Written by PETA
Holy Guacamole Vegemite! The Fremantle City Council just voted to phase out the live export of sheep from its port. To get an idea of how huge this decision is, consider that in 2006 more than 80 percent of the almost 4 million sheep who were exported from Australia went through Fremantle's port.
Why the move to stop shipping sheep? Freemantle Mayor Brad Pettitt declared that it's time for the "cruel and unnecessary live sheep trade to be phased out and replaced with a trade that supports local jobs." Indeed, the transport to the Middle East of millions of sheep—some of whom were once used and abused for their wool—is the stuff that nightmares are made of. The grueling journey can take weeks or sometimes months, and animals battle starvation, disease, and trampling from severe crowding. Those who survive the arduous journey are then taken to slaughter and have their throats cut while they are still conscious.
Australian meat workers have spoken out. Politicians have voted to close their ports. You say that you, too, have taken action to help sheep? Post a comment to tell us all about it.
Written by Karin Bennett
PETA supporter Mimi wasn't on the agenda—or even the guest list—for the International Wool Textile Organisation's recent conference in France, but when an Australian farming representative started to tell attendees that the barbaric practice of lamb mulesing is necessary, she became the featured speaker. Mimi borrowed the microphone to inform the crowd that mulesing is a fiercely cruel practice in which farmers cut flesh from lambs' hindquarters with a pair of gardening shears (without using painkillers), even though alternatives exist. So much for trying to pull the wool over people's eyes!
Of course, you don't need to snag a microphone to voice your opposition to mulesing. Just personalize and send this message to the Australian government. And for extra credit, avoid all merino wool—or wool of any kind for that matter.
Written by Heather Moore
Last July, we received word that Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) was reneging on its public promise to phase out mulesing by the end of this year. Mulesing is the crude and cruel process of cutting flesh from a lamb's rump with a tool resembling a pair of gardening shears. Afterwards, the lambs lie on the ground in pain for days, unable to stand up. Had AWI gone to work on a bare-breech (smooth rump) breeding program five years ago instead of shuffling its feet, stalling, suing PETA (to no avail), and trying to promote worthless products for the profit of AWI executives, the Australian wool industry would have met its deadline—but that didn't happen. Now, PETA is willing to extend our campaign moratorium if the Australian government agrees to implement a genetic program that would eliminate mulesing within two years. It's time for Aussie officials to stop the mulesing madness.
Thanks to PETA's education campaign, dozens of retailers and designers worldwide have been so appalled that they have abandoned Australian wool. We've asked the office of the U.S. trade representative to make the new timeline a condition of approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which is currently being negotiated with Australia.
Always shun wool and ask Australia's minister for agriculture, Tony Burke, to act right away.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
If you've been watching Dancing With the Stars (DWTS), you already know that Pamela Anderson's got the moves, but it's what she does for animals that moves us. Here's what you can do to help Pam snag that cool disco-ball trophy: Call 1-800-868-3411; text the word "vote" to 3411; or go online and vote for Pam eight times.
Here are the top eight reasons to get everyone you know (yes, even people who have never seen the show) to give their eight online votes to Pam tonight:
BTW—DWTS is on at 8 p.m. tonight. Isn't eight great? Call everyone you know and have them call in to help Pam win!
Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth
Break out your victory dance because lawmakers in New Hampshire have voted to ban dog racing! Once the Governor signs the bill into law greyhounds in the Granite State will be spared the stone-cold cruelty of broken legs, long hours in cramped kennels, heatstroke, and heart attacks and of being abandoned, starved, shot, or sold to laboratories when they are no longer able to run.
BTW—the word on the street is that Rhode Island will soon follow suit. We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, please urge the remaining states that still allow greyhounds to be exploited for profit and amusement to ditch dog racing.
Via GREY2K USA
Yes, you've read that correctly, and no, the headline wasn't ripped from The Onion. In a joint press conference this morning, the Australian Meat Industry Employees Union and the World Society for the Protection of Animals agreed that the live export of sheep who were once abused for their wool is destroying the nation's economy.
