irishwildcat | cc by 2.0 A chimpanzee named Cheetah, who reportedly played Johnny Weissmuller’s sidekick in the old Tarzan movies, has died. There is some debate over Cheetah’s credentials, but regardless of whether he ever acted in the Tarzan movies, he almost certainly was torn away from his family and home when he was just … Read more »
PETA has sent Compassionate Legislator Awards to members of the Margate, Florida, City Commission for unanimously voting to ban bullhooks, electric prods, and other cruel devices specifically designed to inflict pain on animals. The move means that the Cole Bros. Circus, which has visited Margate in the past and whose handlers have been caught on … Read more »
Why a rickshaw was on Bourbon Street in New Orleans is anyone’s guess, but for the horse pulling it, it was far from the Big Easy: He fell to the ground and was dead before humane authorities arrived at the scene. A witness reported that the horse appeared to be thin and not well cared … Read more »
derekp | cc by 2.0 Update: Animal friend and philanthropist Bob Barker is paying the entire cost of shipping Toka, Thika, and Iringa from Toronto to the PAWS sanctuary in California. The following was originally posted on November 25, 2011: To thank the three members of the Toronto City Council who spearheaded the vote to send … Read more »
Courtesy of Lelah Foster Having a celebrity as the face of an animal rights campaign has helped PETA achieve huge victories. For instance, vocal protests by Sir Paul McCartney and Alicia Silverstone helped convince NASA not to blast squirrel monkeys with harmful doses of radiation. Celebrities such as Olivia Munn and Sarah Silverman have helped … Read more »
Update: In 2015, following pressure from PETA and other animal advocates, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) promised to retire all federally owned chimpanzees to sanctuaries. Sadly, since this announcement, few have been retired and many have died while waiting. Please urge NIH to retire these animals now! Originally posted December 15, 2011: Just hours … Read more »
© Zebra: deste / sxc.hu | Ribbon: Elize / sxc.hu Fading director Cameron Crowe is using wild animals as “actors.” In his new movie, We Bought a Zoo, he used lions, bears, and other wild animals who are at great risk for abuse because of their strength and instinctive aggression. PETA repeatedly reached out to … Read more »
Following reports of chronic neglect of elephants held by Florida-based exhibitor Jorge Barreda, who uses elephants for rides and rents them out to circuses like UniverSoul, PETA is calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to confiscate the elephants and relocate them to a sanctuary so that they can receive the treatment that they … Read more »
Feld Entertainment, the parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, must now pay the largest settlement of its kind in U.S. history―$270,000―for violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) dating back to 2007. PETA has been after the USDA all this time to take action against Ringling for abusing the animals in … Read more »
Despite Conrad Murray’s manslaughter conviction, there will probably always be unanswered questions about Michael Jackson’s life and death. Questions about what happened to the exotic animals Jackson kept as “pets” may never be answered either, since the whereabouts of some of the animals aren’t known. The famous chimpanzee Bubbles, whom Jackson took everywhere with him … Read more »
Remember Coming Home, the sweet little thoroughbred who, discarded by the racing industry, wound up in the hands of a kill buyer? She was on her way to a slaughterhouse in Canada when PETA, working undercover at an auction house where hundreds of horses are sold every week, stepped in. Today, she lives on a … Read more »
Shadow and Chambers, two dolphins who were forced to perform at a Swiss aquarium, died after a rave party was held at the facility. Authorities are trying to determine the cause of death, which possibly includes being blasted with deafeningly loud music or being poisoned by narcotics dropped into their tank. PETA Germany had sent … Read more »
milan.boers | cc by 2.0 On the final day of SeaWorld’s challenge to its citations imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), questions abounded about the qualifications of Jeff Andrews, a 15-year SeaWorld veteran who now works at the San Diego Zoo and whom SeaWorld offered as a witness. Andrews was presented as … Read more »
Collapsed dorsal fins are a symptom of the unnatural environment of captivity—they are rarely seen in the wild, usually in orcas who are injured or ill Returning to the stand on day eight of the hearings regarding SeaWorld’s challenge to OSHA rulings against SeaWorld, the company’s “curator of animal training,” Kelly Flaherty Clark, became visibly … Read more »
Matthew Tosh | cc by 2.0 A female African elephant named Umoya was found lying on the ground with severe injuries Thursday morning at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. She died shortly thereafter. Umoya was one of seven elephants ripped from their home in Swaziland in 2003 and shipped halfway around the world to … Read more »
