Written by PETA
It's official: Oprah will end her show in 2011. Feel that collective surge of sadness? We sure do. Oprah's groundbreaking program has transcended the talk-show format and has paved the way for social and political change. In honor of PETA's 2008 Person of the Year and her show's long run, we're revisiting Oprah's best animal-friendly episodes:
The media mogul may be bidding farewell to her legendary talk show, but with the upcoming launch of her new cable network, we're sure that we'll be seeing a lot more of her for a long time to come.
Written by Logan Scherer
This week Windsor, North Carolina, officials cut the red ribbon that wrapped PETA's very special gift to animals in this small Southern town. For nearly a decade, PETA has been working with Windsor and other area towns to provide homeless animals in their care with better housing conditions and a peaceful end when euthanasia is the most humane option.
In 2000, PETA was alerted by a caring police officer to terrible suffering and appalling conditions at several "animal shelters" in North Carolina, some of which were nothing more than outdoor shacks, like the one in Windsor. Dogs and cats left inside these outdoor "coops" suffered without heat in the winter and air conditioning, or even fans, in the scorching summer. As a result, some animals literally drowned or froze to death at some town facilities. When no homes could be found for them, many were killed by gas poisoning or gunshots.
Today, we are thrilled to announce that this week, PETA representatives were joined by Windsor's mayor, Robert Spivey, and several other county officials to celebrate the town's new animal shelter, funded entirely by PETA, to ensure that homeless animals in Windsor are housed comfortably and humanely from here on out. Get ready for a pretty amazing reveal:
As for the old shack, we're planning a very special demolition party that will take place soon.
Since receiving that initial complaint nearly a decade ago, PETA has become a lifesaving presence in many impoverished areas near our headquarters in Southern Virginia. We have provided hundreds of doghouses, free and low-cost spay/neuter services, food, toys, no-spill water receptacles, and more to local citizens and their animal companions, and we regularly work with local law-enforcement officials to prosecute those who harm animals. Every dollar PETA spends helps to ensure that a needy animal receives warmth during winter, shade during summer, fresh food, and clean water. Considering the difficult economic situation and winter's frigid temperatures, we—and animals—need your help now more than ever. Visit HelpingAnimals.com to learn how you can help neglected and homeless animals in your own neighborhood and beyond.
Written by Karin Bennett
PETA and ZooCheck have been campaigning to convince officials at the Edmonton Zoo, deemed Canada's worst zoo for elephants by African elephant biologist Winnie Kiiru, to release its sole pachyderm prisoner, Lucy, to a sanctuary. We've reasoned with zoo officials. We've enlisted support from experts and celebrities. And we've called on caring supporters to write letters pushing for Lucy's retirement.
Unfortunately, it took proposed litigation against the city of Edmonton for zoo officials to make a pathetic attempt to improve Lucy's sad state and announce their "plan" to improve her life by putting her on a diet, giving her some sand to stand on—and possibly providing her with a treadmill.* We responded to this craziness with a full-page ad, which ran yesterday in the Edmonton Journal.
The zoo's policy of locking Lucy inside during the long, bitterly cold winters means that Lucy spends most of her time in a small barn. When she is allowed outside, she's primarily restricted to an enclosure that is less than an acre in size. It's no surprise that Lucy exhibits signs of mental distress, and her medical records reveal that she has been suffering from arthritis as well as chronic foot and respiratory problems.
It's time that Edmonton Zoo officials made the decent decision to help Lucy by retiring her to a sanctuary where she can enjoy warmer temperatures, acres of space to roam, and the company of other elephants. Please help by sending your polite comments to Edmonton's mayor and city councilmembers.
Stay tuned for updates.
*I think if Edmonton zoo officials were serious about enriching Lucy's life and improving her health, they'd sign her up for some Jazzercize classes. I'm obviously joking, but building a jumbo-sized treadmill for the overweight elephant is just as ludicrous. (Am I right—or am I right?)
Right on the coattails of Ireland's fur-farm ban, here's a sizzling fur-free first: Supermodel and longtime vegetarian Suzanne McCabe has become Ireland's first celebrity to bare it all in an anti-fur ad. McCabe's sexy new ad for PETA U.K. and Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN) is sure to turn heads:
A finalist for Miss Universe Ireland in 2008, McCabe has beauty and brains—she has degree in psychology from University College Dublin and a master's in business, and she recently joined ARAN's campaign against Canada's annual slaughter of baby seals for their fur. She's educating herself about how animals who are raised on fur farms are electrocuted, poisoned, and gassed for their skin, and she's making caring choices.