Every year on the grueling journey from Australia to their slaughter in the Middle East, millions of sheep endure weeks, and sometimes months, on extremely crowded, disease-ridden ships with little access to food or water and through all weather extremes. Many sheep fall ill, become stuck in feces and are unable to move, or are trampled to death by other sheep. Those who survive are dragged from the ships, are thrown into the backs of trucks and cars, and eventually have their throats cut while they are still conscious.
Hopefully, this surprise support from Australia's meat industry will mean less suffering for sheep. And who knows, maybe the next shocking headline we'll see will read, "Australian Meat Workers Oppose Meat" (considering the energy, land, and resources wasted by the production of meat—a guy can dream, can't he?).
Written by Logan Scherer
At 5' 4", I'm often the shortest person in a room, so I've frequently resorted to the maxim "good things come in small packages," but I'll admit it: Even I'm loving all 828 meters of the Burj Khalifa—which just opened in Dubai. The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world and is breaking all sorts of world records—the highest occupied floor, the tallest service lift, and the world's highest observation deck—and, if Emaar Properties agrees to PETA's proposal it could break one more: world's longest banner.
None of the Burj Khalifa statistics are as astounding as the number of sheep who die every year on the traumatizing and grueling journey from Australia to their slaughter in the Middle East after they are deemed unprofitable to wool farmers. The cramped, suffocating conditions on live-export ships make the recent TSA regulations look like travel perks. In one year alone, 35,000 sheep die from starvation or disease or are trampled to death by other sheep. Those who survive the trip are dragged off the ships, thrown into the backs of trucks and cars, and eventually have their throats cut while they are still conscious. At least we survive the body scans.
What's brilliant, saves lives, and red all over? A fire truck wrapped in one of these ads:
When we heard that KFC was defacing covering fire hydrants throughout Indianapolis with ads for its "fiery" wings, we immediately offered to help the city's fire departments, which are struggling from economic woes, by applying to advertise our Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign on their fire trucks. We want citizens of Indianapolis to know that the only thing "fiery" about KFC is the scalding-hot water that millions of chickens are dropped into—often while they're still conscious.
We're still waiting to hear back from the city—but in other news, we're told that for the first time ever, dogs throughout Indianapolis are terrified of fire hydrants.
Retailers around the world are finding alternatives to mulesed wool, and we're thrilled to announce that Gap Inc. is the latest mega-vendor to take a stand against the mutilation.
Last year, the clothing giant sent us a letter stating its opposition to the mulesing mutilation and pledging to monitor the Australian wool industry's promise to end mulesing by 2010. Since then, we've been in constant contact with representatives of Gap Inc., and after we let them know that the Australian wool industry reneged on its vow, the company released this statement:
Gap Inc. does not condone mulesing and is committed to sourcing all of our merino wool from farms that have ended the practice. We have already begun to phase out the purchase of wool from lambs that have been mulesed by clips or shears. We will continue to work with the wool industry, other brands, and external stakeholders to ensure ongoing progress and an adequate supply of wool that meets our needs and expectations.
Millions of sheep in Australia continue to endure the torment of having hunks of flesh hacked off their backsides or to suffer through the equally painful process of clip mulesing, in which clips are attached to the skin on lambs' backsides, causing the skin to rot and fall off. Take a moment to urge Talbots—which has failed to take any meaningful action against the Australian wool industry—to follow in Gap Inc.'s compassionate footsteps.
I know we've got Project Runway fans out there, especially after the show's guru of good taste, Tim Gunn, appeared in PETA's anti-fur video.
If, like me, you watch the show obsessively caught last night's episode, you probably did cartwheels in the living room when one "Divorcee Dress Challenge" client, Stephanie, insisted that Nicolas use no wool, silk, leather, or fur in his transformation of her old wedding dress into an outfit she could enjoy as a single woman. I believe her exact words were that she wanted him to be certain "no animals have to suffer."
Now if only Stephanie's snarky designer had spent less time rolling his eyes and more time fashioning a knock-out design instead of ho hum separates, he might have won the challenge. Either way, Stephanie gets top marks for speaking up for animals.
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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