Written by Jeff Mackey
We have some news to share about a case that we've mentioned recently: Disreputable animal exhibitor Hugo Liebel, facing a hearing next week in Florida, has instead settled with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding 33 violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA)—several of which sprang from charges that followed PETA complaints to the agency.
The USDA's consent decision orders Liebel to stop violating the AWA and to pay a civil penalty of $7,500. While it's encouraging to see Liebel called to account for causing so much suffering, the fine is vastly inadequate in light of the severity of his abuse and negligence. (Liebel faced a maximum penalty of $330,000 as well as possible license revocation.)
More critically, it leaves Nosey the elephant and other animals—as well as the public—in danger from his well-documented recklessness and disregard of even minimal welfare guidelines.
PETA has been filing complaints against Liebel for nearly a decade—more than a dozen of them since 2009 alone—about Nosey and the other animals traveling with Liebel. Yet despite multiple citations, he has habitually abused these animals. So PETA is calling on the USDA's inspector general (IG), Phyllis K. Fong, to investigate the settlement.
Over the past two decades, the IG's office has issued four audit reports finding that USDA penalties were so low that they provided no deterrent effect and that AWA licensees view them as merely one of the costs of doing business. Despite assurances that the agency would address this issue following the last audit, Liebel's settlement makes it clear that the problem persists.
Please join PETA in urging the IG to investigate the USDA settlement with Liebel and require penalties strong enough to curb animal abuse by exhibitors. Send polite e-mails to phyllis.k.fong@usda.gov.
Written by Michelle Kretzer
Because of the throngs of people who had gathered outside to protest, it was hard to spot those who were trickling into Brooklyn's Barclays Center on Ringling Bros. circus's opening night. More than 200 animal advocates came together to make sure that Ringling's reception was chillier than a New York winter.
While half the group circled the block, hoisting signs and chanting, the other half flanked the crosswalks and handed leaflets and educational coloring books to parents and children.
If any of the attendees weren't aware of how Ringling abuses animals, they certainly were after they saw the behind-the-scenes photos of trainers slamming baby elephants to the ground, gouging them with steel-tipped bullhooks, and shocking them with electric prods. And if that didn't do the trick, the screening of PETA's video exposé narrated by Alec Baldwin, which showed trainers beating and tormenting elephants, moments before a performance likely did.
Many of the advocates plan to return to the Barclays Center every night that the circus is in town to make sure that everyone in the Big Apple gets the message about cruelty under the big top.
It's time to help PETA select the "Sexiest Vegan Next Door" for 2013. Unlike that other annual sexy competition, the entrants in this contest aren't stars—although they definitely include some heavenly bodies,showing the world the health advantages of a vegan diet in the flesh.
And what's sexier than someone who not only cares about animals and the environment but also takes action to protect both of them?
So be sure to cast your vote today—and then come back on April 15 to help choose your favorites from the finalists! (And if you want to get ready to take part in the 2014 contest, here's how to go vegan in three simple steps.)
PETA will consider three factors in selecting finalists and winners: votes, enthusiasm and attractiveness. Read the contest details for more info.
Update: After a dog died in a Detroit house fire on Wednesday, PETA is extending our offer of free emergency stickers to 1,000 Detroit-area residents.
The following was originally posted on February 12, 2013:
Following the deaths of two dogs in a recent fire in Cleveland, PETA is offering free "Please Save Our Animals" stickers to the first 1,000 Cleveland-area residents who request them via e-mail during February.
The heartbreaking loss of cherished animal companions should serve as a reminder of the importance of emergency planning that includes all your family members. Firefighters and disaster-relief workers frequently perform heroic rescues of animals, but it's vital to let them know to look for your dogs, cats, or other animals who might be missed amid smoke or wreckage.
If you share your home with animals, placing PETA's bright-yellow emergency window stickers near your front and back doors and on side windows can mean the difference between life and death for them in case a weather emergency or fire strikes when you aren't home. For those outside the Cleveland area, stickers may be ordered from the PETA Catalog—or you can easily create your own sign on your computer and get it laminated at a copy or shipping store.
Christ's chief lesson to his followers was that they should "love one another" (John 13:34). And in Philadelphia, "the city of brotherly love," citizens are encouraged to embrace that sentiment. So as Philly prepares to kick off its huge annual Easter parade, PETA has asked permission to add some food for thought to the day, with a mobile billboard.
We're hopeful that our billboard will encourage everyone to start showing kindness to pigs, who don't want to suffer and die to become an "Easter ham."