Who wouldn't want to look like this compassionate stunner? Follow McCabe's luscious lead and take our pledge to go fur-free.
Bugs are fascinating, and if anyone tries to tell you different, have them check out this article, which offers proof that many insects are tiny geniuses who are capable of counting, categorizing objects, and recognizing human faces. Recent studies show that even though their brains are oh-so-teeny-tiny, ants, bees, and other braniac bugs are brilliant creatures. There is overwhelming evidence that brain size has no effect on intelligence and that in many cases a bigger brain is not a smarter brain.
One study shows that honeybees, whose behavioral abilities rival that of some vertebrates, can determine whether or not shapes are symmetrical, can classify objects according to sameness and difference, and will stop flying after passing a predetermined number of landmarks.
I bet if you tried you could think of a few humans who struggle with those three tasks. I've been known to have a little trouble with that last one, myself.
So the next time you see one of these clever critters, keep in mind their ingenious minds, and let them live their complex, profound lives. We've got just the thing to help you.
On July 4, we celebrated Independence Day for greyhounds in New Hampshire when the state's two racetracks closed. Well, get ready to toast "New Life's Eve" for many racing greyhounds: Wisconsin's only dog-killing racing track, Dairyland Greyhound Park, will hold its last race on December 31.
Life in the fast lane is hard and cruel for racing greyhounds, who spend long hours in cramped kennels and sometimes suffer broken legs, heatstroke, and heart attacks. Once their racing days are over, many dogs are abandoned, starved, shot, or sold to laboratories. After such hard living, it's no wonder that dogs who are rescued from racetracks have a tendency to turn into couch potatoes.
One more down, eight more to go …
This week, PETA started a national tour to promote a cruelty-free Thanksgiving. Droves of lucky San Franciscans were the first to receive free Tofurky roasts, kindly donated by Turtle Island Foods.
The only thing I can think of that would be more worthy of thanks than gobbling (sorry, had to) up a succulent, savory Tofurky—while saving the lives of turkeys—would be to get one for free. Luckily for you, our turkeys are strutting their way through cities across the country and giving away roasts at each stop.
Join PETA's Action Team to get updates on upcoming events in your area.
When PETA's giant dinosaur attacked D.C., residents were shaking in their boots. But at the unveiling of our latest enormous animal, a 12-meter-tall baby seal named Sparky, Halifax residents let out a collective "Aww!"
As a crowd gathered to watch the Olympic torch pass through Halifax—they weren't able to miss Sparky, who was right on the heels of the torch:
We've teamed up with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to inflate Sparky and put him on a mission to educate Canadians about the annual seal slaughter. Sparky is set to visit each city that the torch travels to until it reaches the final Vancouver Olympics destination.
Once residents recover from cute overload, Sparky and our crew will be enlisting them to call on their representatives in Parliament to support legislation to end the slaughter. As the Vancouver Olympic Games approach, all eyes are on Canada—and now is the time to put an end to this cruel industry.
Written by Liz Graffeo
The Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois is on a short list of sites that are being considered to house the Guantanamo detainees, but if the nearly empty prison doesn't get chosen, we've got the perfect back-up plan: We're asking the facility to house the Thomson All Living Beings Empathy Center. Not only would the center teach visitors about compassion, it would also create jobs for tour guides, cafeteria workers, and others, promoting economic growth in these difficult times.
We can't think of a more appropriate site for our Animal Liberation Project (ALP) than a prison. The ALP is a display that takes viewers through a history of the discrimination and suffering of humans and other beings—from the Crusades to human slavery and from animal circuses to factory farms—reminding people that suffering is suffering, no matter who the victim is.
And as if Thomson needed another reason to promote compassion (or I needed another reason to wish I were 12 again), every kid who visits the Empathy Center would get a plush "I Am Not a Nugget" chick.
It was literally a sticky situation for employees at one Lowe's store in Toledo, Ohio, yesterday, when a woman dressed as a mouse entered the store and "glued" herself to the floor. As the "mouse" screamed and writhed, customers surrounded her with caution signs reading, "Lowe's Tortures Animals."
The "mouse" was taken into police custody after half an hour of shrieking and struggling, and she was lucky. Being arrested is nothing compared to the days of starvation and dehydration that animals ensnared in glue traps suffer. The misery of glue traps is so painful that some animals even chew off their own legs in a desperate attempt to free themselves. No glue trap is humane—and there are effective alternatives. Urge Lowe's to end the torment and stop selling glue traps immediately.
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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