Written by PETA
When your full-time job is extracting brains from pigs' heads, irreparable trauma and polyradiculoneuropathy are all in a day's work. Polyradic … huh?
Polyradiculoneuropathy is a painful nerve disorder that attacks the peripheral nerves and the spine nerve roots. Earlier this month, a study revealed that 24 slaughterhouse workers had developed the disease after inhaling pig-brain tissue mist.
We always knew that working at a slaughterhouse messes with your head, but now we can say it actually attacks your brain.
Written by Logan Scherer
In honor of Halloween (and our peta2 zombie protesters), let me start this out by saying, "Braaaaaains!"
Good—now that I've got that out of my system, we can talk about the 11 awesome professional athletes who have all agreed to donate their brains to science!
That's right, these athletes—including six retired NFL players, among others—will all be donating their brains (post mortem, of course) to a study headed (tee hee) by the Sports Legacy Institute and Boston University. The study will use these oft-concussed brains to determine if there is a definite link between concussions and traumatic encephalopathy.
You might know traumatic encephalopathy better as "punch-drunk syndrome," or "boxer's dementia." Dementia and parkinsonism have long been linked to repeated concussions—such as those suffered by boxers or football players—and this study will further explore this relationship.
Sadly, studies like this often inflict head trauma on primates—only to kill them shortly afterwards—in order to simulate concussions in human brains! That's why these athletes' donations are so valuable—by donating their brains, these athletes have spared countless animals from suffering the torture of enduring repeated traumatic injuries. Their brains, by the simple nature of being human brains, will also provide science with much more reliable and conclusive results than any an animal test could provide.
That's why PETA is presenting these athletes with our Compassionate Action Award! Each athlete will receive a framed certificate and letter of appreciation—and the unspoken thanks of all the animals who will not have to suffer in the name of "science."
The awards go to retired NFL players Isaiah Kacyvenski, Ted Johnson, Frank Wycheck, Ben Lynch, Bernie Parrish, and Bruce Laird; former U.S. Olympic swimmer Jenny Thompson; Florida Panthers hockey player Noah Welch; former U.S. Women's National Soccer team player Cindy Parlow; former boxer Maurice "Termite" Watkins; and last, but not least, Sports Legacy Institute founder, former Harvard football player, and former professional wrestler Chris Nowinski.
Written by Amanda Schinke
Four monkey-masked PETA members paid Yale a little visit yesterday in honor of National Primate Liberation Week.
As motorists passed underneath the banner-wielding monkeys, they were reminded that "Yale Murders Monkeys." Well, specifically, Yale imprisons monkeys in tiny cages, mutilates them, injects them with poison, forces drug addiction on them, and eventually kills the animals as part of the experiments—but "murders" pretty much covers it, don't you think?
That's right—the more than 160 primates who are locked up in Yale's laboratories are the subjects of many cruel experiments, several of them drug-related. Some of the more heinous abuses include injecting toxins into monkeys’ brains so that they can’t walk, move or eat, addicting the monkeys to PCP to induce schizophrenia (excuse me?) and addicting them to nicotine by giving them the equivalent of smoking 17 packs of cigarettes per day. Because, ya know, exposing a monkey to 17 packs' worth is really reflective of an average human smoker's habits. Right.
The vivisectors at Yale are even killing pregnant monkeys and removing their fetuses in order to cut out their brains. If this were happening anywhere else, it would be condemned as psychopathic, murderous behavior—but because it's done in the name of "science," we're expected to accept this.
Well, forgive me, but this isn't the kind of thing that we at PETA tend to accept—and neither, I think, would most reasonable people. These monkeys are being tortured and murdered at taxpayer expense, but who said the taxpayers approve?
If you don't approve, please write the National Institutes of Health and ask them to end their policy of funding animal experiments like these.
TMZ hypothesized that the folks at Chrysler "must have purposely wanted" to annoy us when they released this memo, which says that "all employee's [sic] shall not wear any shoe with open toe or open heal [sic], Canvas, Suede, Mesh, plastic, pleather or any shoe with a raised heal [sic] on it will not be allowed on the workplace floor. Only shoes / Boots of solid leather composition are allowed …." And what's more, those who don't adhere to these leather-only guidelines will be sent home to change—without pay!
TMZ might be on to something, frankly. Besides the composition of the memo itself (which is making me a little, ahem, sic), there's the fact that the Chrysler folks are totally ignoring all the many rugged, non-porous leather alternatives out there. Of course, nobody on a factory floor should be wearing peep-toe stilettos, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with a good pleather—which, you might notice, is specifically outlawed. Work boots work if they have steel toes and are made of a sturdy material; the skins of dead, abused animals are not required.
Plus, as PETA Director of Corporate Affairs Matt Prescott points out in his letter to Chrysler—oh yes, of course we wrote them a letter—this policy might "discriminate against employees whose religious beliefs forbid or discourage the wearing of leather such as Jains, many Hindus and Buddhists, and others"—not to mention those, for example, who refuse to wear skins for other ethical reasons (hmm … do I know anyone like that?).
So seriously, Chrysler, discriminating against employees while promoting an industry that is cruel to animals and toxic to the environment? Not cool. But the news this morning is cool: Chrysler did consider changing its tune and says that no one who doesn't adhere to the leather rule will be punished.
They might also want to consider hiring a proofreader, but we're content with the cruelty-free boots.
Whoops-a-daisy, AIG. Looks like the insurance giant has been making a couple of teensy-weensy billion-dollar mistakes lately!
Let's see. First, American International Group (AIG) received $85 billion from the Federal Reserve last month in order to stay afloat … and then they reportedly treated their top agents to a $440,000 week at a fancy-schmancy spa. Investigators were not impressed.
