New Undercover Investigation: Meet Robert November 11, 2009

Posted by Ryan at November 11, 2009 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 40 ) | TrackBack

For more than eight months in 2009, a PETA investigator worked undercover inside the laboratories of the University of Utah (UU) in Salt Lake City and documented miserable conditions for and terrible suffering of the dogs, cats, monkeys, rats, mice, rabbits, frogs, cows, pigs, and sheep confined there.

Among those imprisoned in the campus laboratories was Robert. Robert was a gentle orange-and-white tabby cat, who was purchased by the labs for $15 from the local Davis County Animal Shelter. You see, according to an antiquated Utah state "pound-seizure" law, government-funded shelters are required to turn over animals to laboratories that request them, for use in invasive, painful experiments.

Laboratory workers renamed Robert "F09-017", and determined that he would be used in invasive brain experiments.

The experimenters implanted electrodes in Robert's brain, and began a series of tests in which electrical current was fired through the electrodes, stimulating nerves that caused Robert's legs to move involuntarily.

After each experiment, Robert was tired and groggy, his eyes became glassy, and he vomited repeatedly. Over time, this once affectionate cat became skittish and withdrawn.

When PETA's undercover investigator left the laboratory, Robert will still there, locked into his tiny cage, enduring experiment after experiment.

Please speak up for Robert and the other animals being abused at the University of Utah by signing our online petition, and leaving your messages of support for Robert in the comments.

Save Lives During Breast Cancer Awareness Month! October 23, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at October 23, 2009 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 10 ) | TrackBack

We care about animals and people—and a big reason why we hate animal testing so much is because it kills both animals and people. Every year, monkeys, dogs, cats, mice, bunnies and other animals are killed in cruel and ineffective breast cancer experiments, when thousands of women continue to die.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the countless animals and women who die every year of breast cancer need you to stand up and help raise awareness for humane and superior testing methods that will actually save lives, instead of only taking them.

Please click here to send a letter to all of the newspapers in your area! We've set up an easy form that will give you talking points, and a sample letter—and will even find the newspapers near you! Getting these letters printed means that more people become informed about wasteful and cruel experiments on animals, and find out how they can support humane charities that are focusing on what causes breast cancer and how to prevent it.

E-mail us at StreetTeam@peta2.com with a copy of the letter you sent, and we'll give you 1,000 Street Team points.

Why Does Animal Testing Break My Heart? October 7, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at October 7, 2009 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 7 ) | TrackBack When I was 12, my Dad died from a heart attack. To this day, he was the funniest man—and the biggest meat eater I've ever met. My Dad loved trips to the McDonald's on the corner, eating ice cream by the gallon every night, and frying up bacon and eggs every morning—with a tall glass of milk, of course.

My Dad was overweight, had heart disease, and diabetes—can you guess why?

My Dad was on every medicine you could imagine for being diabetic, or having heart disease, but he was also a big Polish guy, who came from a family who had always eaten meat. Sure, he heard bits on the news about vegetarian meals or eating blueberries to help this or that disease—but no doctor ever told him exactly what the cure was for being overweight and sick. In November 1999, his diet caught up with him, and he died at the age of 43.

Right now, monkeys in Charles River Laboratories, in Mass. are being "fattened up" to be sold and tested on, mutilated, and killed to find the "cure" for diabetes and other "obesity related diseases". What does this have to do with my Dad? He wasn't alone. He's one of millions of people every year who die of diseases that are preventable—while scientists (the guys we trust) are blinding, poisoning and killing animals in labs to find a way out of telling people to simply stop eating animals. A vegan diet has been scientifically proven to reduce the risk of heart disease, as well as cancer and stroke—not to mention, a vegan diet helps to reverse diabetes! Why didn't someone tell my Dad this, or the millions of others? Why are animals still being killed in useless, cruel and wasteful tests while people continue to die?

I love animals, and I love my Dad—and the proof is clear that animal testing is profit driven, cruel, and tragically wasteful. The sad fact is, companies make money off not only selling meat to consumers, but also off of torturing animals to cure diseases caused by eating unhealthy food. The truth? Animal testing takes lives, it doesn't save lives.

Why does animal testing break your heart?

Y'all Ever Met a Monkey with a Texan Accent? July 20, 2009

Posted by Ryan at July 20, 2009 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 7 ) | TrackBack

dawkinswatch / cc

OK, so imagine this situation. In a Covance animal testing laboratory, a group of monkeys are sitting in a cage, pacing back-and-forth like guys in a jail cell.

One monkey says to another (in monkey language, of course), "So where are you all from?" The monkey answers "Duuuude, I was raised in Southern California. I miss it. The waves there were sooo sick—it was totally badical." Another monkey chimes in, "If y'all think this place is bad, you shoulda seen the places I was locked up back in Texas. They ever send me back there, and they're fixin' for a fight."

THIS COULD ACTUALLY HAPPEN. (Well, sort of.) You see, studies have concluded that, like humans, monkeys can acquire regional accents based on where they live. According to the study, two large groups of Japanese monkeys were separated back in the '50s, and lived in separate regions since then. As such, they have two noticeably different accents.

