jeremydeades / CC by 2.0 Spring is here—and with rising temperatures come the all-too-familiar stories about dogs who are left in cars where they suffer and die from heatstroke. One such case has prompted PETA to support cruelty charges against two women—a mother and daughter team—who are accused of leaving nine dogs unattended in … Read more »
Earlier this month, the Detroit Zoo—a progressive facility with a compassionate history—welcomed more than 1,100 of the nearly 27,000 animals who were seized from the hellish exotic-animal warehouse of U.S. Global Exotics (USGE) by Arlington, Texas, officials. But that wasn’t all the zoo did! Its staff came to the animals’ rescue within days of the … Read more »
Remember PETA’s 2007 undercover investigation of Rainbow World Exotics (RWE), a hellhole in Hamilton, Texas, that supplies PETCO and PetSmart stores with little hamsters, gerbils, and other critters? Before going public with that investigation, we sat down with three PETCO corporate representatives (one of whom was a vet) and showed them heartbreaking footage of a … Read more »
In his historic decision earlier this week, Arlington municipal judge Michael Smith noted that the evidence that our undercover investigator collected during months as an employee of the exotic animal warehouse U.S. Global Exotics (USGE)—including a picture of a hedgehog whose leg had been chewed off and video footage of dying snakes and a wallaby … Read more »
We’ve just received word that Arlington (Texas) Municipal Judge Michael Smith has divested Jasen and Vanessa Shaw—owners and operators of animal warehouse U.S. Global Exotics, Inc. (USGE)—of the more than 26,000 mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and arachnids who were seized from USGE on December 15. U.S. Global Exotics, Inc., is a major player in the pet … Read more »
usatoday / CC Former “Hollywood Madam” Heidi Fleiss knows what it’s like to be behind bars—and ever since she inherited dozens of exotic birds from an acquaintance who passed away, she’s learned firsthand that humans aren’t the only ones whose needs aren’t met in captivity. Heidi was fortunate enough to be able to turn part … Read more »
Killer birds from PetSmart. It sounds like a reimagined version of Hitchcock’s The Birds or maybe Troma’s follow-up film to Poultrygeist, but it’s a true, tragic story. A bird-loving family from Corpus Christi, Texas, reportedly lost their beloved father—and the daughter almost lost her life—after they both contracted psittacosis from a cockatiel whom they had … Read more »
Here’s what PetSmart spokesman Bruce Richardson had to say when he was asked about the shocking video footage revealed by our recent investigation into a PetSmart supplier in Texas: “I don’t know what those images say. … Just because you see a dead pet, does that mean there was abuse? No. Pets die, particularly when … Read more »
It’s too bad that it required an outbreak of a disease that’s contagious to humans for PetSmart to make this decision, but this is something we’ve been asking the pet store chain to do for a long time now. According to The Huntsville Times PetSmart has stopped selling birds in all of its stores for … Read more »
Following a PETA action alert and protests targeting the company, which resulted in thousands of emails to Petsmart Corporate over the last three months, Petsmart has announced that they will no longer sell rabbits in their stores! “At this time,” writes Petsmart (using perhaps my least favorite prepositional phrase ever), “we’re not expanding the test … Read more »
About seven years ago, PetSmart CEO Phillip Francis made a commitment not to sell rabbits in PetSmart stores because of the high numbers of bunnies who are dumped in shelters after the novelty of an impulse purchase wears off. “Our brand name stands for ethics, quality, health and good care for animals and we’re always … Read more »
Yeah, that’s right. We got a giant bird costume. For a little bit of context, you should check out our undercover investigation of two PetSmart locations which revealed appalling conditions for the animals sold by the stores. There’s also a handy little factsheet here, which explains (for anyone who hasn’t figured it out by themselves) … Read more »
The wonderful Bea Arthur, whose record in terms of helping to advance the rights of animals is as impressive as her unforgettable performances in Golden Girls, has gone out on a limb once again for animals—this time to help the rats, lizards, and other animals who get a raw deal in pet stores, where they’re … Read more »
