple of simple ways that he can follow in St. Francis' footsteps as a champion for animals. Because of the unholy abuse on factory farms and in slaughterhouses, we've asked Pope Francis to ensure that no factory-farmed meat, eggs, or dairy products are served at the Vatican and to offer as many meat-free meals as possible. 

casarosado.gov.ar | cc by 2.0

Previous popes have expressed concern for animals and their well-being. Pope John Paul II was a noted animal advocate who declared that animals are "as near to God as men are." He also maintained that animals "possess a soul and men must love and feel solidarity with our smaller brethren." Pope Francis' predecessor Pope Benedict XVI felt that "[a]nimals, too, are God's creatures. … [T]his degrading of living creatures to a commodity seems to me in fact to contradict the relationship of mutuality that comes across in the Bible."

God clearly instructs his followers to "love one another" (John 13:34), "be merciful" (Luke 6:36), and not to harm one another (Isaiah 11:9).

Hopefully, Pope Francis will continue to guide Catholics down the compassionate path that his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi, set out on so many years ago.

Update 2:

Following a successful stint at the Kansas State Fair—during which people were able to watch video footage of factory farms—PETA has voluntarily dismissed its free-speech lawsuit against the fair. Many fairgoers were pleased to receive the free vegan and vegetarian recipes. Most tellingly, the majority of the farmers who watched PETA's footage admitted that they couldn't pledge that their own animals weren't being slaughtered in the same violent and haphazard ways. 

While maintaining that the fair's requirement to screen the video inside a tent constitutes a content-based restriction in violation of free-speech rights, PETA is pleased with the final outcome. In fact, publicity over the fair's censorship may well have driven more traffic to the booth, allowing PETA to reach an even wider range of Kansans with information about the cruelty of factory farming and slaughter!

Update: After Kansas State Fair officials failed to respond to letters asking them to remove restrictions forcing PETA to shield video footage showing animal slaughter from fairgoers who pass by its booth, we filed a federal lawsuit to stop the fair from violating our right to free speech. PETA also submitted a motion asking the court to block the restrictions imposed on our booth for this year's fair, which starts September 7.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kansas and Western Missouri is representing PETA for free, along with Kansas City law firm Copilevitz & Canter. As Doug Bonney, legal director for the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri, put it, "I've never seen anything like this—this is a classic content-based restriction on what the speaker can say, which I think is unconstitutional."

We'll keep you posted!

Originally posted August 16:

Turns out that Iowa's not the only state that objects to the idea of fair visitors learning the ugly truth about how meat is made. After the Kansas State Fair sent a letter insisting that PETA could have a booth only if any pictures or videos "that depict animal slaughter, animal harvest, hide removal, or show or depict live animals being decapitated, dismembered or butchered" be shielded from view unless people specifically choose to view them, our legal team fired back a reply demanding that the decision be reversed because it violates PETA's constitutional right to free speech.

Here's the deal: The state has established the fair as a public forum, and the right to free speech requires that there be no content-based censorship in a public forum. Consider, too, that fair officials don't appear to be making the same demand of other exhibitors, meaning that it's only PETA's content that they're trying to squelch. Plus, fairgoers deserve to know how much the animals who were raised and killed for their cheeseburgers and chili dogs suffered—though I guess that last point isn't actually a legal issue.

What You Can Do

Looking for an effective, unmistakable way to express your disgust at the way animals are abused on factory farms and in slaughterhouses? Go vegan!

Everyone has heard of the horrifying shooting of moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado, which left 12 people dead and dozens more injured, and many people have debated how gun control or mental-health care might help stop future outbreaks of violence. But while there are many forms of random, senseless violence that we can do nothing about, there's one way each of us can make the world a little more peaceful every time we sit down to eat: All we have to do is choose meat-free meals. That's why PETA has written to the Arapahoe County sheriff to ask him to lead the way by placing the man charged in the Aurora shooting, James Holmes, on a totally nonviolent vegan diet.

There's a Reason 'Carnivore' Sounds Like 'Carnage'

Although the extreme violence inflicted on them rarely makes the news, animals on factory farms and in slaughterhouses endure senseless acts of aggression and bloodshed every hour of every day, and their fear and pain are as palpable and real as anyone else's. Also, extreme cruelty to animals is inextricably linked to acts of violence against human beings.

Eating plant-based meals is a simple way for all of us to make the world a less violent place. To initiate this positive trend, PETA has offered to provide all inmates of the Arapahoe County jail where Holmes is incarcerated with vegan meals for a day at no cost to the county.

What You Can Do

Had enough violence? Go vegan for life.

What do Bill Clinton, former President George W. Bush speechwriter Matthew Scully, and the Rev. Al Sharpton have in common? They're all political animals who don't eat meat. Sharpton first got an idea of what happens to animals on factory farms when he appeared in PETA's video exposing cruelty in slaughterhouses that supply KFC and called on the black community to join PETA's boycott of the fast-food chain. His message to KFC? "That's foul!"  

We caught up with Sharpton, who now hosts MSNBC's show PoliticsNation, to ask him what inspired him to change his eating habits, how his new diet makes him feel, and what his favorite foods are.  

"I overhauled my diet after a 40-day hunger strike when I was in jail for the Vieques [military bombing practice] protest," Sharpton told us. "I dabbled with weight loss ideas, wanting to keep off the pounds I lost. First, I gave up red meat, then chicken. I ran into Bill Clinton, who told me how he has more energy, needs less sleep, and can think more clearly since going vegan, and I can tell you the same thing happened to me. I also kept in mind the words of another vegetarian friend—Coretta Scott King—who always spoke of the ethical reasons to give up meat."

