PETA pal and superhero-for-animals Bob Barker cites PETA's vital work exposing animal mistreatment and neglect on factory farms in his letters urging Missouri state senators to oppose an "ag gag" bill—Senate Bill (S.B.) 695—requiring that abuse documented on farms be reported within 24 hours, effectively preventing investigators and whistleblowers from exposing routine cruelty to animals.

Don't 'Gag' Investigators

The horrors revealed by PETA's latest factory farm investigation show how important it is that organizations and individuals not lose the ability to uncover cruelty to animals, especially when it's carefully hidden from public view. These sorts of exposés require months of scrutiny to document how the abuse is habitual and systematic, rather than being mere isolated incidents, so the requirements of S.B. 695 would make investigators' work virtually impossible.

As Bob—whose alma mater is Drury University in Springfield, Missouri—stated in his letter to state legislators, "Missouri lawmakers must realize that consumers are demanding better treatment of animals used for food, not for the agriculture industry to cover up illegal acts and penalize those who try to expose routine cruelty. Please show consumers that Missouri has nothing to hide by opposing S.B. 695."

PETA is grateful to celebrities like Bob, Cloris Leachman, and Katherine Heigl for making the public aware of the dangers of "ag gag" legislation because the wealthy industrial-agriculture interests pushing these bills appear to be ensuring that they'll wield influence behind the scenes by making large donations to lawmakers, as seen recently in Iowa and Utah.

How You Can Help Animals on Factory Farms

If you're a Missouri resident, please join Bob Barker in asking your state senators to vote against this bill and to continue to allow people to expose blatant cruelty to animals.

Last year, PETA helped successfully defeat a series of "ag gag" bills, which would have made it a crime to film cruelty to animals on factory farms, in Florida, Minnesota, and New York. Now, another round of these unconstitutional bills has begun—in Missouri, New York, and Utah—and it's up to us to squelch these measures again.

Time and time again, PETA's undercover investigations of factory farms have produced video evidence of cruelty to animals that has helped authorities prosecute the offenders. Investigators have documented that workers slammed newborn piglets' heads into concrete floors and left them to die in agony, employees at a foie gras farm drowned female hatchlings, and workers at a turkey farm jumped on turkeys' stomachs to make them "pop."

Don't let factory farms hide animal abuse behind shady laws. Here are three ways that you can help animals on factory farms this week:

• No matter where you live, you can urge Utah Gov. Gary Herbert to veto his state's "ag gag" bill.
• For five days, PETA will send out one text message a day with important information about factory farms. Please subscribe to receive these text messages, and forward them to your contacts. In the U.S., text the word FARM to 73822. In Canada, text the word FARM to 99099.*
• Consider making a donation to PETA's campaign to help the billions of animals who are suffering on factory farms.

*Standard messaging and data rates apply. For full terms, please click here.

On last night's The Daily Show, correspondent and PETA friend Olivia Munn shined a hilarious light on voter-approved legislation that will alleviate the suffering of dogs in Missouri's puppy mills. Four little minutes, so many laughs:

Once again, Olivia has shown that she's clever and caring, a winning combination for animals. (Of course, so is clever and daring—and clever and baring.) Have you done your clever and caring (or daring or baring) deed for animals today?

Written by Karin Bennett

In yesterday's midterm elections, Missouri voters approved a measure that gives dogs who are mass bred in puppy mills some long overdue relief. Missouri holds the unenviable distinction of being our nation's puppy mill capital. The state is home to more than 1,400 commercial (or as the American Kennel Club likes to call them, "high-volume") breeders who subject dogs to miserable lives in cramped, filthy hutches, cages, and pens.

Dogs in puppy mills are treated like breeding machines and discarded, killed, or auctioned off when they're too old or worn out to "produce" anymore. They are not shown love or given a kind word, and they are never treated to a walk, a belly rub, or a game of fetch.

Proposition B, which goes into effect next year, will eliminate stacked cages, which have been known to cause dogs to develop "cage spins"—a condition in which animals turn manically in endless circles as a result of intensive, continuous confinement. Breeders will be "limited" to no more than 50 females, who can't be bred more than twice every 18 months. It's estimated that about one-third of the state's puppy profiteers currently breed more than 50 females, so this bill should, we hope, reduce the number of puppies born, sold, and shipped out of the state to pet shops all over the U.S. (The vast majority of puppies sold in pet shops—even hoity-toity ones—come from puppy mills!)

