July 2002 In June 2002, after almost two years of working with PETA, the Food Marketing Institute and the National Council of Chain Restaurants released their first-ever retail farmed-animal welfare guidelines. The guidelines cover a wide range of issues, from anesthetized mutilation of dairy cows to farm-to-slaughterhouse transportation. While basic, these guidelines are historic in that … Read more »
July 2002 A PETA member was in a Blain Supply store in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, shopping when she heard a bird trapped in the wall beating her wings frantically in an attempt to escape. She notified a sales associate, who told her that birds often become trapped behind the store walls and that typically the store managers … Read more »
July 2002 A concerned Carver County, Minnesota, resident contacted PETA after he learned of plans to open a slaughterhouse where countless animals would be slaughtered without being stunned first. PETA had many conversations with county officials and wrote numerous letters, one of which was read aloud at a planning commission meeting and another of which was … Read more »
July 2002 A resident of Warwick, New York, contacted PETA about the town’s plans to trap and kill all the beavers near a dilapidated road culvert in order to prevent flood damage. We immediately sent a letter to the town supervisors asking them to halt the trapping program and, instead, upgrade the existing culvert and/or install … Read more »
July 2002 After making several complaints to county officials and getting nowhere, the neighbor of an Illinois man who was raising hundreds of rabbits and slaughtering them called us for help. PETA verified that the property was not zoned for this type of use, made a formal written complaint to the building inspector, and contacted county … Read more »
July 2002 A BMW truck driver in Greer, South Carolina, called PETA to report that birds were dying from being trapped behind a dilapidated net installed years ago to prevent them from roosting in the rafters of the plant. After several attempts to contact the operations manager, we sent a letter to BMW’s president asking for … Read more »
July 2002 A Long Island, New York, teen coated his family’s parakeet with hairspray and set fire to her, then posted images of the burning animal and of himself–laughing and giving the thumbs-up sign–on the Internet. Although New York state law defines such an act as felony cruelty to animals, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office … Read more »
July 2002 When a Tustin, California, security guard was charged with cruelty to animals for beating an opossum to death with a flashlight, PETA sent a letter to the Orange County prosecuting attorney urging a vigorous prosecution. The man pleaded guilty to the charges and received a sentence of three years’ probation, 60 hours of community … Read more »
July 2002 Aron Bright, a wrestling coach at Avon High School in Cloverdale, Washington, admitted to biting the head off a live sparrow in front of his team. PETA sent a letter to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department asking that Bright be charged with cruelty to animals, and we also posted an action alert to members. … Read more »
July 2002 PETA was contacted about a parrot named Chico kept alone in a cage at a retirement home called Seashore Gardens in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The center considered Chico part of its pet therapy program. We wrote to Seashore Gardens to ask that Chico be allowed to live out the remainder of his life … Read more »
July 2002 PETA learned from a member that the Greenville Wildlife Park planned to make appearances at libraries all across New Hampshire and other venues in the region. We sent a mailing to the 250 libraries in the state and to other businesses where the exhibit was scheduled to appear. Our letters explained that Greenville Wildlife … Read more »
July 2002 PETA, Earth Island Institute, and several other organizations asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to deny requests from two Japanese aquariums to capture wild Alaskan sea otters for the purpose of public display. As a result, USFWS denied both of the permit applications.
July 2002 A binturong, a nocturnal Asian bearcat, was found one morning, sleeping on a local couple’s front porch in Economy, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Game Commission took custody of the animal, who had been obtained and kept illegally. PETA contacted the game commission to recommend that permanent custody of the animal be given to a respected … Read more »
July 2002 When PETA learned that businesses in Hampton Roads, Virginia, including a health food store, botanical gardens, and garden center, had begun selling AquaBabies, cruel 4-inch cubes containing fish, frogs, and/or snails, we immediately contacted the stores’ managers. We provided them with information that we had gathered from experts who declared the trinkets inadequate and … Read more »
July 2002 A San Antonio, Texas, city golf-course employee stabbed to death four feral pigs after the animals were caught in live traps at the course. PETA wrote numerous letters and submitted a legal brief explaining why the man should be prosecuted for cruelty to animals. In the meantime, the man was fired from his job, … Read more »
