'Cut Out Dissection' Action of the Week: Share 'Classroom Cut-Ups' October 12, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at October 12, 2009 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBack

So it's week two of 'Cut Out Dissection' month, and we're giving you two new ways to share 'Classroom Cut-Ups' online!

We all know how powerful videos can be, and there's no denying that they can change someone's life. How many of you guys went vegan, stopped buying leather, or stopped supporting the circus, because of a video you saw?

This week, we want you to help gain support for your campaign against dissection at your school, by showing everyone you know just how those corpses get to the classroom. We've just uploaded 'Classroom Cut-Ups', our investigation into a biological supply firm—where you can see cats being pumped fully of formaldehyde while they were still alive—onto YouTube, to make it easier for you to share.

We're also giving you this share link—to share the page with all of your friends on Facebook!

E-mail us at StreetTeam@peta2.com with a screenshot of your Facebook update, or the page you streamed the YouTube video on, and we'll give you 1,000 Street Team points!

'Cut Out Dissection' Action of the Week! October 5, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at October 5, 2009 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

Are you really excited about 'Cut Out Dissection' month, but not sure where to start? peta2 is here to help! Every week for the month of October, we'll be giving you simple, fun and life-saving (literally), actions to do for the six million frogs, pigs, cats, mice and other animals who are dissected in classrooms across the country.

If you live in any of these states: California, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont or Virginia, you have the right not to dissect, so half the battle has already been won! Now, you just need to voice your disgust at cutting up corpses in the classroom, and respectfully demand an alternative—after all, it's your right.

Print out our brand new state specific leaflets here and hand them to everyone in your science class—and if you're not in science, hand them to at least ten of your friends at school! Our new state specific leaflets have the state name and policy on them—so your school knows you mean business!

E-mail us at StreetTeam@peta2.com and let us know what what state you're in, what school you go to, and how it went, and we'll give you 1000 Street Team points!

If you're not in any of the above states, you can use the leaflets we have available here to 'Cut Out Dissection' in your school!

Animals everywhere thank you!

It's 'Cut Out Dissection' Month! October 1, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at October 1, 2009 3:50 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

You know October is 'Cut Out Dissection' month, right?

Help stop the suffering frogs like this endure at the hands of the dissection industry.
wikipedia / CC

What is that? Every year, 6 million animals like pigs, frogs, cats, and other animals, are killed to be cut up and mutilated in classrooms across the country, even though more humane, and less disgusting and cruel methods exist. October is the perfect time to get started with your campaign to help stop dissection in your school!

What can you do? If you live in a state that has a dissection choice policy allowing you to opt out for an alternative, print out of our state specific leaflets here. These leaflets will help you talk to your teachers and principal about a humane alternative to chopping up corpses in class. Not sure if your state allows you the right to not dissect? Cllick here to find out! If your state isn't on our list, no fear! We'll send you our re-designed 'Cut Class, Not Frogs' leaflets for free! Just e-mail us at peta2@peta2.com!

If you haven't yet, check out our brand new anti-dissection ad with Steve-O and share it on Facebook and everyone you hang out online.

Let's make this the best 'Cut Out Dissection' month yet! Do you have any plans for helping frogs and other animals at your school?

Animals: They're Just Like Us! July 7, 2009

Posted by Marta at July 7, 2009 4:21 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 19 ) | TrackBack

We always think it's funny to see "Stars: They're Just Like Us!" photos. You know, photos of some celeb going running or picking through the produce at the grocery store to show us that they're just normal people like you and I are. OMG! My fave celeb buys food too! I can't believe it!

Well, people need to remember that animals are just like us too! Check it out (Warning: Cuteness alert!):

They reluctantly get kisses from their moms!


They get jealous when they're not the center of attention!


They spoon with their friends!

What do you think? Are animals just like us? Which pic is your favorite?

Arrest Made In Cat Killing Case June 16, 2009

Posted by Pulin Modi at June 16, 2009 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 5 ) | TrackBack

Is the dissection industry to blame?

