Written by PETA
Back in May, we told you that a bill was under consideration in Bolivia to ban all animals from circuses—and that bill was recently made law! With the passage of law number 4040 by Bolivian President Evo Morales, the day has finally arrived when "It is forbidden to use wild and/or domestic animals in circuses throughout the country." As far as we know, Bolivia is the first country in the world to enact such a landmark measure for animals abused in circuses.
Bolivia is no stranger to looking out for animals. The country already set a precedent when it banned its military from mutilating dogs and other animals during training exercises. And with the passage of this new law, elephants, lions, tigers, horses, dogs, and all other animals who are forced to live in shackles or cages—and are routinely beaten into submission in order to perform unnatural circus "tricks"—will no longer be subjected to these cruelties in Bolivia.
And as if that weren't enough, PETA is now working closely with the Bolivian government on the country's first national animal protection framework law. If the measure is adopted, it would make Bolivia a global leader in animal welfare.
With the way things are moving, it seems that animals in Bolivia are on a fast track to having all the simple inalienable rights they deserve.
On behalf of animals in Bolivia, muchas gracias to President Morales, Member of Congress Ximena Flores, and concerned citizen Ana Serrano Revollo for all their hard work in making this law prohibiting animal circuses a reality!
Written by Missy Lane
Celebrate by watching this Creole (not cruel) "Running of the Bulls."
Written by Karin Bennett
Natascha Kampusch made headlines around the world when she was finally able to escape her kidnapper after being held for eight years in a dungeon in Austria. "I suffered from claustrophobia and I thought I was going crazy in there," Kampusch told Austria's ORF television after her escape. "I was very distraught and very angry."
Recognizing that her ordeal was chillingly similar to that of tigers, elephants, and other animals who are snatched from their native homes and loving families only to be caged or chained by circus trainers for the rest of their lives, Natascha has joined PETA Germany in calling for freedom for animals in circuses. She looks forward to the day when circuses will stop depriving wild animals of everything that is natural and important to them. Here's what Natascha had to say:
It is now up to [German agriculture minister Ilse] Aigner to decide whether social, intelligent, and beautiful living beings should continue to be humiliated because ruthless or naïve people keep them chained in cages—depressed, broken and limited to an [extent] that prevents them from living a normal life according to their needs. Animals, too, would run away if they could, just like I took my chance to escape. Because a life in captivity is a life full of deprivation.
Thank you, Natascha, for speaking out in behalf of so many animals whose cries for help have yet to be heard by German lawmakers. Hopefully, Minister Aigner is listening.
Last month, our scalded "chickens" appeared at a Chicago-area McDonald's to draw attention to the many chickens who are boiled to death in scalding-hot water by McDonald's suppliers. Since the company still refuses to implement controlled-atmosphere killing to ease some of the suffering of millions of chickens killed every year to become McNuggets, we've enlisted the help of hilariousman Andy Dick to try scaring McDonald's execs straight.
Tomorrow, Andy will swap the scissors he wielded in a peta2 anti-dissection poster for a bloody knife and appear as a terrifying "Ronald McDonald" at our McCruelty demo at 600 N. Clark St. in Chicago.
In anticipation of his performance, Andy said that "if kids knew how chickens were mutilated for McNuggets, they'd burst into tears every time Ronald McDonald showed his face—and that may well happen when they see what this clown has to say about it."
I confess that I've always considered clowns to be scary—certainly McDonald's execs will agree after Andy Dick's performance at Thursday's demonstration.
Photos to come!
It's been almost a year in the making, but three lions and two tigers in Kansas will soon be on their way to new homes after PETA pressured local authorities to act. We were first alerted to the big cats' plight back in May 2008, when a passerby informed us that the animals were being kept in what essentially amounts to a junkyard. Behold, the "Prairie Cat Animal Refuge" in all its splendor:
In June, we sent a team of exotic-animal experts to assess the situation, and their reports were included in the local sheriff's case, which recommended that charges be filed against the cats' "owner" and that authorities take custody of the animals. Unfortunately, the case encountered reams of politically-charged red tape. Then, last month, a man "under the influence" who was working and staying at a so-called "hotel" on the property (it's called the "Free Breakfast Inn"—infer what you will from that), wandered up to the cages and was promptly bitten by a lion. That incident, while not so good for the man (he was hospitalized for surgery on his arm), finally galvanized the authorities into action.
