July 2002 After a Cookeville, Tennessee, police officer shot a dog during a traffic stop last December, PETA immediately sent letters to the police department requesting training for officers in how to deal with animals in routine and emergency situations. We also contacted the governor and an animal-friendly senator suggesting a statewide training program. In response, … Read more »
July 2002 After learning that a Virginia Beach nightclub was holding weekly Fear Factor contests that required contestants to swallow live goldfish, we immediately wrote to the club owner to urge him to do away with the cruel contests. We also let him know that another local bar had recently decided to stop holding similar contests … Read more »
April 2002 PETA had petitioned Kroger and Albertson’s to improve farmed-animal welfare but without success. When Safeway agreed to make improvements, PETA wrote to its main competitors. Two weeks later, both Kroger and Albertson’s agreed to follow Safeway’s lead. The Idaho Statesman reported, “A week after being targeted by an animal-rights group, Albertson’s Inc., along with … Read more »
April 2002 Egg producer Cypress Farms went bankrupt and abandoned more than a million hens in Florida and Georgia, leaving them to starve for 12 days before a court-appointed trustee and the departments of agriculture began efforts to kill the survivors. PETA contacted the company conducting the gas killings and sent them information on the use … Read more »
April 2002 A Texas man, angry with his girlfriend, hung her 4-month-old puppy by his leash in a bedroom closet. He then used toothpaste to draw an outline of the dog on their bed, with the letters “R.I.P.” After the man’s arrest, PETA worked with prosecutors to ensure a successful trial. The jury found the man … Read more »
April 2002 PETA urged Safeway to follow the lead of McDonald’s by instituting higher animal-welfare standards for its suppliers, but 18 months of discussions netted no improvements. In February 2002, PETA launched a campaign against Safeway and its subsidiaries in the U.S. and Canada. Our campaign included more than 100 demonstrations in 20 states and four … Read more »
April 2002 After being tipped off by a Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA) insider that its “Pure 2002” Dallas Collection fashion show was to include a seal fur coat designed by Michael Faircloth (Laura Bush’s designer), we wrote the foundation a letter demanding that all fur be removed from the show. DIFFA executive director called … Read more »
April 2002 PETA contacted the principals of Zionsville Middle Schools and the district’s superintendent after learning that a donkey basketball game was planned at the schools the following week. We and the activists, who had contacted us, implored the principals to replace the cruel event with a more humane one that wouldn’t subject animals to potential … Read more »
April 2002 In late 2001, PETA contacted the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to request that it switch from leather basketballs in its annual “March Madness” men’s and women’s tournaments to cruelty-free synthetics. The NCAA requested more information, and PETA sent a report detailing how the leather industry tortures and kills millions of cows and calves, … Read more »
April 2002 Indiana residents contacted us after learning of a horrible case of animal abuse in which the owner of several dogs hired a man, who claimed to be licensed, to cut the ears of the dogs in a “fighting crop.” The man was not licensed, and he bound the dogs’ legs and mouths and cut … Read more »
April 2002 After receiving calls of concern about a pig-racing event planned for a youth sports organization’s carnival in North Brunswick, New Jersey, PETA wrote to the chairperson of the organizing committee to ask that the cruel and exploitative event be canceled. Two weeks went by without a response, so we contacted the city’s mayor to … Read more »
April 2002 A Los Angeles activist contacted PETA about his struggle to convince a property management group in the city to cancel an Easter contest in which the prizes were live rabbits. Until the contest, the rabbits were being displayed, along with several ducklings, inside one of the buildings that the company manages. It is illegal … Read more »
April 2002 PETA received complaints about alligators and turtles on display at a Florida McDonald’s. We learned that the animals were provided by a notoriously cruel area alligator park called Gatorland. We had investigated this facility in 1995 and found horrifying conditions for animals. Alligators were being used for photo ops with visitors and were usually … Read more »
April 2002 PETA first contacted Target in 1999 to ask that it remove AquaBabies from its shelves. We sent countless follow-up letters and provided statements from experts describing why the tiny tanks are sorely inadequate for the fish, frogs, and snails imprisoned in them. We also posted action alerts and a feature on our Web site … Read more »
April 2002