Sharpton dedicated his PETA Humanitarian Award to King when he accepted it at PETA's awards gala in New York City in 2006.

To date, the reverend has lost more than 120 pounds. To read more about Sharpton's triumphs and tribulations, check out his essay in PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk's book One Can Make a Difference.

If you want to be a champion for animals, take the pledge to go vegan. Not only will you enjoy reduced stress and more energy, you'll also be less likely to suffer from obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Written by Monica Alexander

The world didn't come to an end when road crews shut down 10 miles of one of Los Angeles' busiest freeways this past weekend, but the absence of the usual bumper-to-bumper traffic on the 405 was certainly an other-worldly scene. Then there was a heavenly vision: PETA members reminding the hardy motorists who dared to brave Carmageddon that going vegan clears up arteries faster than $5-a-gallon gas.
 

 
If we want to get serious about unclogging arteries, maybe road crews should put orange cones in front of slaughterhouses and factory farms.
 

Written by Michelle Sherrow

It's not like I don't already watch Bones religiously, but I'm definitely tuning in for this week's episode, in which our intrepid heroes, Brennan and Booth, try to get to the bottom of the murder of a chicken factory farmer. The main suspects are the farmer's neighbors—who are no doubt not terribly keen about living next door to a stinky, putrid factory farm—and animal rights activists. Considering, however, that the show's star, Emily Deschanel, actually is an animal rights activist, I have a feeling we won't be dealt with too harshly.

In the past, Bones has done a great job of exposing the cruelty of dogfighting and horse slaughter, so I'm hoping that the producers will manage to squeeze in some of the factory farm and slaughterhouse footage that we sent them for this episode. It would be pretty cool for the millions of Bones fans to get a look inside a typical factory farm.

Set your DVR: "The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken" airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST. In the meantime, you can get a sneak peek at the action in this slideshow:

Bones: Episode 5.06 "The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken" Photos

Written by Alisa Mullins

With the news that Cuba's toilet paper is nearly wiped out, number one on our to-do list is to offer President Raúl Castro a supply of PETA's pro-vegetarian T.P., which points out that slaughter methods in filthy slaughterhouses mean that feces can be found on almost every bit of meat.

Now there's some crucial info for him to digest while he takes care of his presidential business.

Written by Karin Bennett

PETA and millions of decent football fans around the world are disappointed that the Philadelphia Eagles have chosen to sign a man who hanged dogs from trees, electrocuted them with jumper cables, held them underwater until they drowned in his swimming pool, and even threw his own family dogs into the fighting pit to be torn to shreds while he laughed. What sort of message does this send to young fans who care about animals and don't want to see them be harmed?

PETA certainly hopes that Vick has learned his lesson and feels truly remorseful for his crimes—but since he's given no public indication that that's the case, only time will tell. At this point, all Eagles fans can do is cross their fingers and hope that they won't ever have to explain to their sons and daughters what a "rape rack" is and why their favorite player was using one, as Falcons fans once had to.

Written by Dan Shannon

Update: Many people have asked us how to complain to the NFL. You can send an e-mail to the NFL through its official contact form here. You can call the main office of the Philadelphia Eagles at 215-463-2500, and you can find mailing addresses here.

Also, please click here to join PETA in asking the NFL to require all its players—some of whom have been involved in a series of cruelty-to-animals cases—to attend PETA's "Developing Empathy for Animals" course. You can also urge the NFL to take cases of animal abuse seriously in the future by updating its policy on personal conduct.

Thanks to Richard Cohen for his Washington Post piece in which he asks if some sports reporters have a special key on their typewriters for "He's served his time."

Michael Vick has indeed served his time, and that entitles him to walk free in our society. And as he walks, he can remember how lucky he is to have been able to afford an army of high-priced attorneys who got him a plea bargain so that he wouldn't be charged with all the many abuses and crimes that took place when he purposely built a major gambling operation and the grounds on which to house it. He can remember how lucky he is to have been charged only with maiming and killing some dogs, although his carefully designed fighting operation went back at least 8 years. Serving his time entitles him to live in one of his big houses, but it doesn't mean he's sorry.

Did you see this video of Vick's homecoming? Did you see any remorse in his eyes? As the champagne flows, does he look ashamed about the deeds he's done? Vick shows as much remorse for the dogs he abused as he did his first night out of prison, when he went to a strip club. Perhaps that's why the video, in which his eyes are blurred and his speech is slurred, has been pulled from YouTube by its poster, and the original version can no longer be found on the Web.

This is me holding the "Dogs Deserve Justice" sign outside the courthouse in Richmond, Virginia, during Vick's sentencing.

So, Vick can no longer just blame a lack of parental guidance or bad influences in his youth. And the last USDA report blew out of the water his protest that he has always loved his "pets," but didn't see that the "pits" were also deserving of respect. That report reveals that Vick enjoyed throwing those "pets" into the ring with the fighting dogs and laughed as they were torn apart.

We gave the man the benefit of the doubt, but he tested positive for marijuana on the day he was taking an empathy course. Then, weeks before he was set to go to jail, he went into a pet shop in Newport News, Virginia, and bought a bulldog. Frankly, nothing sat right. We worried that "I'm sorry" might just be words in the wind. We didn't want his empty words or his money (offered and rejected). We wanted him to take the latest neurological test that's now being given to violent offenders—a test that can tell if the part of one's brain that registers empathy is active. He wouldn't do it. That's when we said, "So long."

Michael Vick may deserve to walk free, but he doesn't deserve to be a football star or a hero to children, and no group has any business helping him do so. We thank Richard Cohen for remembering the dogs Vick personally electrocuted, held underwater in a swimming pool, strung up like hammocks, and slammed into the ground until their backs broke.

Written by Joel Bartlett