A lot of people have been talking about the horrifying mutilation and slaughter of cats in the Miami, Florida, area. It's been all over the news for several weeks, and now there seems to be a major break in the case. Watch PETA President Ingrid Newkirk speak about the case on CNN.

Police arrested teenager Tyler Weinman in connection with the case and are charging him with nineteen counts of felony animal cruelty. The judge in the case has also ordered a psychiatric evaluation because if the accusations of dismembering animals and killing them prove true, this guy is less than normal by any stretch of the imagination.

So what does all this have to do with dissection? Well, according to a report from The Miami Herald, Tyler Weinman dissected animals (including a cat!) at Palmetto High School last year!

Why the school chose to fund the sick and cruel dissection of animals rather than more cost-effective, humane alternatives is beyond me! Looks like Tyler Weinman needs to visit CutOutDissection.com if you know what I mean. I'm thinking Tyler's anatomy teacher and self-proclaimed animal-lover, Lynn Evans, must not have seen the video below. Really, how could anyone claim to love animals while encouraging students to cut up their dead bodies?

There is a strong link between cruelty to animals and abuse of human beings. I hope individuals and educators will realize this and cut out dissection once and for all. It doesn't matter whether a cat is someone's companion at home or an individual who was pumped full of chemicals at a dissection industry packing plant. The fact is this is cruelty to animals!

Please take our pledge to help animals and never dissect!



P.S. Even when there isn't a crazed cat killer on the loose, it's always a good idea to keep your cat indoors! Find out why.

Why We Euthanize, Part II (Warning: Graphic Photo) May 13, 2009

Posted by Marta at May 13, 2009 5:17 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 48 ) | TrackBack

No one likes to think about euthanasia, and that's understandable. Unfortunately, it's a reality for so many dogs and cats. We recently posted a blog about our stance on euthanasia, and as a follow-up, I hope you will read the below post from PETA.
-Marta

PLEASE NOTE: There's a picture below that is very disturbing, but for people who are concerned about animal suffering and homelessness, it's important to face the tragic reality of the overpopulation crisis and its consequences. Animals can't afford to have people look away.

Her name was Big Girl, but there was almost nothing left of her. She was so still, so slight, and so cold to the touch that field workers thought that she was already dead. But the tiny 6-month-old pit bull was still alive. Barely.

Big Girl never knew the love and care that we wish every dog experienced; by the time we arrived, she had endured prolonged, incomprehensible agony. When we found her collapsed on the ground, she weighed less than the chain she was tied to. She had clearly been starved—she was a pile of bones and had raw, mostly hairless skin with absolutely no body fat. A veterinarian later told us that Big Girl's stomach contained nothing but dirt, leaves, a piece of corn cob with two kernels on it, and a piece of dry, caked fecal matter. Big Girl had been left to suffer for so long that she had begun to decompose. Four different generations of maggots were eating away at her body. When we gently peeled her off the ground, she moaned. She could not see us or hear us, but we hope she knew that we were there to help her.

We sent Big Girl off to heaven with kind words and a gentle lethal injection. We wished we could have ended her misery much, much sooner. Those who condemn open-admission animal shelters and organizations like PETA for having to euthanize sick, injured, dying, and unwanted animals must look closely at the source of the overpopulation crisis—people who breed animals, those who neglect and abuse them, and consumers who choose to buy animals from breeders and pet shops instead of adopting from their local animal shelter.

No one hates the ugly reality of euthanasia more than the shelter workers who hold the syringe. Sometimes, especially when animals have known no kindness and are suffering, the best that we can offer an animal like Big Girl, Asia, and others is a painless and dignified release from a world that showed them no love or compassion.

-Jeff Mackey, PETA

P.S. The man responsible for Big Girl's horrific condition (as well as that of another dog, who suffered from a vaginal prolapse) was charged and convicted for the condition of both dogs, and he was prohibited from owning animals.

