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!

Victory! Selfridges Stops Selling Foie Gras! November 16, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at November 16, 2009 2:17 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 8 ) | TrackBack

At a normal office, Mondays can be pretty boring. Here in peta2, we're celebrating a huge victory for ducks and geese—thanks to PETA UK and compassionate consumers everywhere!

Two years ago, PETA UK began urging Selfridges—a major chain store there— to stop selling foie gras. Foie gras is made by force-feeding ducks and geese, often resulting in wounds, and with ducks and geese growing up to ten times their natural size.

Needless to say, anyone who knows right from wrong can see that foie gras is disgusting, and we are thrilled to announce that after years of demonstrations, and thousands of letters and calls from caring people like you, Selfridges has pledged to stop selling foie gras forever!

This towering triumph is proof that every e-mail, phone call, and letter matters. Thanks for speaking up for ducks and geese!

Victory! Oakton Community College Cuts Out Cruelty November 6, 2009

Posted by Ryan at November 6, 2009 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

When PETA was contacted by a compassionate student at Oakton Community College nine months ago and they told us horror stories about students in anatomy and physiology classes cutting open live rats and mudpuppies (no relation to sea kittens), we jumped into action. We reminded the administration that using live animals is both cruel and ineffective for teaching, especially when so many scientific non-animal alternatives are widely available.

Well, our e-mails and petitions have paid off, because this week OCC confirmed that they would stop the use of ALL live animals in the classroom! As a result of OCC's decision, countless animals, like the happy character you see below, will be spared a lifetime of misery and a needless death under a student's scalpel.

shiachat / CC

Of course, not all schools are as progressive as OCC. Some colleges are still stuck in the stone age (*cough* ASU *cough*)—despite pleas from students to join the 21st century. Don't they know—biology is supposed to be the study of life, not death?

Michigan Bans Crates and Cages! October 13, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at October 13, 2009 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 6 ) | TrackBack

commons.wikipedia / CC

Mother pigs don't want to be confined in crates so small they can't turn around or lie down comfortably, and chickens don't want to be forced into cages so tiny that they can never spread a single wing—and now in Michigan, they won't be. Governor Jennifer Granholm has just signed a bill into law that phases out veal crates, battery cages, and gestation crates on farms across the state!

Of course, we all know that animals aren't here to be abused, slaughtered and eaten. They have feelings, have families, and feel fear before they feel the blade, and we all know that no animal should be born only to be killed at all—so why are we celebrating this victory for animals?

I was born and raised in the city limits of Detroit, Michigan, one of the coldest, harshest cities in the country, where both compassion for animals and people can sometimes be hard to find. It is truly amazing to see these laws for animals spreading in all parts of the country, from California to Michigan. I am vegan, and I believe in animal rights, and I also believe that if the fight for animal rights is all or nothing, it will simply be nothing.

There are millions of animals in cages right now, and in crates or chains, waiting for freedom. We cannot only answer to those who we want to never suffer, but those who are suffering right now. Eliminating veal crates—the crates that baby cows are chained to by the neck for most of their lives before slaughter, and battery cages—the tiny cages chickens are crammed into that are too small for them to even spread a wing, will not be the end of the fight, nor is it the beginning of the fight—it is progress in the fight.

We are making a difference, but as much as we'd like it to, the whole world won't go vegan overnight, it's going to take time. For the millions of animals who are suffering in these devices of torture right now, the elimination of these cages and crates means less pain, and less suffering—how can anyone who cares about animals not support that?

Congratulations on helping to show people—including lawmakers—everywhere that animals matter. Keep up the good fight!

Victory: Delia's Pulls Ringling Bros. Tees! September 8, 2009

Posted by Marta at September 8, 2009 5:03 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 59 ) | TrackBack

Recently, we let you know that Delia's clothing company was selling Ringling Bros. tees. I'm so happy to tell you that the company's CEO has confirmed with us that they will be pulling the shirts from their Web site, stores, and their October catalog by this Friday, September 11.

Thanks so much to each and every one of you who took the time to write and call the company, asking them to stop promoting Ringling's cruel treatment of animals. Remember: your voice does make a difference, so make sure it's always heard loud and clear—you are making change happen!

Please take a second to write to Delia's, thanking them for making the compassionate decision.

I'm sure that if they could, Tonka, Luna, and Ringling's other elephants would thank you too.

University Applauds Students for Keeping KFC Off Campus August 12, 2009

Posted by Ryan at August 12, 2009 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack You may remember the exciting news we brought you a few months ago, when students at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh successfully stopped KFC from coming to their campus. We were so impressed by the students' efforts that we sent them each a lovely Star College Activist award, to proudly display on their dorm wall.

As it turns out though, we weren't the only ones applauding. The university staff was so impressed by the student campaign that the Environmental Studies department posted a statement on their official website, declaring the campaign "A victory for students and sustainability" and slamming KFC as "a virtual poster child for animal cruelty in food production." They summed it for all of us, by saying that "This was a fine example of students fighting for sustainability and making a difference on campus."

This is further proof that all it takes is a small group of dedicated students to push for big changes at their school. Do you have what it takes?

peta2 <3's Bolivia July 14, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at July 14, 2009 3:19 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 9 ) | TrackBack

floridavoicesforanimals / CC

Once in a while it's a bit hard to stay confident that one day we will change the world for animals. Sometimes companies make it hard to be—but sometimes, whole countries give us hope—they do the right thing. They see something they know is wrong, and stop it.

