Written by PETA
As a PETA intern, I've had the opportunity to tour several cities protesting everything from the dairy industry to glue traps. But the most attention-grabbing of all the tours I've taken part in involved setting up a steel-jaw trap in cities throughout the Midwest, including Minneapolis, Madison, Milwaukee, and Lansing.
Every year, millions of animals are drowned, gassed, electrocuted, and even skinned alive to produce fur coats and trim, yet there are no federal laws to protect animals on fur farms. Covered in blood and wearing a fur coat that was donated to PETA, I had the opportunity to educate people about the horrors of the fur industry by pretending to be trapped like an animal captured for his or her fur.
Some passersby looked on in fear, some stopped to make sure I was breathing, and others thanked us for speaking up for animals. One guy even purchased a vegetarian lunch because of our demonstration.
Many top retailers and designers refuse to sell or work with fur, but callous designers such as Giorgio Armani ignore the fact that synthetics are more practical and just as luxurious—not to mention cruelty-free.
My PETA internship has been a tremendous experience that's allowed me to educate people about the fur industry, meet concerned citizens from around the country, and fight for the rights of animals everywhere. How about you give it a go?
Written by PETA intern Stephanie Boardmen
It seems like Raymond, New Hampshire—a town located about an hour north of Boston—is having a wicked bad identity crisis. In the market for a serious municipality makeover, the fine folks of Raymond have launched a contest in which they're asking people from all around the world to come up with a new slogan for their town.
Our suggestion? "Every Bunny Loves Raymond!" More than just a cute slogan, we're suggesting that Raymond adopt the motto and ban the sale of all fur. It would be a win-win sitch for everyone involved: No bunny would get skinned alive for a bit of trim, and Raymond would put itself on the map by becoming the first fur-free town in U.S. history.
By adopting this slogan and declaring itself fur-free, Raymond would be thumbing its nose at designers like Armani who continue pimping pelts. It would also be reminding citizens and visitors that no bunny, fox, chinchilla, mink, dog, or cat likes the idea of winding up as somebody's collar or cuff.
Written by Amy Elizabeth
Great news for all you PETA Files readers down under: Australian fashion designer Alannah Hill has agreed to stop using rabbit fur in her collections.
Good on ya, Alannah!
The girly-chic designer had a change of heart after hearing from thousands of PETA Asia-Pacific supporters who got fired up about fur after watching video footage that documents disgusting conditions on a Chinese fur farm.
Alannah joins the ranks of compassionate designers like Stella McCartney, Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole, and Tommy Hilfiger, who have all sworn off fur.
Hopefully, other designers (Armani, are you listening?) will soon follow suit.
Written by Alisa Mullins
Ah, Moe's. Your Art Vandalay Burrito—a dee-lish medley of black beans, rice, pico de gallo, and guacamole—always ensures a "happy meal."
But you, McDonald's, with that scary clown pimping your packages of abused and bruised chickens—you always ensure a very unhealthy, unhappy meal.
For this week's "Win It" Wednesday, we're giving away 10 of PETA's spoof "Unhappy Meals." Each "meal" contains a "blood"-filled packet with a message urging Mickey D's to "Ketchup With the Times," a paper cutout of a menacing Ronald McDonald with PETA's parody "i'm hatin' it" logo, a "bloody" plastic chicken, and a "McCruelty" T-shirt wrapped up to resemble a sandwich. It's a chicken defender's best weapon in the campaign to wipe out the fast-food giant's suppliers' worst abuses of countless birds.
Score yours by telling us about the vegetarian meal at your favorite fast-food joint or other restaurant that makes your belly the happiest.
The contest ends on August 26, 2009, and we'll choose 10 of the most tempting vegetarian meals on August 28, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you'll be agreeing to both by commenting.
Good luck!
Written by Karin Bennett
Late last year, one of PETA's fieldworkers answered a request for a PETA dog house, and she spotted Buxton—then just 8 weeks old—hobbling down the road by himself. When she went to pick him up, he screamed in pain and wet himself. It turns out that his harness had become embedded and had caused deep gashes under his arms and across his chest—the wounds reeked of infection and were oozing pus.
Knocking on neighborhood doors didn't turn up anyone who knew the pup, so PETA's fieldworker, Misty, rushed him to an emergency veterinary hospital where the harness was cut away and his wounds were treated. The vet estimated that the harness had been cutting into Buxton's body for at least two weeks.