Who Likes PostSecret? April 11, 2009

Posted by Marta at April 11, 2009 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 18 ) | TrackBack

PostSecret is addicting. For those of you unfamiliar with the site, here's the gist: People mail in their anonymous secrets on postcards that are then posted online for the rest of the world to read. It's really intriguing, since people share their secrets about everything—they can be anything from shameful to disturbing to funny to sickening to heartbreaking and everything in between. Check out this PostSecret that was shared recently:

It's so sad, yet so relatable for many people. Of course there's not really anything you can do to prevent this horrible feeling when you're away at college (aside from never leaving home ever!), but what you can do is enjoy the time you have with your animal companions now. Take a long walk with your dog. Curl up on the couch with your kitty. Make them treats. Remember that they love you unconditionally, so love them unconditionally right back. Always make time for them—they deserve it.

What's your favorite way to spend time with your animal companion?



P.S. Don't forget to spay and neuter your animal pals.

Why We Euthanize March 31, 2009

Posted by Marta at March 31, 2009 9:41 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 35 ) | TrackBack

Euthanasia is not something anyone likes to think about, but unfortunately, sometimes it's a necessity. I wanted to share with you PETA's stance on euthanasia straight from PETA President Ingrid Newkirk herself. This is long, but it's really important, so please do read it all the way through. And a heads-up: The images are graphic and disturbing.
-Marta

In my first year working at a grossly substandard animal shelter in Maryland, I forced myself to go in early to euthanize dogs by holding them in my arms and gently helping them escape an uncaring world without trauma or pain and to spare them from being stabbed haphazardly—while they were fully conscious, terrified and aware—in the general vicinity of their hearts with needles blunt from reuse and left to thrash on the floor until they finally died by the callous people who would arrive later to do the job.

I always wonder how anyone cannot recognize that there is a world of difference between painlessly euthanizing animals out of compassion—aged, injured, sick, and dying animals whose guardians can't afford euthanasia, for instance—as PETA does, and causing them to suffer terror, pain, and a prolonged death while struggling to survive on the streets, at the hands of untrained and uncaring "technicians," or animal abusers.

It's easy to point the finger at those who are forced to do the "dirty work" caused by a throwaway society's casual acquisition and breeding of dogs and cats who end up homeless and unwanted, but at PETA, we will never turn our backs on neglected, unloved, and homeless animals—even if the best we can offer them is a painless release from a world that doesn't have enough heart or homes with room for them. It makes it easy for people to throw stones at us, but we are against all needless killing: for hamburgers, fur collars, dissection, sport hunting—the works. PETA handled far more animals than 2,124 in 2008. In fact, we took in more than 10,000 dogs and cats and work very hard to persuade people to spay and neuter their animals and to commit to a lifetime of care and respect for them. We go so far as to transport animals to and from our spay/neuter clinics, where they are spayed or neutered and given vet care, often for free! Since 2001, PETA's low- to no-cost spay-and-neuter mobile clinics, SNIP and ABC, have sterilized more than 50,000 animals, preventing hundreds of thousands of animals from being born, neglected, abandoned, abused, or euthanized when no one wanted them. And on a national level, PETA is focusing on the root of the problem through our Animal Birth Control (ABC) campaign.


If anyone has a good home, love, and respect to offer, we beg them: Go to a shelter and take one or two animals home. The problem is that few people do that, choosing instead to go to a breeder or a pet shop and not "fixing" their dogs and cats, which contributes to the high euthanasia rate that animal shelters face. Most of the animals we took in and euthanized could hardly be called "pets," as they had spent their lives chained up in the back yard, for instance. They were unsocialized, never having been inside a building of any kind or known a pat on the head. Others were indeed someone's, but they were aged, sick, injured, dying, too aggressive to place, and the like, and PETA offered them a painless release from suffering, with no charge to their owners or custodians.

Every day, PETA's fieldworkers help abused and neglected dogs—many of them pit bulls nowadays and many of them forced to live their lives on chains heavy enough to tow an 18-wheeler—by providing them with food; clean water; lightweight tie-outs; deworming medicine; flea, tick, and fly-strike prevention; free veterinary care; sturdy wooden doghouses stuffed with straw bedding; and love.

