Reports of Dog With Head Stuck in Jar Prompt PETA Offer

Ads Would Remind Residents to Protect Animals by Crushing Cans and Sealing Jars

For Immediate Release:
January 25, 2018

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

PETA dispatched volunteers this week to help officials search for a dog who had been spotted in Vado, New Mexico, with a jar stuck on his head—and to help prevent future similar incidents, PETA sent a letter this morning asking Doña Ana County authorities to place an ad promoting responsible recycling on the county’s trucks and recycling dumpsters and in other prominent locations. The ad, available here, shows a raccoon whose head is stuck in a tin can next to the words “Don’t Let This Happen Again. Please Crush Cans and Screw Lids on Jars to Keep Our Animal Friends Safe.”

“Aluminum cans, plastic cups, and open jars can become death traps for hungry or inquisitive animals if they aren’t disposed of properly,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “By running PETA’s responsible-recycling ads, Doña Ana County can reduce the life-threatening risk to wildlife, dogs, and cats.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—encourages everyone to keep all garbage in tightly sealed chew-proof containers, rinse out aluminum cans and put the tops inside so that they can’t cut animals’ tongues, crush cans and cups, screw lids on jars, and cut open empty cardboard and plastic containers so that small animals can’t get their faces or heads trapped inside them.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

PETA’s letter to Doña Ana County Community Liaison Jess C. Williams follows.

January 25, 2018

Jess C. Williams

Community Liaison

Doña Ana County

Via e-mail: [email protected]

Dear Mr. Williams,

I am writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 6.5 million members and supporters worldwide—including many across New Mexico—in response to reports that a dog in Doña Ana County has been spotted with his head stuck in jar. In order to promote responsible recycling for the protection of animals and the benefit of the environment, would you consider placing PETA’s popular “Don’t Let This Happen Again” signs on county trucks, on recycling dumpsters, or in other visible locations to remind residents to dispose of recyclables in a way that protects animals?

As you know, recycling reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and combustion facilities, conserves natural resources, and helps reduce greenhouse-gas emissions that contribute to climate change. But aluminum cans, plastic cups, and open jars that are not disposed of properly can become traps for hungry or inquisitive animals. Simply placing these potentially lifesaving signs in highly visible locations throughout the county would encourage both environmental stewardship and compassion for animals.

I would be pleased to send over some of our signs immediately in order to remind everyone always to recycle responsibly. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid E. Newkirk

President

PETA