Group Calls On Rancher to Share the Wealth and Spare the Animals

For Immediate Release:
June 9, 2009
 
Contact:
Lindsay Rajt 757-622-7382

Pierre, S.D. -- Earlier today, PETA sent an urgent letter to Neal Wanless--the 23-year-old South Dakota rancher who recently won a Powerball prize of $232 million after buying a lottery ticket in the town of Winner--asking him to send all his cows, sheep, and horses to a farmed-animal sanctuary where they can live out their days in peace. In the letter, PETA points out that animals slaughtered for food are often skinned or dismembered while they are still conscious and that many horses in the U.S. are euthanized or shipped overseas for slaughter because of overpopulation.
 
"Mr. Wanless has promised to use his newfound wealth to help others, and we can't think of a better place to start than his own ranch," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "Mr. Wanless can be a true winner by winning these animals their lives.”
 
For more information, please visit PETA's blog.
 
PETA's letter to Neal Wanless follows.
 
Dear Mr. Wanless,
 
I am writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 2 million members and supporters--including hundreds across South Dakota--to congratulate you on your lottery winnings and to urge you to share your good fortune with the animals on your family's ranch by sparing their lives and sending them to a farmed-animal sanctuary. It would be a wonderful, magnanimous gesture.
 
As I'm sure you have seen firsthand, cattle suffer when they are castrated and branded without painkillers. The reason is simple: They feel pain just as we do. Cattle and sheep experience fear and do not always die quietly in slaughterhouses. As our undercover videos and various whistleblowers have documented, excessively fast line speeds and poorly trained workers (who must hurry or lose their jobs) often contribute to situations in which animals are still conscious when their throats are cut or when they are skinned. And, as you know, the U.S. currently has a horse-overpopulation problem that causes many horses to be abandoned or euthanized or to die violently in slaughterhouses overseas.
 
You seem to be a decent soul, and we were encouraged to read that you have promised to use your new resources to help others. That's why we are asking you to please share your good fortune with the animals on your ranch. If you could send them (along with appropriate funding) to an approved sanctuary, they could live out their lives in peace. Thank you for considering those who may not be as fortunate as humans are, but who have feelings and needs and wish to go on living without being made to suffer. Please contact me if you would like to let me know what you decide or if you would like to discuss this further.
 
Sincerely,
 
Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President