In Matthew 25:40, Jesus says, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Pigs, who are as sociable and intelligent as dogs, are abused in ways that would be illegal if dogs or cats were the victims—so surely they are among the least powerful beings in our society .
We hope all Christians will act on Christ's teachings of love and empathy, and we have a wealth of vegan recipes for Easter to help them.
How delighted was PETA when musical sensation Ricky Martin announced that he's been enjoying vegetarian meals? So much so that we've sponsored a rescued chicken in his honor at Kindred Spirits Sanctuary—just in time for The Great American Meatout today, a day when everyone is encouraged to enjoy healthful and humane vegan foods.
© StarMaxInc.com
Of course, we encourage folks to do that year-round, and we're jubilant when people decide to make plant-based foods a regular part of their lives—even if they haven't recently been voted Broadway's Sexiest Man Alive or sold 60 million albums worldwide.
You, too, can pay tribute to animals and help alleviate their suffering by choosing healthful, humane vegan foods. Make every day a "meatout" and order a free vegan starter kit today!
Written by Alisa Mullins
Trendsetting U.K.-based retailer Topshop teamed up with PETA U.K. to make over the window of its Oxford Street flagship store for the weekend and send a message to shoppers that exotic skins are not in. (Take that, Beyoncé.)
In order to make handbags, shoes, and Super Bowl halftime outfits, snakes are commonly nailed to trees and skinned alive, and alligators and lizards are bludgeoned with hammers. It can take several agonizing hours for the animals to die, usually from shock or dehydration. Watch PETA's shocking exposé, narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, to learn more about the suffering that lies behind those crocodile backpacks and python pumps. Reptiles may be cold-blooded, but wearing their skins is cold-hearted.
Please follow Topshop's lead (it doesn't sell fur or exotic skins) and pledge to keep wildlife out of your wardrobe.
Ever since her red swimsuit days, people have been enamored with PETA's weapon of mass distraction, Pamela Anderson. And now you can have a little piece of the original "Lettuce Lady" for yourself. When Pam and PETA Vice President Dan Mathews spoke to Cambridge University about animal rights, she autographed copies of the Paul McCartney–narrated meat-industry exposé "Glass Walls" for the students. And she autographed a few more to give to lucky PETA Files readers.
To enter to win, simply leave a comment telling us about something Pam-like that you've done to help animals—her résumé is extensive, so there's plenty to choose from. Maybe you've attended a fur demonstration, spoken out against the Canadian seal slaughter, ditched meat, adopted a companion animal, given a speech about animal rights, switched to cruelty-free cosmetics, or acted to get horse-drawn carriages off the dangerous streets.
Or maybe—like Pam—you've done all of the above. Just tell us about it, and two winners will be selected at random.
And if reading about all of Pam's compassionate actions has inspired you, plenty of animals still need your help, so get out there and get Pamelactive!
The contest will end on March 27, 2013, and we'll contact the winners by March 29, 2013. By commenting here, you're acknowledging that you've read and you agree to our contest terms and conditions and our privacy policy and you're also agreeing to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your personal info in accordance with those policies as well as to receiving e-mails from us.
PETA's investigation into the cruel pigeon-racing racket spanned many states and revealed rampant illegal gambling, in violation of state and federal laws—including the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and felony gambling and tax laws—with stakes of $200,000 or more per race. One of those states was Oklahoma, and as a result of the criminal investigation that followed, the Oklahoma City district attorney has charged three race organizers—including the executive director of the American Racing Pigeon Union—with felony commercial gambling and conspiracy to violate the state's anti–commercial gambling act.
Until PETA's investigation broke, the shadier aspects of pigeon racing had attracted little attention, but it's a blood sport that deserves to be as condemned as cockfighting or dogsled racing. In a typical race, 60 percent of the birds will never make it back to their lofts and mates because of extreme weather, predators, electric lines, foul play, and exhaustion.
Out of more than 1,500 baby pigeons shipped to Oklahoma City for just one event attended by the investigators, the 2010 American Racing Pigeon Union race, a little more than 1,000 birds survived training. Of those thousand birds entered into the final race, a mere 420 made it back from Arkansas by nightfall—and many of those who returned still likely had their necks wrung if they failed to finish "in the money." As one pigeon racer told investigators, when starting out in pigeon racing, "The first thing you have to learn—how to kill pigeons."
There's nothing sporting about forcing animals to risk—and often lose—their lives so that someone can win a prize, a title, or some money. Please never attend or support these sadistic blood sports, and if you witness cruelty, never be silent.
The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act died last year when the congressional session ended and, along with it, our hope of permanently ending the slaughter of American horses for food in 2012. But we're getting another chance.
