peta2 <3's Snails November 19, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at November 19, 2009 4:25 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

wildaboutbritain.co.uk / CC

Alright, so they may not be the cutest or most cuddly (although one PETA campaigner definitely has a tattoo of one) animal. But here at PETA, we're about saving all animals, big and small, furry or slimy, and we're excited to announce that thanks to all of your hard work, Brookstone, a company under fire for allowing frogs and snails to die on their store shelves, will no longer include snails in their "Frog-o-Spheres"! This is a huge victory for those little guys, who were designated "janitors" of Brookstone's tiny animal prisons.

Brookstone recently appointed a new CEO, and we're hoping that this means we're one step closer to getting the company to realize that selling animals as props for entertainment, and warehousing sick and injured frogs in the backroom to languish and die, is cruel. I know—it shouldn't take much convincing, right?

Whether you've written to Brookstone before or haven't yet, please click here to send our automated letter to the new CEO of Brookstone and ask him to stop selling all animals in his stores.

Why should you care about frogs? No animal deserves to be bought and sold like a trinket, after being taken out of their natural habitat or bred in facilities where abuse is common. Treating animals like objects to be used and tossed when the entertainment dulls, teaches people, especially kids—who are the main target of this product—disrespect for all life.

Like we've proven so many times, your letters and calls work. Please keep the pressure on Brookstone and it's new CEO by clicking here!

"Cut Out Dissection" Action of the Week: Get Creative! October 26, 2009

Posted by Pulin Modi at October 26, 2009 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

If you love animals and hate dissection, this action of the week should be easy for you.

We'll give you 1,000 Street Team points just for sending us an example of something creative you've done to raise awareness about the dissection industry. You might bake some vegan cookies shaped like frogs, make your own "Cut Class, Not Frogs" shirt or bag with this stencil (we can also send you one for free if you earn enough Street Team points), write a poem about why the dissection industry sucks, record yourself freestyle rapping on behalf of the animals, or paint something related to dissection.

Honestly, do whatever is fun, legal, and makes sense to you. Then e-mail us at StreetTeam@peta2.com with what you've done and we'll give you 1,000 Street Team points!

Here are some pictures to inspire you ...

Photobooths are more fun when you're wearing peta2 stickers!


A+ for nice use of a prop!


DIY bag.

What's that? You don't believe that anyone would write a creative poem about dissection? Well, what do you call this?

Cutting up animals in school is dumb.
I don't see how anyone
could take a scalpel to a cat.
Or to a pig, frog, or rat.

It's really sad that animals die.
I wish schools would just try
alternatives since they teach so much better.
And you won't be spilling animals' blood on your sweater!

OK, let's see what you've got! Oh, and don't forget our new leaflets!

Enter to Win a Digital Dissection Alternative for Your School! October 22, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at October 22, 2009 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

rainforest_harley / CC

All throughout October we've been giving you easy ways to help animals at school. From handing your friends our new 'Cut Class, Not Frogs' leaflets, to sharing the undercover investigation, 'Classroom Cut-Ups' online! Without a doubt, buzz has been raised. So what's next?

After you've gathered petitions, and told everyone how cruel and just plain backwards (how can teachers claim dissection teaches about life, by forcing you to chop up a corpse?) dissection is, your school will want to know what the other options are.

You can check out our page on all of the alternatives here, so you can give them the lowdown—and right now, you have an exclusive chance to help your school win a copy of Digital Frog 2.5 from Digital Frog International! This will give your school the inspiration it needs to see that ordering hundreds of corpses every semester—when they could just use a program year after year—just doesn't make any sense.

How does it work? Have your teacher e-mail Info@TeachKind.org by October 31 (they'll contact the winner on November 4) with the reason why your school deserves to win this contest! Please also make sure your teacher includes their name and address. The most passionate entry will win. Be sure that your teacher also reads our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as they're agreeing to both by e-mailing us their entry!

Good luck!

'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?

One-Minute Mission: Brookstone Call-In! October 1, 2009

Posted by Pulin Modi at October 1, 2009 9:07 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 5 ) | TrackBack

Got one minute? Take part in our latest one-minute mission by making a polite phone call in behalf of animals by 4:30pm on Friday, October 2. Frogs dying for Brookstone's greed need your voice!

