e6townhall / CC

Considering how factory farms (mis)treat pigs—cramming them into filthy pens and confining mothers to gestation crates—it's not hard to see farms as porcine prisons.

So, naturally, when we heard that a prison in McLeansville, North Carolina, was slated for closure, we quickly dispatched a letter to Governor Bev Purdue to ask for her help in turning the soon-to-be-mothballed slammer into the world's first pig empathy museum.

The new museum would be a win-win: It would provide much-needed jobs, plus it would help people better understand pigs and the suffering that factory farms cause them. Visitors could then put what they've learned into practice by enjoying meatless "riblets" or other vegetarian fare, and the kids would take home one of our "Animals Are My Friends" T-shirts.

We think that once people get to know pigs—when people see that pigs are smart, sensitive, and generally adorable—they won't stand idly by when innocent oinkers are treated like hardened criminals.

Written by Jeff Mackey

nab / CC

Bob Barker never imagined that he'd be writing a blog post for CNN at the age of 85—but he's determined to help free a group of bears who are languishing in desolate concrete pits on an Indian reservation in Cherokee, North Carolina. Bob met with the Tribal Council in July to plead for the bears' release, and he has now turned to the blogosphere to get others involved:

Please join Bob by contacting Principal Chief Michell Hicks of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and urging him to close Cherokee's bear pits immediately.

Written by Liz Graffeo

popsense / CC

My most beloved game show host—no, not that one—Bob Barker has once again stepped up to the mic to speak up for animals.

Yesterday, Bob met with Principal Chief Michell Hicks and members of the Tribal Council for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to plead for compassion for captive bears in Cherokee, North Carolina, who languish in desolate concrete pits and cages in roadside zoos. After Bob saw firsthand the deplorable conditions at one of these tourist traps (he was denied entry to the other two), he urged Principal Chief Hicks to release the miserable bears to a sanctuary in California.

Although no promises were made at yesterday's meeting, PETA won't rest until the black bears are retired to sanctuaries. After all, according to Cherokee legend, black bears are the keepers of dreams. No doubt all of these imprisoned bears are dreaming of their own freedom.

Written by Karin Bennett

As hard as it is to believe, animal shelters in some states—including Georgia and North Carolina—continue to kill unwanted animals in gas chambers, with all the accompanying horror that such an image conjures. Fortunately, legislation has been introduced in both states to ban these horrendous contraptions for good.

It can take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes for animals to die in gas chambers. Oftentimes, they bark, meow, howl, whine, gasp for breath, fight to claw their way out of the chamber, vomit, convulse, and/or urinate and defecate in terror. Animals sometimes have to be gassed repeatedly before they die. Some animals—like Davie, the North Carolina bill's namesake—have been known to "wake up" later after being put in a freezer or dumped at a landfill.

To get a better idea of the horror that these animals go through, just look at these pictures of some of the gas chambers that are currently being used:

Linda Cordry, an animal control officer in Liberty County, Ga., has written in support of Georgia's bill. "I know from firsthand experience that the gas chamber is a barbaric piece of equipment," she says. "I can say without qualification that being killed in a gas chamber is terrifying for the animals and heartbreaking for the humans involved. It is the ultimate nightmare, and no horror film could even come close to depicting the experience."

Both Georgia's and North Carolina's laws would require that animal shelters use only intravenous injections of sodium pentobarbital to euthanize animals. This is key because, in addition to using gas chambers, some animal shelters in rural areas still shoot unwanted animals. No, I'm not making that up. I wish I were.

If you live in North Carolina, click here to find your representative so that you can speak up about this legislation. Time is of the essence—the Georgia bill will be killed if a Senate version isn't introduced by March 12, so if you live there, click here to find your representative's contact info. If you don't live in North Carolina or Georgia, you can leave a comment below in support of these new bills.

Written by Alisa Mullins