Following a lead, our field staff eventually did find Buxton's "owners"—a mother and son—and they told us to keep him. We filed charges against them, of course, and in April, Catina Beasley and Calvin Holland were found guilty of cruelty to animals. They have both been permanently barred from owning animals, and Holland was ordered to pay a $100 fine and nearly $400 in restitution for Buxton's medical care.
As for Buxton? Here he is with his new family:
Of course, not all dogs are as lucky. Our case workers are deluged with calls. Animals are poisoned, beaten, starved, and neglected—some have even have their mouths duct-taped shut for "barking too much." Cats and dogs are put into microwaves, dismembered, sexually assaulted, hanged, set on fire, bludgeoned, buried alive, and otherwise tortured and killed. Please do something to help, and be an advocate for them all. Being heartbroken doesn't cut it. If you suspect that an animal is being neglected or you witness cruelty to animals, don't hesitate: Report it to your local law-enforcement agency immediately and follow up until it's resolved.
Beach bums everywhere agree that Puerto Rico's beaches are heavenly, but the island will become hell on earth for thousands of monkeys if a massive primate-breeding facility is approved.
PETA is taking no time off in our efforts to shoot down the proposal by Bioculture, a company that breeds and sells monkeys to foreign laboratories, where they will suffer abusive handling, months of confinement in metal cages, and forced dosings of toxic chemicals (remember Covance, anyone?). The latest efforts include working to get our new billboard erected in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
There's more to come, so stay tuned.
Hey D.C.ers, this one's for you. Tomorrow morning, when you're picking up that cup o' joe and morning paper before catching the Metro, look out for our sleek new "Vegetarian Starter Kit" stands. They are popping up all over the city—at last count, there were more than 50.
So grab the latest copy of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit." Alicia Silverstone, Russell Simmons, and animals everywhere will appreciate it, and we're sure you will find someone to pass it on to at work or play. Won't you now?
Written by Shawna Flavell
As a result of budget slashes in Los Angeles, 15 fire trucks and six ambulances will be collecting dust instead of responding to emergencies. That news got our wheels turning.
Faster than a team of strapping firemen could slide down a pole and hop into their non-decomissioned truck, we had an idea. PETA's sexy "nurse" should grace the side of the one of the ambulances in our "Bypass Heart Surgery—Go Vegan" ad, which would be seen all over Los Angeles.
The L.A. Fire Department gets money for the ad, an ambulance gets back on the road, and residents get the lifesaving message that a vegan diet can help prevent heart attacks—and even reverse existing heart disease. Everybody wins!
As all you fashionistas out there are probably aware (and everybody else probably isn't), Giorgio Armani opened a boutique in New York City this week. Paris Hilton and Kanye West (the man who has an employee whose sole—pun intended—job is wrangling the rapper's 400-and-some-odd shoes) were thrilled. Bunnies on fur farms? Not so much.
Of course, we couldn't let Armani's little shindig go off without a hitch, so we sent a veritable brigade of bunnies to fight for their liberté and egalité. As you'll note in the photos below, they were an oddly cheerful bunch, even though they had to stand outside in the cold for upwards of four hours—until the last scrap of red carpet was rolled up. At that point, they lined up in formation and marched down the street waving their signs, followed by a contingent of photographers who must have thought they'd died and gone to Easter Bunny heaven.
I wonder—if 16 giant white bunnies show up on a Manhattan sidewalk, does that mean that spring is only a couple of weeks away …?
At the risk of incensing the GEICO caveman, we rounded up some "Neanderthals" to protest outside bunny butcher Giorgio Armani's Chicago boutique earlier this week. As you'll note in the photos below, they carried signs reading "Only Cavepeople Wear Fur," but I think even cavepeople would balk at supporting the disgusting rabbit fur industry, as Armani does. We've revved up our campaign against the cold-hearted designer after he broke his pledge to remain fur-free and started using rabbit fur trim on skirts, jackets, and even toddlers' snowsuits, of all things.
Our cavepeople got a warm reception in chilly Chicago. The staff of the Park Hyatt Hotel, which shares the same building as Armani's boutique, assured us that the hotel is fur-free.
If you're fed up with Armani's support of an industry that rips the skin off the backs of rabbits, use this form to tell Armani to drop fur now!
Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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