Written by PETA
PETA loves gaming as much as anyone, but Tiny Zoo, which glorifies keeping animals in cages, doesn't make us LOL. Although no actual animals in Tiny Zoo suffer as a result of being bought, bred, and sold, some players may get the idea that captivity is cool, and that's far from reality.
We've suggested a better version: Big Sanctuary, in which players would become heroes by rescuing animals from bad situations, relocating them to a sanctuary, and overseeing their rehabilitation.
PETA has already scored for pit bulls in the popular Mafia Wars Facebook game, and we schooled Cooking Mama on the wonders of vegan cooking and Super Meat Boy on why tofu always wins out.
Please e-mail the makers of Tiny Zoo and tell them that Big Sanctuary is one game that you'd be eager to score.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
No ifs, ands, or head butts—Bucky is one lucky goat. A California couple won $2 million from a scratch lottery ticket, and they plan to spend it to upgrade their animal sanctuary. They credit Bucky, the first animal they ever rescued, for their good fortune. Their decision means big bucks for Bucky and his buds (who include horses, chickens, and other goats). I'm guessing that Bucky will blow the money on kids, chicks, and a pimped-out pen.
How would you spend the money if you won the lottery? Leave us a comment and let us know. While you're dreaming of all that dough, be sure to watch the video of Bucky and the rest of the brood. Spoiler alert: One of the goats tries to eat the oversized check.
Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth
The 13 kinkajous who were rescued from hellhole animal dealer U.S. Global Exotics (USGE) following PETA's investigation must be thinking that heaven is a place on Earth right about now.
Goodbye, cramped USGE prison …
Hello, spacious sanctuary!
These animals—along with many of the reptiles who were plucked out of USGE hell—were once confined to tiny, barren cages with nothing to climb and no space to play, but now they have been taken in by the good people at the Phoenix Herpetological Society and are enjoying room to play, multiple nesting areas, misting systems, fans, a pond with running water, and plenty of tree limbs to climb. The kinkajous spend their time playing, sleeping, and snacking on monkey biscuits soaked in fruit cocktail juice.
Don't you love a happy ending? I do! These sweet kinkajous lucked out, but many still need your help! To see what you can do, visit our Action Center.
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
Every year, a couple of days before Thanksgiving, our nation's president "pardons" two of the 46 million turkeys who are set to be slaughtered for holiday meals. And every year, we write to the president asking him to ensure that the turkeys receive the care necessary to give them the lengthy, happy lives that they deserve.
This year, we're asking President Obama to send the birds to a reputable animal sanctuary instead of to Disneyland, where the pardoned birds are traditionally sent—and where they usually die from agonizing genetic defects within a year of finding "freedom." Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary has already agreed to take the turkeys if Obama makes the informed, humane decision to send them there.
We're also urging Obama to recognize the millions of compassionate Americans who personally pardon turkeys every Thanksgiving by choosing a cruelty-free feast for the first family this year. We're even offering them a sure-to-be-succulent vegan holiday meal—all-American vegan apple pie and soy ice cream included.
Saving lives, being healthy, and fighting climate change—you can never have too many things to be thankful for, which is why a vegan Thanksgiving is the best way to celebrate the holiday. Now, pardon me while I plan a menu.
Written by Logan Scherer
It was a cagey scene outside NASA headquarters in D.C. yesterday when our primates urged NASA to scrap its misguided $1.75 million plan to torment monkeys in radiation experiments. The demonstration was out-of-this-world spectacular, prompting NASA employees to approach our volunteers for some dynamic discussions. No one could walk by these guys without stopping to have a second look:
The more than two dozen monkeys in NASA's crude experiment will be zapped with a massive dose of radiation at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island, New York, and then spend the rest of their lives condemned to a laboratory at Harvard's McLean Hospital where they'll be enlisted in a never-ending series of experiments to assess how the radiation devastates their brains and bodies. NASA has admitted that the radiation is "going to cause some cellular damage." What they really mean is that the monkeys may likely suffer from brain damage, cancer and premature aging.
It goes without saying that you should urge NASA to abandon these abhorrent experiments ASAP.
Actually, to be precise, Jerry's a steer. A PETA investigator found him hobbling around a field and scrounging for weeds at the appallingly filthy Pennsylvania dairy farm we told you about last month. This is how the investigator described the 5-month-old calf in her log:
[I] found a steer at the entrance to the barn (outside of the fence) who looked [to be] in a pitiful condition. He is thin, pot-bellied, buckled over at the front knees and pasterns … and when he looks at you he has a tilt to his head. Flies were covering both of his eyes, which appeared cloudy.
In addition to being crippled, the young calf was crawling with lice and was nearly blind because of pinkeye, a bacterial infection that spreads like wildfire in the disgusting conditions on factory farms. PETA's investigator bought Jerry and whisked him away to a "safe house" until he could be driven to his new home at a sanctuary.
