Kategorie: Animals

Bud Light just became the “official beer sponsor” of multiple NFL teams and players, so today, PETA sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell urging him to throw a flag on Budweiser and make it a requirement of the business deal that the beer maker stop amputating the tailbones of its iconic Clydesdales.

PETA’s recent video exposé reveals that Budweiser manufacturer Anheuser-Busch has been severing the horses’ tailbones with a scalpel or a tight band that stops the blood supply to the tail, causing most of the bone to die and fall off—just so the Clydesdales will look a certain way when hitched to a beer wagon. Horses need their tails for balance and to protect themselves from biting and disease-spreading insects. This practice is illegal in many European countries, including Belgium, where AB InBev is based, as well as in 10 U.S. states.

“The NFL shouldn’t associate itself with cruelty to animals,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “So we’re asking Mr. Goodell to tell Budweiser that he wants the mutilation of Clydesdales to stop now so everyone can raise a glass.”

Both the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Equine Practitioners condemn tailbone amputation for cosmetic reasons.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Goodell follows.

August 18, 2023

Roger Goodell
Commissioner
NFL

Dear Mr. Goodell:

I’m writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) because Anheuser-Busch has just announced that Bud Light will be the “official beer sponsor” of 27 NFL teams and 24 players across the league. Will you use your authority to compel the company to stop disfiguring horses?

PETA has documented that Anheuser-Busch is amputating the tailbones of the famous Budweiser Clydesdales. These amputations—which sever a part of the spinal cord—are done just for cosmetic reasons and serve no medical purpose. This unnecessary and permanent mutilation causes immense pain, affects horses’ balance, and leaves them without natural protection from flies and other biting insects. Horses also depend on their tails to communicate with herdmates and humans.

Both the American Association of Equine Practitioners and the American Veterinary Medical Association condemn severing horses’ tailbones unless it’s medically necessary. Many European countries, including Belgium, where Anheuser-Busch is headquartered, have banned this practice, as have 10 U.S. states.

Will you please make it a requirement of your contract with Anheuser-Busch that the tail amputations must end?

Thank you very much for your consideration. I’m available to answer questions, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Respectfully,

Kathy Guillermo
Senior Vice President
Equine Matters Department

The post PETA Challenges NFL: Dropkick Budweiser’s Horse Abuse appeared first on PETA.

A crisis of hot weather–related deaths of dogs and cats is occurring nationwide, as PETA has tracked reports of 123 deaths already this summer—far surpassing the 57 heat-related death reports last year or those of any other year on record. The group points out that the actual number of dogs and cats who have died from extreme heat in 2023 is likely much higher, as most cases go unreported.

PETA’s report about deaths around the country includes at least eight dogs who were headed to a K-9 training facility in Indiana before succumbing to heat exhaustion inside an unventilated box truck. In Hudson, Florida, two dogs died after being left in a car in a Walmart parking lot for an hour. In Laredo, Texas, a dog died after being tied to an outdoor grill in the heat. And in Houston, 12 cats and one dog were found dead after the animals were left in a vacant apartment during a heat wave. The group notes that dogs rely on panting to shed body heat and that once their internal temperature hits 105, they’ll die from multisystem organ failure.

“The number of animals suffering and dying after being confined to stifling spaces or helplessly chained with no way to escape the heat is out of control,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “As scorching temperatures become the new normal, PETA is urging everyone to keep their animals safe indoors and to intervene in behalf of any animal who is in danger from extreme heat.”

PETA urges people to be on the lookout for animals who are in need of assistance, including those who may be experiencing heatstroke symptoms, and advises everyone to do the following:

• Put palm to pavement. Touch the pavement before walks to ensure that it won’t burn dogs’ footpads. In hot weather, walk dogs only in the shade, on earth, or on grass.
• Keep dogs inside. Soaring temperatures can cause heat stress and physical injuries—including brain damage—and can result in death.Be alert to a long, curled-up tongue and heavy panting, as dogs can’t sweat as humans can and heat builds up inside their bodies.
• Avoid leaving animals in parked cars. Never leave a dog inside a parked car in warm weather, even for short periods and even if the windows are slightly open. On a mild 70-degree day, the temperature inside a car can climb rapidly, reaching a dangerous 99 degrees. On a 90-degree day, interior car temperatures can reach 109 degrees in just 10 minutes. A dog trapped inside a car can succumb to heatstroke within minutes—even if the car isn’t parked in direct sunlight. 

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information on PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

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