What we see is enough to make you lose faith in humanity. One pit bull we gained custody of, named Asia, looked like a skeleton covered with skin when PETA released her from the 15-pound chain she had been kept on for years. Asia suffered from three painful and deadly intestinal obstructions, which prevented her from keeping any food down. She faced an agonizing, lingering death, so our veterinarian recommended euthanasia to end her suffering. We pursued criminal charges against those responsible for her condition, leading to their conviction for cruelty to animals. That is just one of the dozens of cases we see every week.

The majority of adoptable dogs are never brought through our doors (we refer them to local adoption groups and walk-in animal shelters). Most of the animals we house, rescue, find homes for, or put out of their misery come from miserable conditions, which often lead to successful prosecution and the banning of animal abusers from ever owning or abusing animals again.




As long as animals are still purposely bred and people aren't spaying and neutering their companions, open-admission animal shelters and organizations like PETA must do society's dirty work. Euthanasia is not a solution to overpopulation but rather a tragic necessity given the present crisis. PETA is proud to be a "shelter of last resort," where animals who have no place to go or who are unwanted or suffering are welcomed with love and open arms.

Please, if you care about animals, help prevent more of them from being born only to end up chained and left to waste away in people's back yards, suffering on mean streets where people kick at them or shoo them away like garbage, tortured at the hands of animal abusers, or, alas, euthanized in animal shelters for lack of a good home. If you want to save lives, always have your animals spayed or neutered.

- Ingrid Newkirk

We're Doing Great Work On SocialVibe January 26, 2009

Posted by Pulin Modi at January 26, 2009 8:04 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

We're over 95% of our Have A Heart For Animals goal. Thanks to you, we're moving quicker than we expected and hope to reach our goal far in advance of our February 14th deadline!

A lot of the work we do helping dogs, cats, and other animals isn't as eye-catching or "newsworthy" as some of our anti-fur demonstrations or celebrity ads, but it's all so important to the overall goal of creating a peaceful world for everyone. We have a free doghouse delivery program, an emergency service for animals in need of urgent assistance through our Community Animal Project, and a mobile spay and neuter clinic. Did you know that?

When I think about the time my coworkers and I spent in the New Orleans area after Hurricane Katrina helping dogs and cats or hear how our cruelty investigations team successfully works with prosecutors and law enforcement agencies, I know that we are trying our best to tackle what can seem like an overwhelming problem. Whether it's deciding to euthanize a psychologically and physically abused dog who has been chained for his whole life or creating hard-hitting campaign videos to educate the public about the importance of adopting animals from shelters, we'll do what it takes to reduce suffering in this world.

So thanks to all of those who have already signed up on SocialVibe to help. For those who don't know what this is all about, check this out.

Want to help out right now? Post a bulletin or blog about how you're supporting peta2 on SocialVibe and include your SocialVibe badge! Or put a badge on your MySpace or Facebook profile. It's that easy!

Lily's Fur Foul?!? January 20, 2009

Posted by Patricia at January 20, 2009 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 5 ) | TrackBack

Today's blog features guest blogger, peta2 UK's Violet.

"Surprise" is the word of the day ... Lilly Allen, who peta2 have long adored, stepped out in London in a massive furry hat! Reports vary on whether the hat was in fact real fur or a very convincing fake, though we (and our furry friends) are rooting for the latter. PETA UK has been flooded with phone calls and emails from disappointed fans, so today we sent a letter to ask if the hat is indeed real, and remind her of the horrors that animals face on fur farms.

ShopTilYouDrop / CC

Lily's no thicky, she's not usually the type to buy into cruel faddy celeb trends! Not so long ago, where some stars would have bought their latest designer dog, Lily adopted her gorgeous little pooch Honey (pictured) from Battersea dogs home.

It goes without saying that there's no kind way to rip the skin off any animal's back—dogs, cats, foxes, rabbits!! Fur farming is deemed so cruel that it is banned in the UK and outsourced to countries where animal welfare laws are practically non-existent. Come on, Lily, everyone knows that clever girls fake it!