Call Brookstone at 603-577-8010 and ask to speak with CEO Philip Roizin. Politely tell him that you won't support a store that makes money off the suffering of animals by selling 'Frog-O-Spheres.' Imagine how you'd feel living your whole life crammed into a small container!

Despite stories and videos that shed light on Brookstone's shameful decision to sell frogs in tiny containers, the company's CEO keeps on hiding from the truth. Brookstone is profiting off cruelty, and that's just not acceptable. It's really that simple.


Call Brookstone at 603-577-8010 and make your voice heard. Better yet, get some of your friends and family to call too!

E-mail StreetTeam@peta2.com with a report on how your call went, and we'll give you 1,000 Street Team points!

Also, don't forget to get in touch if you're interested in handing out leaflets to put some pressure on Brookstone!

Thanks!

High School Teacher Allows Gerbils to Starve to Death September 17, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at September 17, 2009 4:42 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 15 ) | TrackBack

You may have a teacher who gives too much homework, has boring lesson plans, or who may even give you a hard time for caring about animals—but none of that sizes up to what one teacher is accused of doing in Florida to animals in her classroom.

According to police records, it has been alleged that the head of the science department at Freedom Hill High School in Tampa, bought live frogs for dissection exercises in her classrooms. She attempted to kill them by placing them in a refrigerator, but they were reportedly still alive and began moving and bleeding when the students cut them open. The frogs eventually died from blood loss.

Frogs weren't the only victims who supposedly suffered and died in her class. Gerbils purchased as "class pets" were housed in inadequate conditions, with little access to food and water, and according to witness accounts, began eating the flesh of their deceased cagemates before they, too, slowly starved to death. Reports suggest that the gerbils were not given food or water for more than two weeks.

If this doesn't prove to the school that using animals for dissection and as props in the classroom is cruel and promotes disrespect for life, I don't know what will. Please speak up for these animals and all others and contact Freedom High School Principal Chris Farkas. Ask that he permanently prohibit the use of animals—alive or dead—in the school's classrooms and take appropriate disciplinary action against those responsible for what happened in his school.

Leaflets to Take on Brookstone September 15, 2009

Posted by Pulin Modi at September 15, 2009 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 6 ) | TrackBack

For whatever reason, the people at Brookstone refuse to stop selling those ridiculous "Frog-O-Spheres," so we've made some leaflets to help step up the pressure and raise awareness to employees and potential customers.

Download your leaflets here.

We're happy to send free leaflets to those of you who are willing to hand out a few, and if you're in California you have the legal right to hand out these leaflets inside the mall once you clear it with the mall management to get a location and details figured out. Drop us a line if you need any tips or free leaflets (just be sure to include your mailing info), and let us know how it goes so we can give you Street Team points for getting active with this campaign!

And don't forget to call Brookstone at 603-880-9500 and enter extension 6826 once the automated system picks up. Make sure they know that living, breathing animals do not belong in a store next to random gadgets or anywhere other than their natural environment!

I mean, can anyone really say that these frogs are being properly taken care of?

Frogs Are Dying to Get Out of Brookstone September 8, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at September 8, 2009 9:11 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 5 ) | TrackBack

Have you told Brookstone what you think of the "Frog-O-Sphere" yet? The "Frog-O-Sphere" is the tiny prison where the store is keeping frogs, while making money off of telling people they can keep these animals in the tiny boxes while barely taking care of them.

The company sets a great standard by taking injured and sick frogs to the backroom to languish and die instead of calling a vet—and ignoring their own employee's concerns over the lack of care for the animals.

Check out pics from our recent demo outside of a Boston Brookstone store!

These imprisoned little animals need your help. Please keep the pressure on Brookstone to do the right thing and stop selling live animals. If you haven't already, please take a moment to call Brookstone and ask that it stop selling live animals. Call 603-880-9500 and enter extension 6826 once the automated system picks up. Don't forget to leave a message if no one answers.

Please let this company know that animals shouldn't be treated this way. We'll give Street Teamers 1000 points for calling and e-mailing us at StreetTeam@peta2.com to let us know how it went!