Written by Michelle Sherrow
The Delaware County, New York, District Attorney's Office has filed charges of cruelty to animals as well as a drug-related charge against Susan Marino, the woman responsible for the horrific suffering of hundreds of animals at Angel's Gate, Inc., which she founded, operates, and dares to call "a hospice and rehabilitation center." PETA's investigation of this hellhole exposed the daily neglect and terrible suffering of disabled, elderly, and ailing animals, many of whom had been shipped to Marino by well-meaning but severely uninformed individuals and agencies, including the New York Center for Animal Care and Control (NYCACC), which doomed Malcolm the Chihuahua and hundreds of other animals to die slowly at Angel's Gate through its "New Hope" program.
PETA had provided the District Attorney with the evidence that our investigator gathered while volunteering at Angel's Gate. Our investigator saw Marino allow animals to suffer, sometimes for weeks, from treatable conditions as well as terminal illnesses without providing veterinary care, medication, or pain relief. Paralyzed animals dragged themselves until they developed bloody ulcers. Animals developed urine scald after being left in soaked diapers for up to two days. Dehydrated animals were denied water, and others were forced to stay outside in freezing temperatures. The bodies of dead animals were left among those of the living for days. While Marino has been charged, the nightmare is not over for the animals at Angel's Gate, as they have not yet been seized. Please help us ensure their welfare and the safety of future victims by joining us in urging the New York State Attorney General to revoke Angel's Gate's nonprofit status and ensure that the animals are removed from Marino's custody. Please click here to send a letter to the Attorney General, and please, when your animal companions become elderly or ill, let them live out their final days with dignity in the comfort of their own homes, surrounded by their families, not at the mercy of a conniving stranger.
Following an extensive campaign by PETA India, Indian universities' top governing body, the University Grants Commission (UGC), is officially recommending that all colleges and universities replace animal dissection and animal experimentation in zoology and life sciences courses with modern non-animal methods. According to Dr BK Sharma, associate professor and head of the Department of Zoology at the RL Saharia Government PG College in Jaipur, by using computer simulations, interactive CD-ROMs, films, charts, and lifelike models, it is estimated that Indian universities will save 19 million animals every year.
Animals used for dissection may be captured from their natural habitats or may come from "biological supply" companies, which not only breed animals but also purchase them from slaughterhouses, pet stores, animal shelters, and dealers who sell lost or stolen companion animals. Animals are killed by gassing or drowning and are then injected with formaldehyde, sometimes without first being checked to make sure that they are dead.
The UGC's recommendations will not only spare millions of animals' lives but also ensure that students don't have to choose between their education and their morals.
Visit CutOutDissection.com to learn how PETA can help you get dissection alternatives implemented in schools near you.
Written by PETA
Fewer exotic animals such as hedgehogs, macaws, and lizards will spend their lives locked in cages as "pets," and it all started with a kind woman who wouldn't give up until she got help for a sick, dying ferret in an Arkansas pet store. The woman repeatedly asked the store manager to let her take the ferret home for rehabilitation, but the manager refused. Finally, she called PETA for help. We pushed animal control to check on the ferret, and the store's owner quickly surrendered the ill animal.
PETA's caseworker explained to the store's owner that animals suffer in mass-breeding facilities and animal dealers' warehouses before they end up in pet stores. The owner agreed to watch PETA's undercover video footage from the now-defunct exotic-animal warehouse U.S. Global Exotics, Inc., and the massive ferret factory Triple F Farms, Inc. He was so moved by the plight of wild-born exotic animals—who are often abducted from their families and stuffed into luggage to be smuggled into the U.S.—that he agreed never to buy or sell these animals again.
This victory is an encouragement to us all always to report cruelty and never to miss an opportunity to educate others about how animals suffer in the pet trade and other cruel industries. You never know whose mind you might change!
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
After three decades in captivity, a group of 38 chimpanzees who had been abused in painful hepatitis and HIV experiments in an Austrian laboratory were finally released to a sanctuary, where they can spend the rest of their lives in peaceful retirement. A television camera operator captured the awe-inspiring moment when the chimpanzees cautiously stepped out of their enclosures and into daylight for the first time in 30 years, embracing one another to celebrate their newfound freedom.
These chimpanzees have not been used in experiments for more than 10 years, but their future was in limbo when the Austrian safari park where they were living went bankrupt. It was believed that the group would be split up and sent to zoos around Europe. But animal advocates around the world, including PETA and our members and supporters, wrote to the drug company that sent the chimpanzees to the park and implored it to ensure that the chimpanzees would be sent to a sanctuary and not be separated from one another. Thanks to those of you who spoke out, the chimpanzees are now living together happily at an animal sanctuary where they can feel the grass under their feet and the wind on their faces for the first time in decades!