It's hard to believe, but the measure also had to spell out to breeders that they must feed animals once a day. It also mandates annual veterinary checks and requires that dogs be housed indoors with unrestricted access to an outdoor exercise area.

Keep cheering: Washington and Oregon have also recently toughened laws against puppy mill operators.

This is great news for dogs, but make no mistake: As long as people buy instead of adopting, the suffering will continue. Never buy from pet stores—which are basically puppy mill outlets—and tell everyone you know that those stores' "inventories" come straight from the factory.

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

Come November, Missourians will have a chance to shed the dubious distinction of being known as the nation's puppy-mill capital thanks to Proposition B, a ballot initiative that will allow voters to decide whether or not to ban breeding operations with more than 50 dogs and to require large-scale breeding operations to provide dogs with adequate food, water, shelter, space, exercise, and veterinary care.

Puppy mill operators are up in arms because Proposition B would make "puppy mill cruelty" a misdemeanor crime. As it turns out, puppy mill owners don't like it when their "businesses" are called "puppy mills." They claim that the term is prejudicial, and they are suing to have it removed from materials describing the initiative.

A blogger for St. Louis' Riverfront Times newspaper playfully suggested that "dog-breeding factories" might have a better ring to it. What do you think?

Written by Alisa Mullins

"Heaven is by favor; if it were by merit your dog would go in and you would stay out."
—Mark Twain

Italy had Leonardo da Vinci, India had Mahatma Gandhi, England had William Wilberforce, and the U.S. had Mark Twain.

Like these other luminaries, Twain was a committed advocate for the humane treatment of animals, and we don't think that aspect of his life should be left out of any commemoration. So in advance of next week's 100th anniversary of Twain's death, PETA is donating $5,000 to The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, Missouri, and PETA Vice President Dan Mathews will be there to unveil a plaque featuring a quote from Twain about animal experimentation:

Animals were integral to Twain's writing from his first stories through his final years, and many of his animal-related pieces are spotlighted in Mark Twain's Book of Animals.

If you're going to be in Hannibal on Saturday at noon, come join Dan (who cites Twain as an inspiration in his memoir, Committed) as he unveils PETA's plaque at The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum. With it in place, Twain's animal rights message will reach thousands of future visitors to the museum.

Written by Paula Moore

media.photobucket / CC

After a healthy amount of prodding from PETA, Heartland Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph, Missouri, has announced that it is planning to stop jamming hard plastic tubes down cats' windpipes for intubation training in its Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) course. They are making the switch to state-of-the-art manikins by the end of this month.

Back in June, PETA contacted hospital administrators and urged them to replace the cruel use of cats for intubation training. We wanted them to start using the more effective, humane humanlike simulators that are endorsed by the PALS course's sponsor organization and that are used at nearly every PALS facility in the country. Heartland resisted. But after two months, a USDA complaint from PETA, a letter, a phone call from one of the original developers of the PALS course, and thousands of e-mails from caring PETA supporters, Heartland administrators have had a change of heart.

Switching to manikins is purrfect—cats are spared, and nurses, EMTs, and other emergency caregivers get more accurate and effective training.

What's the holdup, St. Louis Children's Hospital?

Written by Alisa Mullins

Rejection is tough, but Ella PhantzPeril doesn't let it get her down. Initially snubbed by St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., officials, Ella PhantzPeril just wouldn't take no for an answer.

This week, Ella can be seen stopping (foot) traffic in Washington Square Park in Kansas City—where she received a warm welcome. And, judging by the photo, even George is behind her all the way.

Ella's found a place to unpack her trunk for the moment, but she's still shedding tears for all the elephants who face much longer, much more difficult journeys as they're dragged in shackles to circus appearances across the country and beaten with bullhooks behind the scenes.

Check back to see if your city will be receiving the privilege of Ella's company, and in the meantime, remind everyone you know that circuses are no fun for elephants.

Written by Heather Drennan