Remember Bolivia? A few months ago, we told you about their trauma training exercises where dogs were being cut into and having their insides torn out. We told you, and the Bolivian government. Within a month, Bolivia's President Evo Morales banned the use of all animals in military exercises.

Now, the day has finally arrived when "It is forbidden to use wild and/or domestic animals in circuses throughout the country." in Bolivia. As far as we know, Bolivia is the first country in the world to enact such a landmark measure for animals abused in circuses.

With the passage of this new law, elephants, lions, tigers, horses, dogs, and all other animals who are forced to live in shackles or cages—and are routinely beaten into submission in order to perform unnatural circus "tricks"—will no longer be subjected to these cruelties in Bolivia.

And as if that weren't enough, PETA is now working closely with the Bolivian government on the country's first national animal protection framework law. If the measure is adopted, it would make Bolivia a global leader in animal welfare.

On behalf of animals in Bolivia, muchas gracias to President Morales, Member of Congress Ximena Flores, and concerned citizen Ana Serrano Revollo for all their hard work in making this law prohibiting animal circuses a reality! And thanks to all of you, who continue to help show the world that you care!

Turkey Abusers Convicted: One Jailed! June 29, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at June 29, 2009 9:06 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 28 ) | TrackBack

We're starting this week off with another historic victory for animals! Check out this blog from PETA's Karin Bennet!

Late last year, some factory-farm employees were fired from Aviagen Turkeys, Inc. in response to PETA's undercover investigation, which documented that workers were breaking turkeys' necks, stomping on their heads, and shoving feces and feed into turkeys' mouths.

Then, in February, a grand jury handed down 19 indictments, including 11 felony charges, against three former Aviagen workers, marking the first time in U.S. history that factory-farm employees have faced felony cruelty-to-animals charges for abusing birds.

Fast forward: Two of the three ex-employees, Scott Alvin White and Edward Eric Gwinn, recently pleaded guilty to cruelty charges. On June 8, White was sentenced to serve one year in jail—the maximum period permitted by law! Today, Gwinn was sentenced to serve six months' home confinement—the maximum period permitted by law—on each count, concurrently, and is banned from living with, owning, and working with animals for five years. The case against the third ex-employee, Walter Lee Hambrick, is pending.

These historic victories by no means even the score for the turkeys who were punched and thrown or the many other birds who suffered when they were forced to watch as other turkeys were abused at Aviagen. After watching our undercover video, animal behavior expert Dr. Lesley J. Rogers stated, "It is now known that when social animals, like turkeys, see and hear other members of their species under stress or suffering physical injury, their levels of stress become elevated. Hence, the behavioural stress is widespread in the birds in the vicinity of those that have been injured and/or handled roughly."

Still, these convictions will remind workers on other factory farms that if they don't clean up their acts, PETA investigators (and the whistleblowers who tip us off) will have their eyes on them.

Four More Former Iowa Pig Farm Workers Admit Guilt! June 24, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at June 24, 2009 5:05 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 13 ) | TrackBack

indymedia / CC

Shawn Matthew Lyons was the first individual ever convicted of abusing or neglecting factory-farmed pigs in Iowa, but he's no longer alone. Four other workers who were employed at the farm—a Hormel supplier at which our undercover investigation produced video footage documenting that workers beat pigs with metal rods and sexually abused them with canes—have now admitted to abusing pigs.

Of the defendants—Richard Michael Ralston, Alan Bruce Rettig, Greg William Hackler, and Jordan Michael Anderson—Ralston, Rettig, and Hackler have pleaded guilty, been convicted, and sentenced to two years in prison, which has been suspended. Anderson accepted a deferred entry of judgment allowing him to have the charges dismissed if he completes a period of good behavior. All four have all been ordered to pay fines and other fees, and they have been placed on probation for periods ranging from one to two years.

Most importantly, three of the men have been barred from working with animals for the duration of their probation. Only Anderson will be allowed to do so. Despite an assurance in October from Audubon-Manning Veterinary Clinic President Daryl Olsen, D.V.M., that Anderson "has been suspended from working with livestock pending the outcome of the charges," a whistleblower told us that Anderson is currently employed at a hog-confinement facility that Dr. Olsen reportedly owns. Dr. Olsen has not answered our inquiry regarding Mr. Anderson. Please ask him to confirm that his company does not pay admitted animal abusers like Anderson to work with live animals.

Pork magazine called our investigation footage a "wake-up call" for the pork industry. We hope that these convictions serve not only as another wake-up call but also as a lesson to anyone working in this innately cruel industry: Neither the courts nor the public have a stomach for such malicious cruelty to farmed animals.

Thank you for making history and speaking up for these pigs—and remember that preventing this suffering starts on your plate. Go vegetarian.

Victory! American Eagle Trashes Glue Traps June 3, 2009

Posted by Ryan at June 3, 2009 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 17 ) | TrackBack

As you may recall, we posted a blog two days ago, discussing how American Eagle Outfitters was using glue traps to kill mice in its stores.

Well, they must have heard you loud and clear, because after learning that animals caught in glue traps die a slow, agonizing death by starvation—often trying to gnaw off their own limbs in a vain attempt to free themselves—the ever-hip and animal-friendly clothing chain has joined other companies such as JP Morgan in swearing off of the cruel traps for good.

Make sure to leave a comment below to congratulate American Eagle on their compassionate decision!