WARNING: Graphic Pig Farm Video November 16, 2009

Posted by Ryan at November 16, 2009 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 13 ) | TrackBack

Brace yourselves, because this is a tough one ...

Here at PETA, we're used to undercover investigators documenting the gruesome final moments that animals face in slaughterhouses. Surely this suffering alone is reason enough not to want to eat them.

The latest undercover investigation from our friends in Mercy for Animals takes a look at the cruelty animals—in this case, pigs—suffer before their throats are slit. The investigator documented workers hurling baby pigs and slamming them into transport carts; picking piglets up by their ears and tails; cutting off the animals' tails with pliers, and ripping off their testicles with bare hands and without painkillers (the sound of screaming piglets in the video made my skin crawl). Their squealing mothers are shown scrambling to escape workers who slam spiked mallets into the animals' sides.

This is a brutal video to watch, but I ask that you witness for yourself what happens behind the scenes—because these animals need your voices more than ever.

Once you've watched the video, please take the time to comment with the one word that you would use to describe what you saw.

I'm going to go with "despicable."

Use Twitter to Help Animals! November 9, 2009

Posted by Tiffany Wright at November 9, 2009 6:05 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack

If you don't have a Twitter account, knock knock ... it's the 21st century! Oprah's on Twitter. Anyway, for everyone who's already on Twitter (and those of you now rushing to sign up), check out how you can tweet your way to saving tons of animals this winter:

Step 1: Burberry may be best known for its famous plaid frocks, but the company's use of fur is a great big faux pas.

How to Help: Post this twitition (that's right, I Twitter-fied it!) from your Twitter account:

@Burberry Stop supporting cruelty 2 animals & adopt a permanent fur-free policy NOW!

Step 2: More than half of the finished fur garments imported into the U.S. come from China. Animals who live on Chinese fur farms spend their entire lives in intensive confinement, only to be pulled from their cages, thrown to the ground, bludgeoned, beaten, and skinned alive.

How to Help: I'm sure by now you've probably seen our shocking undercover video from a Chinese fur farm. Please tell your followers about the horrors of the fur trade by posting the video on your Twitter page: http://bit.ly/2sHYSI

Step 3: Animals on fur farms around the world are often driven to cannibalism because of the extreme stress and frustration caused by constant confinement.

How to Help: Because a picture speaks a thousand words, click here to retweet this Twitpic!

Step 4: By signing our fur-free pledge, you'll be sending a powerful message ("Hell no, we want faux!") not only to the fur industry but also to designers, retailers, and others who directly profit from the suffering caused by this cruel industry.

How to Help: Pledge to go fur-free and ask your Twitter followers to do the same: http://bit.ly/hgsBC

Step 5: Each year, the Canadian government allows sealers to beat and skin hundreds of thousands of seals. Baby seals—some of them only weeks old—have their skulls smashed in or are shot for their fur. If you haven't checked out our awesome "Save the Seals" celebrity ad series, take a peek: http://bit.ly/1Ejvn8

How to Help: Vote for your favorite "Save the Seals" celebrity using our twitter poll and ask your followers to vote too. Who will you vote for:

@Cserratos
@BrodyJenner
@Jayde_Nicole
@MissKellyo
@Perez

So, tweeps, you gonna help the millions of animals who need you? Pretty please, we'll ♥ you faux-ever?

"Cut Out Dissection" Action of the Week: Update Your Status! October 19, 2009

Posted by Marta at October 19, 2009 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

By now, you're all well-aware that it's "Cut Out Dissection" month (at least, I hope you are!). First we had you hand out leaflets (1,000 Street Team points), then we had you share "Classroom Cut-Ups" (1,000 Street Team points). What's next?

We want you to update your Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace with why you choose not to dissect. Here are just a few examples:

• I choose not to dissect because there are so many humane alternatives available these days!
• Six million animals are killed and processed by biological supply companies each year, so I choose not to dissect to save lives.
• I choose not to dissect because I care about animals and because studies have shown that students who use alternatives to dissection perform just as well (if not better) than those who cut up animals.

So whatever your reason is, be sure to let all of your friends know by updating your status (and don't forget to include this link so people can get more info!). Then all you gotta do is take a screen grab of your status update and send it to us at StreetTeam@peta2.com for 1,000 Street Team points.

Easy, right?



P.S. Be sure to log into your SocialVibe account and get active to support this month's "Cut Out Dissection" goal! Don't have a SocialVibe account yet? Sign up now to start helping raise funds for peta2 without spending a dime!

Help Animals on Twitter! September 14, 2009

Posted by Ryan at September 14, 2009 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 4 ) | TrackBack

Who's serving detention for animal abuse? Read on to see how you can fight back against bullies and speak up for the little guys on Twitter!

Bully #1: TexasTech
These bullies have been caught red-handed! Participants in a training course at Texas Tech shove hard plastic tubes down cats' windpipes and repeatedly stab them in the chest with needles before killing them!
How to help: Post the following to your Twitter account: Hey, @TexasTech! Scratch your cruel training procedures on cats, and adopt non-animal alternatives! http://ow.ly/pjHb

Bully #2: Ross University
Class isn't the only thing they've been cutting at Ross University. Students have been forced to cut the nerves in donkeys' toes, sever their ligaments, surgically puncture their abdomens, and slice their tracheas.
How to help: Post a message on Twitter by clicking here.

