PETA's headquarters has been inundated with phone calls and e-mails regarding a December 14 incident in which members of the University of Kansas' Beta Theta Pi fraternity reportedly tortured a turkey to death during a party at their building. According to witnesses and media reports, fraternity members viciously poked at the turkey, kicked in the cage that contained her, and then relentlessly chased the terrified animal through a raucous crowd of 150 people, throwing her about "like a football," swinging her through the air, and choking her. During this horrific ordeal, the screaming bird apparently sustained multiple broken bones and was ultimately killed. Charges have not yet been filed against those responsible!Such actions likely violate Kansas §21-6412 which defines "cruelty to animals" as "knowingly and maliciously killing, injuring, maiming, torturing, burning or mutilating any animal." Please politely urge the Lawrence Police Department and the Douglas County district attorney to ensure that charges are filed where merited. Please also ask University of Kansas officials to take disciplinary action against those involved if the allegations are determined to be true, and urge the university to enact a campus-wide ban on events involving live animals!Polite comments can be directed to:Chief Tarik KhatibLawrence Police Departmentkhatib@lkpd.orgThe Honorable Charles Branson, District AttorneyDouglas County District Attorney's Officecbranson@douglas-county.comChancellor Bernadette Gray-LittleUniversity of Kansaschancellor@ku.eduJeffrey Vitter, Provost and Executive Vice ChancellorUniversity of Kansasjsv@ku.eduRueben Perez, Director, Greek LifeUniversity of Kansasrperez@ku.eduAmy Long, Associate Director, Greek LifeUniversity of Kansasamylong@ku.eduDustin B. Struble, Assistant Director, Greek LifeUniversity of Kansasdustin.b.struble@ku.edu