Additionally, a recent study has concluded that monkeys can even recognize bad grammar. For example, monkeys can tell that the saying "ed-walk" is wrong, and that "walked" is correct. Presumably, they could also determine that "etarian-veg" is not the correct pronunciation of "vegetarian". Heck, I have relatives that aren't that evolved.

So what do you think, should people be allowed to test on animals that are clearly more intelligent than some of our (human) relatives?

This Month's Star College Group! May 4, 2009

Posted by Ryan at May 4, 2009 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBack

Last month, we focused on the Texas-sized talent of student activists at UT - Austin.

For the month of May though, we're shining the spotlight on the superstars of the University of California, Los Angeles's Bruins for Animals!

What makes BFA stand out above the rest? Here's a brief list of their recent achievements:

• The group helped to organize and promote numerous on-campus speaking events, including an event that featured Rory Freedman, coauthor of the bestseller Skinny Bitch. The event drew more than 200 students and featured free vegan "chicken" salad wraps for all attendees.
• The organization worked with peta2 to gather more than 1,500 petition signatures from students in support of additional vegan options in campus dining halls.
• BFA hosted peta2's controversial "Liberation Project" exhibit, which draws parallels between previous moral tragedies—such as child labor and slavery—and the suffering that animals face today.
• They hosted peta2's Take Action Conference at UCLA, which featured a special acoustic performance of "Free Me" by Goldfinger lead singer John Feldmann.

Pretty remarkable, eh?

In recognition of all of their accomplishments, please join me in congratulating UCLA's Bruins for Animals on a kick-ass job fighting for animal rights, and wishing them many more years to come!

Students at UC Irvine Have Had Enough! March 2, 2009

Posted by Ryan at March 2, 2009 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 5 ) | TrackBack

As you may have heard, PETA was tipped off about cruel and invasive experiments on frogs and rats taking place at the University of California at Irvine. For example, frogs have their brains and spinal cords pierced with a sharp instrument in order to kill them and students drill holes into rats' skulls and cause them brain damage. The students remove the frogs' nerves so that they can run electricity through them and give drugs, such as methamphetamines, to the rats before killing them.

Pretty horrible stuff, eh?

That's why the students are saying they've had enough. In fact, some students recently partnered with peta2 volunteers in the area to gather over 600 petition signatures in support of ending these cruel and outdated tests on animals.



This morning, the students hand-delivered the signatures to the university administration, saying that these hideous tests are dragging down the reputation of their school—and we couldn't agree more! With so many non-animal alternatives widely available, there's no excuse for continuing to use this institutional abuse.

This campus campaign is still going strong, but show your support for the UC Irvine students by commenting below!

The Return of "Giant Douche vs. Turd Sandwich"! August 5, 2008

Posted by Ryan at August 5, 2008 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 15 ) | TrackBack

You cast your ballots in last month's "Giant Douche vs. Turd Sandwich" contest to determine the biggest jerk who abuses animals in laboratories, and the results are in! After Marta spent many a sleepless night counting the votes, we are proud to announce that Michael Weed (aka "Giant Douche") won the honor of being the biggest of the jerk of the month! As a reminder, he was the one who forces monkeys to ingest alcohol, cocaine, ecstacy, and other drugs, to test their responses. Well done, Mike! You earned it!

But now, it's time for this month's match-up. In this corner, hailing from New Haven, CT...

Nickname: "Giant Douche"
Real Name: Marina Picciotto
School: Yale University
Interests: Feeding or injecting monkeys, mice, and rats with nicotine, cocaine, morphine and alcohol to measure "behavioral assessments", sometimes stating that the goal of the test is to make the animals suffer. In one test, she gave monkeys a Kool-Aid drink mixed with nicotine as their sole source of fluid. One monkey ingested the equivalent of 17 packs of cigarettes per day. Umm, Truth Campaign, you want to get on this?

Visual approximation, compliments of looptvandfilm / CC



Nickname: "Turd Sandwich"
Real Name: Allyson Bennett
School: Wake Forest University
Interests: Taking baby monkeys away from their mothers and forcing them to live without parents. Always the busy bee, Bennett has also researched whether or not binge-drinking might be bad for monkeys (because clearly that's a huge issue in today's society), and in her spare time she dabbles in torturing rats and mice by depriving them of food for up to two days. My my, Allyson, you really should take a permanent vacation.



Visual approximation, compliments of looptvandfilm / CC

So there you have it, folks! Who do you think is the bigger jerk? The "Giant Douche" who forces animals to ingest the equivalent of 17 packs of cigarettes, or the "Turd Sandwich" who forces monkeys to live without parents and binge-drink?

I'm casting my ballot for "Giant Douche". How about you?

- Ryan!

Giant Douche vs. Turd Sandwich July 9, 2008

Posted by Ryan at July 9, 2008 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 29 ) | TrackBack

Hopefully some of my fellow South Park fans catch the reference from the title. :)

Sure, there are lots of cruel people in the world, many of whom are doing tests on animals. Today though, we're bringing you an epic match-up, between two of the biggest jerks around. The game will be to vote for which you think is a bigger jerk!