In the meantime, PETA was lining up homes for the animals to be taken to once they were given a clean bill of health: The Detroit Zoo (a progressive zoo that closed its elephant exhibit for humane reasons and has provided a home for numerous rescued exotic animals, including one of the Suarez polar bears) has agreed to take all three lions, and the tigers will go to Carnivore Preservation Trust, a sanctuary in North Carolina. The zoo is covering all expenses for testing and transporting the lions, while PETA is covering the cost of testing and transporting the tigers. That cost is estimated at $3,000. We're hoping that the animals will be moved at the end of the month—we'll keep you posted.
So there you have it—the latest installment of "Your PETA Dollars at Work." Just doin' our job, folks.
Written by Alisa Mullins
Much to the dismay of struggling addicts in the Wolverine State, the Michigan Tobacco Quit Line has been shut down until October 1 because it just couldn't financially keep up with the requests for nicotine replacement therapy products.
As an organization that helps people fight another addiction (meat addiction, that is) we feel the quit line's pain.
That's why, after hearing about the help line's financial woes, we wrote a letter to the director of the Department of Community Health in Michigan offering to team up and help cover the hotline's costs. Our proposal includes renaming the quit line The Cancer Prevention Hotline (because that's the point, isn't it?) and including copies of PETA's free "Vegetarian Starter Kit" along with the other distributed materials.
Are you a smoker who needs another reason to quit? Did you know that most cigarettes are tested on animals? Gross.
Written by Shawna Flavell
Spoiler alert: If you haven't watched the series finale of Battlestar Galactica, do not read any further. Simply look at the photos below, then leave a comment telling us which public service announcement is your fave, Tricia "Six" Helfer's or Jamie "Lee Adama" Bamber's.
So the greatest show in the history of the universe, Battlestar Galatica, has come to an end, and now I have no idea what the frak I'm going to do with my Friday nights. (Wait, did someone just whisper Dollhouse into my ear?)
I loved that an underlying theme of the series was mankind's failure to learn from our mistakes and that it was our worst traits that led directly to our unraveling again and again. That leads me to lovely Tricia Helfer's character, Six, and the character everyone loves to hate, Gaius. Isn't it ironic that a version of the Six Cylon and Gaius would end up being angels (naughty, naughty angels) who would start the cataclysmic events that would end humankind? I think someone here at PETA anticipated that Tricia's character would turn out to be an angel; after all, we did ask her to star in our first-ever "Angel for Animals" ad in behalf of felines long before the finale was in sight.
The finale, while amazing, left me with mixed feelings. I was so excited to watch it, but at the same time, I was sad that the show had come to an end. I admit that I expected more … um … well, more carnage. I was positive that all the humans were actually Cylons, and I was convinced that more of the prominent cast members would die. And I kept thinking that the Cylons had one last sinister plot up their sleeve. Or that they were going to blow up the Galactica and kill everyone. I'm so glad I was wrong!
I would have been devastated if they had killed off my favorite characters, like Helo (did someone mention Dollhouse again?) and Lee "Apollo" Adama (aka Jamie Bamber), who, by the way, looked amazing in the last few episodes (and is by far the cuter of the two Adama boys), but not as good, of course, as when he took it all off to speak up for bears who are killed for their fur in the super-hot "Bare Skin, Not Bear Skin" ad. Oh, Jamie. And I love that, like every episode before, they kept us guessing. Well done, BSG writers!
As pretty as Tricia's ad is, Jamie's is still my favorite. Sigh. Check out their ads below and then tell us which one is your favorite. The reader with the most convincing response will win a copy of the ad of their choice.
You can enter the contest by posting a comment before April 13, 2009. We'll contact the winner on April 14, 2009. By commenting, you are agreeing to the contest terms and conditions and our privacy policy.
Thanks for some awesome television, BSG. I miss you already.