Bully #3: Marquette University
College is a time for experimentation—but not on animals. A Marquette University faculty member bashes turtles over the head with a hammer and saws into their shells for a classroom experiment!
How to help: Tweet this: You've been nailed, @MarquetteU! Stop bashing turtles in the head with hammers, NOW!

Bully #4: Bucknell University
Pupils should be using their brains at school, not a hamster's. Bucknell University faculty members drill holes into the skulls of hamsters in sexual-reproduction experiments!
How to help: Spread the word on Twitter by posting the following: Did u know that @BucknellU faculty members drill holes into the skulls of live hamsters? Tell 'em 2 stop, & pass along! http://ow.ly/pjJ2

So how 'bout it, Twitterers? You gonna teach these schools a lesson? Complete all four assignments to earn an A+!

Hey, It's Nothing Personal! July 7, 2009

Posted by Shannon Phillips at July 7, 2009 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 22 ) | TrackBack

If you've logged into your Twitter account today (follow us!), you may have seen something out of the ordinary in the trending topics ...

Exhibit A:


So what is #nothingpersonal anyway? "Nothing Personal" refers to the super sweet All Time Low album that hits the shelves in your local music store today. Not only that, but it also refers to an ongoing joke regarding the album's title and some All Time Low merch bearing the slogan that started this Twitter craze: "@All Time Low: Your New Album Sucks ... Nothing Personal!"

Naturally, fans wanted to get in on the fun, so the band—along with our friends at Glamour Kills— have set up a website where fans can interact each other and post their best "nothing personal" jokes here. Following suit, we want to give you a chance to send us your best "nothing personal" themed jokes, but with an animal rights twist.

Example: "You might be cute if you didn't stuff your face full of animal corpses—Nothing Personal!"

So, what are you waiting for? For your chance to win a copy of All Time Low's new album Nothing Personal, leave us a comment with your best animal themed "nothing personal" joke. The three most creative responses will be chosen as winners. Entries must be received by July 21 and winners will be notified by July 28.

Just so you know ... by commenting here, you're acknowledging that you've read and agreed to our privacy policy. Also by commenting, you are agreeing to the following terms and conditions.

P.S. Check out our interview with All Time Low's Alex and Jack if you haven't already!

Did You See Travis Barker's Twitter? May 1, 2009

Posted by Shannon Phillips at May 1, 2009 5:08 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBack

For all of you loyal peta2 blog followers out there, you probably saw Shan's post about Mark Hoppus receiving a Compassionate Citizen Award earlier this week for his decision to use a fake octopus in a video shoot. That is just another in my long list of reasons why I LOVE Blink 182. But Blink's love for animals doesn't stop there—Travis Barker has recently made comments on his Twitter about his love of veggie food!

I really don't think it's possible for me to love this band any more than I already do! Who else is counting down the days until they release the dates of their summer tour?



P.S. You should follow peta2 on Twitter!

Blink 182's Mark Hoppus Receives peta2's Compassionate Citizen Award April 28, 2009

Posted by Shannon Phillips at April 28, 2009 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 13 ) | TrackBack
© starmaxinc.com

If you don't already track Blink 182's Mark Hoppus' every move through his Twitter account, allow me to fill you in on something awesome that one of our Blink-loving staff members spotted last week:



Ask and ye shall receive, Mark!

Since Mark made the compassionate choice to use a plastic prop rather than a real octopus for his photo shoot, peta2 is giving him a 'Compassionate Citizen' Award. He'll also receive a framed certificate and a card signed by peta2 staffers.

Octopi are intelligent and sensitive animals who have been observed communicating with each other. They're able to grasp objects with their tentacles just like we can with our hands, and some have even been taught to unscrew jar lids in order to retrieve food inside.

Here's to Mark for showing that "all the small things" deserve compassion and respect!

Victory: Zappos.com Is Now Fur-Free October 21, 2008

Posted by Pulin Modi at October 21, 2008 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 6 ) | TrackBack

You people are absolutely great. Just about a month after we launched a campaign to persuade Zappos.com, the biggest online retailer of shoes in the world, to stop selling fur, we have a victory to announce!

Yes! Zappos.com has agreed to stop selling all fur. Zappos.com joins Target, QVC, Home Shopping Network, Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren, Gap, Forever 21, Wet Seal and dozens of other companies and designers that have gone fur-free.

Thousands of people pressured this company with emails and phone calls, plus Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Look at you all being savvy when it comes to animal rights!

It wasn't too long ago that I had posted this blog pledging to boycott Zappos.com because they sold fur. But I'm happy to say that I'll support them again. (It's especially easy since they have this section of non-leather shoes.)

If you are inspired (and you should be) by this victory, why don't you direct your energy towards getting Amazon.com to stop selling fur? All you have to do is email Jeff Bezos, CEO here, and politely tell him that Amazon.com should stop selling fur like its competitor Zappos.com has done.

Thanks!

-Pulin

P.S.- I hear that Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh is going to be on Oprah this week along with the Trollsens. They're going to be talking about how they manage to be so young and successful. I bet it's going to include quotes from Tony like "I listen to customers and make compassionate, responsible choices," whereas the Trollsens may say things like, "Muuuaaahhhhaaahahahaaaa! We'll profit off anyone with a soul to steal."