Ready? Here we go:

Nickname: "Giant Douche"
Real Name: Michael Weed
School: Johns Hopkins University
Interests: Alcohol, cocaine, and ecstasy - and forcing monkeys to use all of the above. In one test, Weed infected monkeys with the monkey equivalent of HIV, and then forced them to perform basic motor tasks... while on cocaine (you know, just to see what happens).

Visual approximation, compliments of looptvandfilm / CC

Nickname: "Turd Sandwich"
Real Name: Gordon Ewy (pronounced by me - "Eeeeewwwww-y")
School: University of Arizona
Interests: Saving pigs - after nearly killing them (and sometimes succeeding). He starts by letting the pigs' hearts sit at a standstill for 8 minutes or more, before trying to resuscitate them. The success of the test is measured by how many pigs survive, and among those how many retain full brain function.

Sounds to me like it's not the pigs that need their brains checked.



Visual approximation, compliments of looptvandfilm / CC

We aren't making this stuff up, folks. So without further ado, who do you think is the bigger jerk? Cast your votes by commenting below!

- Ryan!

March Madness: We Have a Winner! April 17, 2008

Posted by Ryan at April 17, 2008 3:47 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 8 ) | TrackBack

Well, April is the cruelest month, so this is a perfect time to officially recognize 2008's cruelest university vivisector. Through four grueling rounds against some of the most disgusting men and women in the world, Arthur Weber of Michigan State University has come home with the big prize. Despite a late challenge from the vivisectors of Duke University (led by longtime monkey abuser David Platt), Arthur's team won the final contest with a commanding score of 20 votes to 11.

When asked for comment by the MSU campus newspaper, Weber—who was voted champion largely due to a series of experiments in which he removes cats' eyes while they're still alive—made the following statement through a representative:

"The animals are completely anesthetized, receive painkillers, and once the animals come out of the anesthesia, 10 minutes later you can't tell the difference."

Awwww, so modest! But of course you can tell the difference, Arthur! THE CATS ARE MISSING THEIR EYES. And don't forget the part where you keep them alive for a week after the operation and then kill them—I bet they notice that too!

Anyway, without further delay, please join me in recognizing Arthur Weber of MSU as the people's choice for the cruelest vivisector in the world! You've earned this, Weber. Let's all raise a finger for Arthur, shall we? :)


MSU.edu/Creative Commons

March Madness: Vote for the Evil Eight! March 28, 2008

Posted by Ryan at March 28, 2008 3:11 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 15 ) | TrackBack

Just when you thought things couldn't get any crazier, the quest to find the cruelest college in the country has revved up a notch! All 16 of last week's contenders proved tough teams to beat, but only 8 could advance, and despite some powerful showings from Pittsburgh, KSU, Washington State, OSU, Purdue, Hopkins, Vanderbilt, and the University of Washington, only the nastiest can move forward ... so without further delay let's get down to narrowing the field even further as we prepare to put these vivisectors on the national stage in the Fatal Four next week!

Just like last week, I'll be highlighting what I consider to be the key matchup in this exciting tournament, and you can consult the cheat sheet to help determine who else to vote into the next round. Use the voting form or leave a comment to cast a vote for this week's Vilest Vivisectors in the Evil Eight!

Duke University vs. Texas A&M

Physorg/Creative Commons Michael Platt, Duke Like 'em or hate 'em, Duke University always puts forward a strong team, and for the past decade, that's been largely due to the work of their MVP, Michael Platt, who drills metal screws into monkeys' skulls, pushes electrodes into their brains, and implants wire coils under their eyelids. A similar winning technique has been made popular by UConn's David Waitzman—another strong contender in this tournament, so if we're lucky, we may see a classic Big East/ACC showdown in the finals this year. The published results of Mr. Platt's cruel experiments include such timeless pieces of knowledge as the fact that one rhesus macaque monkey will often look in the same direction as another rhesus macaque monkey, so there's no question that Michael's earning his keep! To vote for Michael Platt, use the form or leave a comment below.

TAMU/Creative Commons Michelle Hook, Texas A&M Texas A&M might traditionally be the underdog in this matchup, but don't make the mistake of underestimating Michelle Hook of Texas A&M University's Department of Psychology. Her medium of choice is rats, and from the sounds of it, there's not much she hasn't done when it comes to slicing and dicing these animals. Michelle's preferred technique involves cutting up the animals' spinal cords, injecting them with chili pepper solution, pushing them into restraint tubes, and electroshocking their hind legs. Hook's world-beating conclusion speaks for itself: "These data suggest that peripheral inflammation, accompanying spinal cord injuries, might have an adverse effect on recovery." You heard it here first, folks: Giving electric shocks to torture victims might slow down their recovery time! To vote for Michelle Hook, use the form or leave a comment below.

Use the dropdown menus to pick a winner!

Duke vs. Texas A&M Please Select Duke Texas A&M	UW-Madison vs. UConn Please Select UW Madison UConn
Michigan State vs. Harvard Please Select Michigan State Harvard	Stanford vs. UT Austin Please Select Stanford UT Austin

- Ryan!