But hey, we all make mistakes (though most of mine don't reach the six-figure range), so when AIG needed an additional $37.8 billion, the Federal Reserve was willing to hand over taxpayer money to help out.
And then AIG reportedly spent $86,000 on a hunting trip.
I have to confess here that I don't know how expensive hunting equipment is—I wouldn't come within 50 feet of that cruel and unnecessary "sport"—but something tells me that $86,000 might be a little much.
According to an AIG spokesman, the killing—I'm sorry, hunting—trip "was an annual event for customers" and was "planned months before the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's loan to AIG."
Yeah, I'm sorry, but maybe they should've thought about how this would look to taxpayers. "Gee, thanks for the $37 billion—I'm goin' to England to slaughter some animals!"
To put it mildly, people are rather miffed at AIG's cavalier spending habits. White House Press Secretary Dana Perino called the spa trip "despicable," and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating all these "unwarranted and outrageous expenditures," saying on Wednesday, "The party is over. No more hunting trips. No more luxury resorts. They are not going to have the party and leave the hangover for the taxpayers."
Poor AIG. They just can't get a break—oh, wait, they did, and then they decided to go hunting with it.
According to Google Insights, searches for "human breast milk" skyrocketed in the last month. Searches for "breast milk recipes" have also more than doubled. (See the graphs below for more details.)
Never to miss an opportunity—especially during these tough economic times—PETA has decided to create a human-breast-milk cookbook, with all profits going directly to PETA's "Dump Dairy" campaign. In between recipes, you'll be able to read about how cow's milk has been linked to zits, mucus build-up, and flatulence. We'll also include full-color pictures of veal calves who miss their mommies. All we need now are the recipes!
Please share your human-breast-milk recipes by commenting below. (Note: Aside from the breast milk, all recipes must be strictly vegan.) We're looking for desserts, snacks, main courses, etc! Let us know how you'd like us to credit you if your recipe makes the cut.
We're planning to launch the book guerilla-marketing style. Click here if you'd like more information about our Cookbook Street Team.
Exhibit A: Graph of Searches for 'Breast Milk Recipes'
Exhibit B: Graph of Searches for 'Human Breast Milk'
Written by Joel Bartlett
P.S. This entire post is a joke, but given our history, it's understandable if you didn't get that.
Question: Does Grammy-winning recording artist Phil Collins support the sale of foie gras? Answer: Heck no! The singer/songwriter began his career as a vocalist for the rock band Genesis and went on to receive international acclaim as a solo artist—selling more than 250 million records throughout his career. Now, he's fired off a letter to U.K. department store chain Selfridges condemning the company for its sale of one of the most cruelly produced foods on the market.
We're for real here, folks. Foie gras, which is French for 'fatty liver,' is produced by shoving pipes down the throats of ducks and geese and force-feeding them until their livers become fatty and often diseased. Foie gras is considered so cruel that its production is banned in 15 countries, including the U.K., where Selfridges is based. Prince Charles has banned foie gras from all Royal menus this year, and House of Fraser, Makro, Harvey Nichols, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, and every major U.K. supermarket have already banned foie gras from their shelves. Clearly, Selfridges is the one in need of an enlarged internal organ (specifically, a heart).
Collins joins Sir Roger Moore and the Duchess of Hamilton in urging Selfridges to drop foie gras from their shelves. Are you outraged by the cruelty that is shoved down the throats of these birds? Speak up!
Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky
As a clarion call to people of faith, a priest recently bestowed a blessing upon sheep who were bound for live export aboard a cargo ship in Fremantle, Western Australia. In a public display of solidarity, the priest blessed the sheep with holy water before they were loaded onto the cargo ship Mayora.
Father Mostowik is the director of missionaries for the Sacred Heart Justice and Peace Centre and is certainly no stranger to social justice. Thankfully, his ethics include the understanding that compassion must reach to all beings, not just the talking two-legged ones. His powerful message, while unspoken, was made loud and clear. It is a signal to us believin' folk of various faiths that our duty of compassion should extend to all of God's creatures.
While it's wonderful that Father Mostowik is using what he believes is right to take action in his own way, we here at PETA know that these animals need a heck of a lot more than a kind blessing. These animals need action, kindness, and support.
The slave ships that drag these animals across the globe are an ugly truth that usually goes unseen. Crammed together with hardly any room to move, some animals often don't survive the journey. Australian sheep are kicked, beaten, and dragged off boats by their ears and legs; they are often left to suffer and sometimes die in barren feedlots. They are bound up and thrown into the trunks of cars, and they are slaughtered in prolonged and cruel ways that are illegal in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. A PETA investigation in 2006 revealed horrible cruelty in this industry. You can watch the video here.
We hope Father Mostowik has the ear of quite a few people who've yet to hear just how horribly these animals are abused.
The fact that more and more religious leaders are taking aim to relieve the suffering of animals indicates an exciting shift in public consciousness. However, these calls to action merely point the way. In order to alleviate the suffering of millions of animals who are bound for our dinner plates, archaic recreation, or clothing, the responsibility to act falls on every one of us cruelty-free peeps no matter what holidays we celebrate.
Written by Missy Lane
Always a bit of a wild child, PETA Germany definitely has a flare for the exotic. Just take a look at these anti-zoo, anti-circus "Exotic Animals Belong in Liberty" ads. They featured a menagerie of MTV Germany and VIVA music channel hosts painted as exotic animals (my fave is the contemplative tiger). They were recently published in the German TV magazine TV Digital. Way to go, PETA G!
Written by Amy Elizabeth
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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