You’ve probably never heard of elephant polo, and now that Guinness World Records has agreed to stop documenting records for wins in elephant polo matches, perhaps you never will again. The publishing giant made the move after learning from PETA U.K. that captive elephants forced to perform in such matches in India and Thailand are … Read more »
Two former trainers at SeaWorld have released a report that includes firsthand information about the stress that killer whales endure in captivity—stress that the ex-trainers feel led to the deaths of at least two SeaWorld employees. Jeff Ventre (now a doctor) and John Jett (now a biology professor) worked at SeaWorld Orlando and knew trainer … Read more »
ViNull/CC by 2.0 One zoo employee has been killed and another maimed in incidents at two separate zoos on the same day. At Riverside Discovery Center in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, a chimpanzee bit a worker on the hand, severing two of her fingers and injuring a third. At the Knoxville Zoo in Tennessee, elephant handler Stephanie … Read more »
After nine grueling years, an elephant named Mariappan is finally free of the chains that bound him by all four legs so tightly that he could not take a single step in any direction. Mariappan was chained inside a filthy, dark shed at the Arulmigu Mariamman Temple in Samayapuram, India, until a local activist, with the … Read more »
PETA asked for your help in picking the naughtiest person of 2010, and boy, did you guys come through—to the tune of more than 2.7 million lumps of coal! And the “winner” is … Ronald McDonald. The cruel clown got a run for his (blood) money from the CEO of SeaWorld, but in the end, … Read more »
If you’re like most people, you probably don’t think much about what racing greyhounds do when they’re not running around tracks. The greyhound advocacy group Grey2K USA recently managed to sneak a video camera past the tight security at Tucson Greyhound Park in Tucson, Arizona, and revealed the depressing, dungeon-like conditions that these dogs spend … Read more »
After allowing a lion named Casimiro—who had spent nearly three decades in captivity—to suffer an agonizingly slow and painful death, a zoo in Maturín, Venezuela, is now reportedly planning to acquire several new lions to “replace” Casimiro. This would sentence another generation of lions—smart and sensitive animals who long to be free—to the frustration, boredom, … Read more »
As if Tommy Lee’s original letter to SeaWorld about the park’s disturbing orca-breeding practices weren’t high-five-worthy enough, it gets even better! A SeaWorld rep responded, “The process of collecting semen for [artificial insemination] doesn’t differ in any meaningful way from the techniques employed in managing livestock or other species for zoological display. … [O]ur trainers … Read more »
Caring folks continue to plead for basic compassion at SeaWorld and call on officials to enforce anti-cruelty laws. But Tilikum, the orca who has killed three people, is still confined to a cramped, claustrophobic tank that’s barely bigger than the size of his body to prevent him from having any physical contact with the trainers—except when they … Read more »
Tokio Hotel has no reservations about speaking out against animal abuse in circuses. Just check out PETA Germany’s edgy new “Stop Circus Cruelty” ad featuring Bill and Tom Kaulitz, the talented vegetarian twins behind this überpopular German rock band: Ah, what wunderbar boys! That’s German for “wonderful.” Now here’s the part where you can do something wunderbar … Read more »
In light of news that Amazon.com has stopped selling a manual for pedophiles after a massive public outcry, PETA fired off a letter asking the online bookseller to protect other vulnerable beings by refusing to sell products that promote cruelty to animals, such as books on dogfighting and cockfighting. Right now, anyone can visit Amazon.com … Read more »
After learning from PETA that great apes used in commercials are torn from their mothers when they are just babies and beaten into submission, pharmaceutical company Pfizer has replaced a new TV ad for Robitussin that originally featured an orangutan with a new ad that includes a computer-generated ape. Grey Group created the old commercial just … Read more »
… but in a good way. The circus has joined dozens of innovative and entertaining productions in leaving animals out of the act. We campaigned against Circus Vargas years ago when it still forced elephants, llamas, and other animals to perform, but now we’ll sing its praises. People who care about animals don’t want to … Read more »
The impossible happened—for a split second anyway. I momentarily laughed during a bullfight—or rather, during a matador’s wardrobe malfunction, which drew plenty of guffaws and catcalls from the audience. Watch as Alvaro Marin runs, bare-bottomed, from a bull—and then fashions an adult diaper out of a piece of cloth. Of course, just like the … Read more »
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