Senators and representatives from both sides of the aisle have come together to sponsor the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act. The SAFE Act would prevent horse slaughter in the U.S. and would slam shut the loophole that currently allows horses to be shipped to Mexico and Canada to be slaughtered.
Last year, more than 160,000 horses were crammed onto transport trucks and sent on grueling journeys across the border. A PETA undercover investigation of one such transport revealed that horses—including thoroughbred horses formerly used for racing—who were being shipped to Canada spent 36 hours on a truck in subfreezing conditions and were not given rest, food, or even a sip of water. Inside the slaughterhouse, workers shot the horses in the head with a captive-bolt gun, but at least 40 percent of them were still conscious after the first shot and had to be shot several times. Then they were strung up by one leg, and their throats were slit.
A full 80 percent of Americans oppose horse slaughter. But just feeling that way won't help. Please, let this be the thing that you do to help animals today. Urge your senators and representatives to support the SAFE Act.
Following a complaint filed by PETA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed PETA's allegations of rampant abuse of cats in a taxpayer-funded brain experiment at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW), where actor James Cromwell was arrested during a protest last month. The USDA also cited UW for violating federal animal protection laws by burning a cat named Broc so badly with a heating pad that she required surgery.
In a scathing report just obtained by PETA, a federal inspector found "a pattern of recurring infections" and that all the cats whom PETA profiled in its complaint had been "diagnosed with chronic infections" after having steel posts screwed into open wounds on their heads and metal coils implanted into their eyes.
The USDA noted that some cats, including Slinky, have died because of these infections and that one cat named NJ even had to have her eye removed after the metal coil became the site of frequent serious infections.
The government report includes never-before-seen heartbreaking photographs of NJ, Broc, and the five other mutilated cats who are still alive in the laboratory. We now know the faces of the other victims of this laboratory besides Double Trouble.
All these new revelations confirm what PETA has been saying for months: UW tortures animals and doesn't mind twisting the truth about it. Even though it knew it wasn't true, in interviews and statements UW has shamelessly claimed that the government had not substantiated any of PETA's allegations and that it wasn't cited for its abuse of cats. In fact, during the same period it was claiming it had been cleared, UW was trying in vain to appeal the government's citation.
What You Can Do
The cats in UW's labs are suffering miserably, and they don't have time for more evasions and excuses—now exposed as deceptive spin. Please urge the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents to put an immediate halt to these cruel experiments.
March 14 is Albert Einstein's birthday, and the celebration was in full swing at Princeton University, where he held a position until his death, when PETA showed up with an Einstein that made the rest of the tributes look like mere bosons:
Even though we had to use a bit of string theory to keep the big-brained scientist on his feet, students flocked to take pictures with him and hear what was perhaps his best equation: Veggies = health + happiness.
According to Einstein, who was a vegetarian, "the vegetarian manner of living by its purely physical effect on the human temperament would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind."
We'd say that's relativity genius.
Last night at The Ebell of Los Angeles, PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk kicked off her Naked Truth U.S. speaking tour to a packed house that included Sam Simon, Jennifer Tilly, Christian Serratos, Tony Kanal, and host Kevin Nealon. And listeners were moved.
While others come in bodies different from our own, we're all the same inside," Ingrid said. She asked the audience, "Who are they, and who am I, that I should live and they should die?
The goal of the tour is to show audiences that animal rights isn't just about "pets," pelts, or veggie burgers—it's about persuading people to view all animals as fellow citizens worthy of our respect. And the way that we accomplish that is by doing exactly what Ingrid went on tour to do: Speak. When we do, "we fail to reach some people sometimes, but when we don't try, we fail to reach everyone," Ingrid explained.
Determined to start speaking up, yesterday I suggested some activities that my friend could do with his daughter instead of taking her to SeaWorld. And tonight, I'm taking my date to try vegan sushi. That I can do. We all can. As Ingrid maintains, fretting won't win the animal rights battles, but activism will!
She is known for giving powerful, motivational speeches, so if you can make it to see her on the tour (tour dates to be added soon), please do, and take someone else with you. But if you can't, the one thing to remember is that the "naked truth" about advancing the animal rights movement, is simple.
Speak up—at every opportunity.
You've watched the video of Justin Timberlake's "Veganville" skit on Saturday Night Live 20 times, posted it on Facebook, and tweeted the link. But do you have the shirt? The Passionate Vegan Personal Chef Service is offering "Bring It on Down to Veganville" shirts for everyone who can't get enough of the dancing tofu (which is pretty much everyone).
And if you're looking for some more animal-friendly awesomeness to retweet this week, might we offer a few suggestions?
