Land O'Lakes Says It Doesn't Inspect Facilities for the Treatment of Animals October 1, 2009

Posted by Marta at October 1, 2009 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 6 ) | TrackBack

Here's an update from PETA's Heather Drennan on our new undercover investigation into a dairy farm. Check it out, and if you haven't yet, why not make the pledge to try veganism?
-Marta

PETA's investigation footage from a filthy Pennsylvania dairy facility that supplies Land O'Lakes continues to receive massive press coverage. All the coverage has prompted the Fortune 250 company to issue an official statement—one that only serves to highlight the profit-driven callousness and lack of concern for animals within the corporation and the dairy industry as a whole.

Jeanne Forbis, the director of communications at Land O'Lakes, said, "[W]hen state-certified inspectors do inspections at dairy farms they are inspecting for milk and equipment sanitation practices, not animal treatment."

Is that supposed to be the "excuse" for why the Land O'Lakes inspector didn't bother to note that cows were living in filth, without bedding or a clean, dry place for shelter? Or that lameness and mastitis were rampant? How about the fact that there were cows who were so debilitated and thin that they looked like skeletons with skin draped over them?

Frankly, the inspector didn't do very well on inspecting for sanitation either. Take a look at the video—animals are virtually swimming in a soup of urine and fecal matter. All Forbis's comment does is raise some serious doubts about the quality of the sanitation inspections that led to the approval of this facility.

Various agencies are now looking into PETA's allegations of abuse, as well as sanitation and food safety violations, against the dairy facility's owners. Abuse of animals in the dairy industry is nothing new, so please consider dropping cholesterol and cruelty-filled dairy products from your diet.

-Heather

Protesting the Petland Bunny Killer August 18, 2009

Posted by Ryan at August 18, 2009 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 12 ) | TrackBack

Remember Elizabeth Carlisle? She was the Petland employee we reported on a little while back who proudly posted Facebook pictures of herself with rabbits she drowned while on the clock.

Well, her judgment day arrived, and of course PETA and local supporters were there to encourage prosecutors to punish Elizabeth to the fullest extent of the law.

The maximum penalty for each cruelty charge is six months in jail—totaling a year in prison if Carlisle is found guilty.



Fox 8 News is reporting that two peaceful protesters were even pushed by members of Carlisle's entourage as they left the building. Classy.

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of reading news stories about scumbags at pet stores torturing rabbits and other animals.

What would you say to Elizabeth if you saw her on the street?

Describe This Cruelty in Two Words or Less ... August 13, 2009

Posted by Ryan at August 13, 2009 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 84 ) | TrackBack

Check out this new undercover investigation, operated by Animal Equality—an animal rights organization based in Spain—and then let us know your reaction below.

How would you describe what you just watched—in two words or less?

I'm going to have to go with "fucking barbaric". What about you?

Bunnies Drowned at Petland - Warning: Disturbing Image! August 5, 2009

Posted by Ryan at August 5, 2009 1:11 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 53 ) | TrackBack

This image was taken in the back room of a Petland store in Akron, Ohio, and posted on Facebook by Elizabeth Carlisle. She can be seen grinning as she holds two dead, soaking-wet rabbits by the scruff of the neck—rabbits she just drowned while working at Petland.

When asked by a Facebook friend if she drowned the rabbits, she replied "[T]he manager took the pic for me. [S]he reminded me that there were people outside as [I] was swearing at them to just hurry up and die but then she was so kind as to take this picture." She has also stated that rabbits in the store were allowed to "attack and eat each other." The bunnies suffered from "deep wounds all over," "an eye missing," what Petland staff "suspected was a broken jaw," and paralysis from the waist down.

The store has closed, following our complaint, but PETA investigations have revealed time and time again that companies that breed and sell animals are concerned about profits, not animals' well-being.

Please take a moment to send Petland a message, asking the company to end all rabbit sales immediately, by clicking here!

Mary, Mary, Why So Hairy? November 2, 2007

Posted by Cassandra at November 2, 2007 6:08 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 8 ) | TrackBack

Have you heard Mary J's new joint, "Just Fine?" Positive, uplifting, soulful. I was listening to it through my headphones at work today, shoulders jumpin', I couldn't wait to get my weekend on! But then I checked out the video and it broke my heart - fur everywhere!!! That coat at the beginning is so big and hairy, I thought she'd been attacked by a coyote. I'm sitting there going "No Mary, behind you! Look out!" Sadly though, it's the animals who need to look out for Mary.

Photo credit: Flickr/Creative Commons.
Here's what I don't get: As a former victim of abuse, a big part of Mary's message focuses on standing up for what's right. Why would she turn around and participate in the cruelest, most abusive industry on the planet? I'm surprised she hasn't made the connection that, whether the victim is a woman, a child, or a chinchilla, it's abusive to make someone suffer just because you're more powerful than they are. I think once she gets that, THEN she'll be "just fine." Until then, I'll save my cash til Erykah Badu's new jank drops November 9th. She's fur free AND vegetarian. Vote with your dollar, y'all!

If you want to be a compassionate fashionista, take the Fur Free Pledge, and let people know that nobody's gotta die just so you can look fly.

Peace, y'all-
Cassandra