Written by Patricia Trostle
P.S. I have to say that I think the high point of the finale for me was when Chief strangled Tory for shooting Cally out the airlock. I actually yelled out, "Yes! Finally!" It made my night.
Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Celebrity Apprentice star Khloe Kardashian brought in some reality-TV gold last night. Not only did she manage to escape getting fired in Trump's board room for the fourth week in a row, she also, on her popular E! series, brought some much needed attention to animals raised for fur.
I'm sure you all remember Khloe's sexy ad, which we unveiled not too long ago. Well, on Keeping Up last night, she really went above and beyond by showing—on national television—the gruesome and heartbreaking video footage that caused her to go fur-free. Hopefully, many of the millions of people watching were touched and inspired to make the same compassionate choice. After seeing a fully conscious animal having his or her skin ripped off, it's hard to sport that fur coat.
On the show, Khloe admitted that she had a hard time stripping down for the ad because of insecurity about her body. When you're tall and curvy and from a family full of petite models, that's definitely understandable. But lucky for us, animals, and the rest of the world, she laid her insecurities to rest and rocked the you-know-what out of the shoot. She summed it up best at the end of the episode when she said of the shoot, "It really helped me be comfortable in my own skin. In turn, I really hope this helps animals keep their skin."
Written by Christine Doré
Not since we were pitted against Nazi attack dogs when we first escaped from Castle Wolfenstein 17 years ago have we seen such barbaric treatment of dogs in video games as we did in Call of Duty, World at War. During the course of the game, you are forced to shoot attack dogs and you can actually unlock a "reward" that allows you to unleash a pack of attack dogs on enemies. In a post–Michael Vick world, you'd think that Activision Blizzard, which publishes the popular game, would take abusing dogs for entertainment purposes more seriously.
Fortunately, some students at a Massachusetts high school are not keeping quiet about their disgust with Activision. Breanna Lucci serves as president of the Animal Rights Club at the Academy of Notre Dame (NDA) in Tyngsborough. The following is from the Lowell Sun's interview with her (via GamePolitics.com):
"Killing dogs as a form of entertainment … over and over again. That's one of the objects of the game," says Lucci, 19, a senior at NDA. "Parents need to know what they are buying their kids. Killing animals should not be a form of entertainment." . . . "My little 12-pound Pomeranian, Winnie the Pooh, is sitting next to [Lucci's brother as he plays the game], and I'm thinking, 'This looks horrible!'" Lucci says. Lucci then adds, "My brother is a sweetheart. He won't be killing dogs after playing. But some people might."
"Killing dogs as a form of entertainment … over and over again. That's one of the objects of the game," says Lucci, 19, a senior at NDA. "Parents need to know what they are buying their kids. Killing animals should not be a form of entertainment."
. . .
"My little 12-pound Pomeranian, Winnie the Pooh, is sitting next to [Lucci's brother as he plays the game], and I'm thinking, 'This looks horrible!'" Lucci says.
Lucci then adds, "My brother is a sweetheart. He won't be killing dogs after playing. But some people might."
To help the folks at Activision Blizzard learn about the ethical treatment of animals (something we're sorta experts on) we're offering to let them take PETA's "Developing Empathy for Animals" seminar free of charge, and we're sending a package of dog-friendly Nintendogs games to their office.
With a little Nintendogs influence, perhaps the next Call of Duty game will have you unlock achievements for petting the dogs you encounter and going on walks or playing Frisbee with them.
Source: GamePolitics.com
Written by Joel Bartlett
This is it, people. If you haven't written to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee yet, today is the day. Not only did Canada's annual seal slaughter start today, they've actually increased the quota of seals that can be slaughtered. This means that seal killers can legally bash in the heads of up to 338,200 seals in the coming weeks. That's right—the world's biggest marine mammal slaughter just got bigger.
If you need a refresher course in just how disgusting the seal slaughter is, watch this video:
That's what the Canadian government has the unmitigated gall to call "humane." I kid you not.
Help stop this senseless massacre. Click here and here for a list of easy actions you can take for seals today. And please encourage your friends, family, and everyone you see on the street to do the same.
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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