While it's wonderful that these chimpanzees now have a safe haven, chimpanzees in the U.S. continue to be locked up and abused in laboratories, as PETA spelled out in a column in today's issue of the influential D.C. newspaper The Hill. You can help give their story a happy ending, too, by asking your congressional representatives to support the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act (H.R. 1513/S. 810), which will permanently end invasive experiments on all great apes in the U.S. and retire hundreds of chimpanzees to sanctuaries. Can't wait to see those videos!
Written by Jeff Mackey
Despite the fact that footage of a handler with Have Trunk Will Travel (HTWT) beating and shocking an elephant named Tai has been widely publicized, California institutions continue to hire the shady outfit. In addition to the Santa Ana Zoo, which offers rides on elephants provided by HTWT, the city of Sierra Madre, California, had planned to feature Tai in its July Fourth parade today. But after hearing from PETA and hundreds of concerned citizens, the city canceled its plans and Tai will get the day off.
HTWT is unrepentant about the footage showing elephant beatings and has even defended the use of bullhooks (rods resembling fireplace pokers with sharp metal hooks on the end) and electric shock prods. PETA had pointed out to Sierra Madre officials that not only is using Tai in parades cruel to her, it also poses a risk to paradegoers, since Tai could easily be spooked by the noise and commotion of a large crowd, live bands, and possibly even fireworks, and break free, which could lead to injuries.
You can celebrate Independence Day by urging the Santa Ana Zoo to follow Sierra Madre's lead and stop doing business with HTWT. Every organization that hires HTWT helps pay for the oppression of elephants.
Written by Alisa Mullins
This week, the City Council in Arcadia, California, voted to suspend its cruel coyote trapping program. The victory for animals comes after supporters of humane coyote control, including San Gabriel Valley Friends of Wildlife, worked tirelessly for months e-mailing council members, packing City Council meetings, organizing an education session about living with coyotes, and collecting petition signatures.
Snares cause prolonged, painful deaths. Animals caught by the neck slowly suffocate, and those caught by the leg endure painful injuries until the trapper returns (not always within the 24-hour required time limit) to the snare. When nursing mothers are caught, their babies often starve to death.Thanks to the efforts of a dedicated group of compassionate people, the Arcadia City Council has already started promoting a community education program about proven, humane methods of coyote control that have been endorsed by wildlife experts.
It's so hot in the city, you'd think I'd be making another batch of lemonade—but I've got a hankering for some Internet Soup. It's been a while since the last batch, so dig in!
Oof! I don't know about you, but I'm full after all that soup—and guac. This Special K needs a siesta. Until next time …
Written by Karin Bennett
As they say in showbiz, "It's a wrap." I'm referring to the efforts of PETA and Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest to convince Dodge officials to show that they care about animal "actors" like Suzie, a young chimpanzee who appears in the company's recent ad.
As soon as we learned about the ad, we contacted Dodge's president and CEO, Ralph Gilles, with details about troubling training methods that can include abuse delivered via fists, sticks, and clubs. We also shared information from chimpanzee expert Sarah Baeckler's undercover investigation of a Hollywood training facility. Dodge officials were quick to decide to edit Suzie out of the commercial. And just like that, Dodge joins Travelers Insurance, AT&T, and Europcar, companies that have pulled or altered ads with great apes in just the last month after being contacted by PETA.
There's still reason to be concerned about Suzie's safety: An anonymous whistleblower from the set of Lifetime's Drop Dead Diva contacted PETA after witnessing a trainer allegedly pulling on Suzie's hair and ears and yelling so loudly and threateningly that little Suzie cowered and tried to hide. The episode featuring Suzie aired on July 25.
Now we'd like to direct you to "Action!"—for animals, that is. First, please head over to Dodge's Facebook page to thank the company for being responsive and behaving responsibly in editing Suzie out of its campaign. Then urge Lifetime Television to promise not to exploit chimpanzees for any future television shows.
Victoria's Secret is cleaning out the skeletons in its closet catalogue. Thanks to a new policy by parent company Limited Brands, Victoria's Secret and lingerie line La Senza will no longer sell exotic animal skins.
PETA's undercover video footage has detailed the cold-blooded suffering that's caused by the international exotic-skins trade, so it's no longer any secret that snakes, crocodiles, lizards, kangaroos, and other animals are cruelly killed for their skins.
All that pain for a python purse or a croc clutch? Get real! I'll stick with fashion accessories that have a killer look but don't kill. And you can too: Pledge to shed any exotic skins in your own closet today!
Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth
By now, we all know what a sea kitten is—or do we?
If you're baffled by the term, you must be a new PETA Files reader (welcome!). PETA's been campaigning for sea kittens for years, but there are still some people who look at us glassy-eyed when we mention these adorable animals, which is why we are asking Merriam-Webster to add an entry for "sea kitten" to its popular dictionaries. That way, anyone who hears the term "sea kittens" will know that they are smart, social, and sensitive animals who deserve our respect and compassion—instead of being hooked, netted, and suffocated.
While we're waiting to see if "sea kitten" makes the cut for the latest editions of the dictionary, you can help make people aware of sea kittens and how to help them with one of our fab "Eat No Sea Kitten" T-shirts!
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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.