PETA Asia-Pacific Frees the Elephants, Chickens, Sheep, and Penthouse Pets

Remember that advertisement for the U.S. Army that said that folks in the Army do more before 6 a.m. than most people do all day? I was reminded of that when I reviewed some of the successes scored by the phenomenal PETA Asia-Pacific team. Check out what these superheroes for animals accomplished during a recent three-week span:

1. When PETA Asia-Pacific learned that Tanzania was going to ship elephants and giraffes to the Manila Zoo, a tiny, decrepit, and outdated facility that has nothing to offer animals except a life of deprivation, misery, and loneliness, they fired off a letter to Tanzania President Jakaya Mrisho Kitwete, pointing out that "[a]ll confined animals suffer from profound boredom—some so severely that it can lead to self-mutilation and self-destructive behavior." The president of the East African nation responded with compassion, halting the deal and saving many animals in the process.



2. Photo Credit: Gaspar Rodriguez

   When Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a war on hunger and inequity—while also saying that she would lead by example—PETA Asia-Pacific called on the president to adopt and advocate a vegetarian diet. The letter sent by PETA Asia-Pacific explained that animals raised for food consume nearly 1 billion metric tons of food edible by humans every year—enough to feed about half the world's population. President Arroyo took the time to respond to the letter, resulting in tremendous media coverage.


3. In protest of the grueling "death ship" journeys—in which sheep and cattle are forced to endure extremely crowded, disease-ridden ships with little access to food or water through all weather extremes—dozens of men and women from PETA Asia-Pacific and Animal Liberation NSW stripped naked and sprawled on the ground in a "die-in" on Sydney's Pitt Street Mall. The protesters lay on the cold pavement (it's wintertime in Australia—remember that hemisphere thing?) for 20 minutes under signs that read, "Animals Suffer and Die in Live Export." Check out the activists in action!


4. And leaving the most sizzling for last: Kobe Kaige (don't pretend you don't know that name!)—who has graced the pages of dozens of magazines, from Playboy and FHM to Stroke MX and Maxim, and who currently reigns as Penthouse's "Pet of the Year"—recently teamed up with PETA Asia-Pacific to draw some media and public attention to the cruelty of fur. Kobe—who posed fully nude amid a snowy set holding a sign that read, "Give Fur the Cold Shoulder"—helped save animals' skins by showing some of her own.

Posted by Grace Friedan