Twitter founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone are getting in on the vegan action, too. The duo, along with Bill Gates, is offering financial backing to companies that are creating innovative new faux meats and nondairy products.
Will The Bachelor's Sean Lowe's bride-to-be, Catherine Giudici, be having her wedding in Veganville? We're hoping to see the vegan blogger and her beau throw a cruelty-free celebration for their televised nuptials.
And Glen Davis is making vegan magic. Well, more accurately, he's making the Magic vegan. The Orlando Magic forward made the switch for his health, and PETA sent him a vegetarian/vegan starter kit, a "Glass Walls" DVD, and some cookbooks to get him well on his way to making up his own dance ode to one of his new favorite foods: tofu.
Chef Tal Ronnen may have us all dancing in the grocery store aisles soon. Not content to rest on his laurels after opening one of L.A.'s hottest new eateries, the all-vegan restaurant Crossroads this weekend, he is now crafting his own line of vegan artisanal cheeses, Kite Hill Cheese.
Soon, we can snack on Kite Hill Cheese and crackers while we watch one of our other best buds, Tim Gunn, help the Project Runway designers "make it work." When Us Weekly interviewed him for its "25 Things You Don't Know About Me" column, of course Tim worked in a plug for animals: "I love dogs, especially mutts."
Tom Hardy loves dogs, too, as evidenced by how he's bonding with his canine costar on the set of Animal Rescue. Ecorazzi reports that "the film will not only bring up animal abuse issues, but problems surrounding pit bulls in animal shelters."
To keep up with what all your favorite stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter.
Musician and songwriter Russ Irwin clearly has talent to spare—in addition to his years as a keyboardist and backing vocalist with Aerosmith (and cowriting the band's 2012 hit, "What Could Have Been Love"), he has performed with many of music's leading acts, including Sting, Cheap Trick, and PETA fave Bryan Adams.
Now, in an exclusive new video for PETA, Russ shows that he has plenty of heart and soul to match his musical skills as he relates how he chose to go vegan out of concern for animals, his health, and the environment:
Russ' new solo album is titled Get Me Home—and you can bring home some of his style of compassion with your own free vegetarian/vegan starter kit from PETA.
As the BP oil-spill civil case unfolds in New Orleans, we thought this would be a good time to update you on some of the companion animals PETA rescued as people fled the region in the wake of the catastrophe.
Disasters such as the one in the Gulf flood animal shelters with dogs and cats whose families lose their jobs or see their businesses go bust. With support from the fabulous Pamela Anderson, PETA workers drove a Winnebago carrying more than 40 homeless dogs and nearly 30 special-needs cats from New Orleans–area shelters to Virginia, where they were placed in permanent homes, including three who live in PETA's Norfolk headquarters, the Sam Simon Center.
It's a testament to their resilient spirits that these animals have rebounded from abandonment and are now thriving in their new homes. Here's where some of them are now:
PETA's rescue work is made possible by the support of kind people like you. To help PETA save animals in danger, become a member today.
Following reports from whistleblowers that a whitetip shark died during the production of a Kmart commercial, PETA is urging the chain to investigate the incident immediately and to adopt a policy against using wild animals in its ads. According to the whistleblowers, the 5-foot shark was flown from New York to Los Angeles on March 6 and placed in a small above-ground pool in Van Nuys, California. Human actors repeatedly jumped in and out of the pool during the shoot, which likely caused the animal to stress.
PETA was told that The American Humane Association (AHA), which approved the script and was on set, allowed shooting to continue for about an hour after the shark began exhibiting signs of stress. The shark was then reportedly taken out of the pool and died later that day.
iStockphoto.com/NaluPhoto
Sharks are delicate animals who, in captivity, require a highly specialized and controlled environment. Sharks have exceptional sensory systems that allow them to detect minute electrical fields and sense low-frequency sounds and vibrations. The noise and chaos of a commercial shoot is a very stressful environment for these sensitive animals.
Animatronic and CGI sharks have been in use for nearly 40 years in films such as Jaws, Bait 3D, Deep Blue Sea, and Shark Night. In addition to urging Kmart to adopt a policy against using wild animals in its commercials, PETA is contacting the AHA regarding its failure to protect the shark.
One animal death is one too many.
Actor and PETA pal Jenna Dewan-Tatum has added her name to those of the tens of thousands of compassionate people calling on Riverside County, California, District Attorney Paul Zellerbach to file felony cruelty charges against those responsible for the horrific neglect of animals at Global Captive Breeders, LLC (GCB).
