Written by PETA
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.
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
The Academy of the Americas in Detroit has been in the news lately because it has been begging for donations of basic supplies … including toilet paper.
We can help! Remember our recent "Wipe Cruelty From Your Diet" demos? We'll, it turns out that we've got loads of toilet paper left over, so we're donating the TP with the great vegetarian message to the impoverished schools.
Remember, researchers have found that even elementary school–age children can begin to show signs of heart disease, such as hardening of the arteries, so the donation does the children a double favor.
Click here to read our full letter to the academy.
Written by Christine Doré
Our recent demo in Kansas City was really, really crappy. Which was good, considering that we were handing out toilet paper. You see, we staked out a local steakhouse and greeted patrons with T.P. that was embossed with a special meaty message. Why give away this fly two-ply? Someone needs to tell meat-eaters that they're full of crap.
And here’s a close-up from our Columbia demo:
Consider this nasty little nugget of truth: A lot of the flesh from the 10 billion animals who are killed for meat in the U.S. each year is contaminated with E. coli, campylobacter, listeria, and other dangerous bacteria that live in the intestinal tracts and feces of animals. Just think about it: Animals on today's factory farms are crammed by the tens of thousands into filthy sheds and slaughtered on killing floors that are contaminated with feces, vomit, and other bodily fluids. Is it really any surprise that these unsanitary conditions breed bacteria? Um, that would be a hell-to-the-no!
With more than 75 million cases of food poisoning each year in the U.S.—70 percent of which are caused by contaminated animal products—no one can deny that tainted meat is a major health threat. Plus, even if the bacteria in your burger doesn't kill you now, the saturated fat and cholesterol might lead to obesity, heart disease, and certain types of cancer later on down the road.
Our demonstration also made it down to Omaha. Check out these fantastic pictures:
That said, what would you like on your veggie burger?
Written by Amy Elizabeth
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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