Although he was initially (and understandably) terrified of humans, we're told that Jerry became mysteriously calm during the ride to the sanctuary. It was as if he considered the journey to be an adventure and knew that it would end at a safe and loving place.
Jerry has now almost fully recovered and regained most of his sight. He loves to wait outside the back door every evening at dinner time, and he's become the adopted "big brother" of another calf who was rescued from the same farm. If the younger calf strays too far, Jerry will go off in search of his adopted sibling.
Unfortunately, not all calves are as lucky as Jerry. Most male calves who are born on dairy farms are sent to slaughter, usually after they've been confined for up to 23 weeks to cramped veal crates that are intended to prevent the calves from moving so that their flesh will stay unnaturally pale. Making sure that you don't contribute to their suffering is as easy as giving up dairy foods.
To read a more about Jerry, you can head over to Facebook, where he is featured on our "causes" page.
Written by Alisa Mullins
PETA's headquarters in Hampton Roads, Virginia, is well known to local residents, many of whom volunteer to help animals in their spare time. Thousands in the area have taken advantage of our low-cost animal clinics and the Bea Arthur Dog Park, which is open to the community.
But every once in a while, someone visits PETA headquarters with ill intentions—like the guy who dumped this sweet, starving, nearly-naked bag of bones in our parking lot late one August night and then tried to drive away.
Not realizing that people were watching, the driver shoved an ailing cat, who has since been named Nadia, out of his car, and ignored the terrified and confused animal as she tried to get back into the car, running after it as the man drove away. Fortunately, he was spotted by two PETA Foundation staffers who immediately approached him and saw right through his lame excuses for dumping Nadia on the street.
It took us more than 10 days, during which time the temperature soared to more than 100 degrees, to catch the poor, petrified cat. When we finally did, we rushed her to a veterinarian, who determined that Nadia was 3 pounds (!) underweight—she weighed just 5 pounds—and that she was missing hair on more than half her body, likely because of a severe allergic reaction to fleas. Nadia has been recuperating in foster care ever since and is waiting for her new forever home.
As for the heinous man who attempted to abandon her, he had his moment in court on Friday. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of abandonment and received a suspended sentence of a $1,000 fine and five days in jail. He was also sentenced to two years of probation, during which time he cannot own or keep any animals, and he had to pay restitution to PETA. Most importantly, he learned that abandoning an animal is never an option, no matter the circumstances.
Written by Karin Bennett
What do you get when you cross a turtle with a swimming pool? Salmonella soup.
According to a recent news report, two Union County, North Carolina, teenagers contracted salmonella after taking a dip in a backyard pool with two "pet" turtles. Both suffered stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting—one of the girls developed kidney failure and had to spend eight days in the hospital.
These girls are only two victims of the largest turtle-related salmonella outbreak in U.S history. More than 100 people in 34 states—most of them children—were sickened by the same strain of salmonella between 2007 and 2008.
Authorities believe that the outbreak may have occurred during the shipping process, when one infected turtle—who was probably being stored in an extremely crowded, cramped, and inadequate space before being mailed off to a pet shop or flea market—contaminated his buddies.
This outbreak isn't an isolated incident. The FDA reports that there are more than 74,000 "pet" turtle–related cases of human salmonella poisoning every year. And that's understandable when you consider how easily salmonella spreads. Simply by playing with turtles at school, kids can bring the germs home to family members.
Many of the parents of infected kids had no clue that turtles even carried salmonella. Um, hello—there's a reason why it's illegal to sell turtles with shells less than 4 inches long. After all, kids do the darndest things—like put baby turtles in their mouths …
So what have we learned? Let's see—don't buy turtles or other exotic animals, refrain from putting reptiles near or in your mouth, and never, ever invite turtles to your pool party.
Written by Amy Elizabeth
Having been put out to pasture by the producers of Jon & Kate Plus 8, Jon Gosselin was recently spotted taking his new lady friend out for a ride in a horse-drawn carriage.
Doggie abandonment (and his lady friend's questionable vest) aside, we're still willing to give Jon the benefit of a doubt, so we've sent him a letter educating him on the not-quite-fairy-tale horse-drawn carriage trade and asking him to make cruelty-free choices for his future dates.
Too bad he no longer has any use for these excellent date ideas …
Written by Amanda Schinke
This week, Kevin Skinner—an unemployed chicken catcher from Mayfield, Kentucky—sang and strummed his way to the top of America's Got Talent and walked away with a cool million dollars. Congratulations, Kevin!
Kevin's been given a new start on life. Wouldn't it endear him to millions of people if he were to extend that same second chance to those in need—say, to chickens who were abused on factory farms?
We're asking Kevin to donate part of his prize money to a farmed-animal sanctuary to help care for chickens abused by the meat and egg industries. Kevin has the opportunity to give chickens the chance to enjoy all the things that they were denied on factory farms, such as building nests, caring for their young, and enjoying the company of their flock.
We also sent him a congratulatory present, of course: a package of Boca Chik'n Patties. Delicious!
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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