Following PETA's undercover investigation of Lake Elsinore, California–based GCB, which revealed the systemic, daily neglect and shocking abuse of thousands of rats and reptiles, more than 30,000 of you have signed on to PETA's petition urging Zellerbach to take action.
On December 12, based on PETA's evidence, law-enforcement officials mounted the largest-ever seizure of animals in California at GCB. The facility reeked of death, decay, and ammonia from accumulated urine and feces. Snakes and other reptiles at GCB were so neglected that, in many cases, even their deaths went unnoticed by management—for days, leaving enclosures and rotting carcasses teeming with maggots.
Rats were routinely grabbed by the tail and slammed against hard surfaces when workers decided to kill them. Then they were thrown into trash bins or into a reptile's cage while still alive and convulsing. Tubs used for housing flooded frequently, drowning countless rats and leaving hundreds of others—exhausted, shivering, and terrified—to struggle to keep their heads above the water as it rose. As Jenna explains in her letter to Zellerbach:
As an expectant mother, I was particularly heartbroken to see photos of ailing mother rats with open wounds on their bodies who stood guard protectively over their dead or dying babies in the filthy plastic tubs that they were confined to without access to adequate food, water, or even moderately fresh air to breathe… Justice must be served for the unspeakable suffering endured by countless animals at GCB.
Please join PETA and Jenna Dewan-Tatum in politely urging Zellerbach to file criminal charges against all appropriate parties without further delay.
It breaks our hearts to report the passing of Roxie "Rock Star" Patterson, a little wiggly slip of a dog with an exuberant personality as big as a 20,000-seat stadium. Roxie was rescued 11 years ago by PETA cruelty caseworkers after one of the other dogs in her home killed the family's cat and started eyeing her next. The caseworkers discovered that poor little Roxie was also being bullied by the family patriarch because she wasn't "macho" enough. Roxie won the heart of former PETA Foundation Director Jannette Patterson and thereafter went with her everywhere. She seemed to enjoy flying and napping under Jannette's airplane seat, always ready to give her a smooch upon arrival.
We knew Roxie by another name, too—"Noodlehead," for her silly natural '80s hairband hairdo. She became internationally famous after she was featured on the cover of Animal Times and the PETA calendar, on PETA holiday cards, and in a spay-and-neuter public service announcement with John McEnroe. She was even chosen by the New York Daily News as New York City's Ugliest Dog (go figure).
To commemorate the 11 years that she shared with Roxie, Jannette is dedicating the next 11 days to helping other animals who are abused, as Roxie once was. For every dollar that Jannette spends on non-essential items (such as shoes, clothing, books, and coffee-shop lattes) during the next 11 days, she is going to donate an equal amount to PETA's "Roxie Rules" Matching Fund—and she's asking her friends, family, and fellow PETA members to do the same.
We know that Roxie's passing leaves a big hole in Jannette's heart and in the universe. We are grateful that Jannette, in typically kind Jannette fashion, has chosen to channel her grief into helping us rescue the next canine rock star out there waiting for a chance to show everyone what she's got. Rock on, Roxie.
Update: The Cherokee tribal council's meeting to discuss the closure of the bear pits was postponed until Tuesday, March 19th at 5 p.m. because of bad weather, so please keep letting the council know that public opinion is on the side of the bears. To contact the council members, click on the "Take Action Now" button below.
The following was originally posted on March 5, 2013:
After PETA publicized the findings of our investigation at Chief Saunooke Bear Park, several tribal elders of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians—which owns the land on which Chief Saunooke and other bear pits are located but does not run them—were horrified to learn of the conditions there.
Led by Peggy Hill, a group of elders has proposed a resolution to close all the bear exhibitors on tribal land permanently, and the tribal council is poised to vote on the resolution at its next council meeting this week. Hill told the Associated Press that "[m]ost Cherokee people had no idea what was taking place behind the bars of these roadside zoos" and that the elders are appalled "at the horrible treatment of these jailed bears."
Unfortunately, not everyone is on board with the plan. Chief Saunooke is currently closed, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended its license, but some in the community are pressuring the council to keep the other bear pits open. One of the facilities, Cherokee Bear Zoo, is also making a last-ditch bid for survival by claiming that it wants to remodel itself as a "sanctuary," although if this were its plan, there was nothing stopping it from doing so during all the years that it has been confining bears to barren concrete pits and racking up numerous violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. The bear exhibitors in Cherokee have proved time and again that they shouldn't have any contact with animals.
You Can Help
Please contact the Cherokee tribal council and urge it to vote in favor of the resolution to close the bear pits permanently and send the bears to reputable sanctuaries.
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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