Kategorie: Animals

A year after being freed from a dog-breeding hellhole, Mabel the beagle is living the life she always deserved.

She spent about seven years imprisoned in a laboratory-supplying breeding prison owned and operated by Envigo. After PETA’s undercover investigation exposed suffering, neglect, and miserable confinement at the facility, Mabel—along with nearly 4,000 other beagles—was finally liberated.

Like the dogs shown in the photo above, Mabel likely suffered in a steel cage, surrounded by the deafening cries of thousands of other beagles who were intensively confined at Envigo’s dog-breeding prison.

Mabel was one of the oldest beagles to survive the systemic neglect—and thanks to PETA’s shelter, her life looks very different now.

For Natalie, the PETA employee who adopted her, it was love at first sight. Nowadays, Mabel is nearly inseparable from her doting family, whether they’re going for a stroll…

…splashing around at the beach…

…or getting a bite to eat.

Mabel also enjoys lots of attention and one-on-one time at home.

She even accompanies Natalie to PETA’s headquarters—the Sam Simon Center in Norfolk, Virginia—where she’s showered with affection and healthy treats from other adoring employees.

Here’s Mabel at the PETA office again, cheering on our hardworking staff members as they help other individuals just like her:

In the safety of a loving home and community, she can now do the things dogs enjoy the most, like going on adventures, making new friends, and of course, getting into mischief.

Mabel is treated as every dog should be now that she gets the love, attention, and respect she always deserved.

Mabel’s Former Prison Has Closed Down—but You Can Help Other Dogs Like Her 

While we celebrate Mabel’s one-year anniversary of freedom from a breeding operation—and the fact that no beagle will suffer there ever again—countless other animals are still confined to laboratory suppliers’ cages. They need your help.

Take action for 1,000 monkeys who were allegedly imported illegally to be used in experiments:

Tell Feds to Send These Monkeys to a Sanctuary!

The post VIDEO: Mabel’s Life a Year After Her Liberation From Envigo’s Lab-Supplying Hellhole appeared first on PETA.

Armed with damning U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports documenting the condition of filthy, matted dogs surrounded by feces at a local puppy mill operated by Teresa Rauch, PETA sent a letter today to Polk County Prosecuting Attorney Keaton Ashlock asking him to investigate and file applicable charges against those responsible for this neglect.

According to a just-released report, on June 16 a USDA veterinarian found two dogs with “dried fecal matter” in their fur, which, the agent noted, could cause matting, irritated skin, and difficulty defecating. And on March 23, the same veterinarian had found another dog with “excessively” matted fur, three dogs caged amid their own waste, 15 dogs who were “wet and dirty,” and four dogs who were confined beside puddled water.

“Puppies in pet stores come from miserable mills like this one, where the dogs are treated like cheap equipment and left to languish in squalor,” says PETA Vice President of Evidence Analysis Daniel Paden. “PETA urges Polk County authorities to prosecute those responsible for this neglect and calls on everyone to avoid the stores that keep operations like this one in business. Always adopt—never buy animals.”

PETA is pursuing charges under state law because the USDA doesn’t render relief or aid to animals during its inspections and these violations carry no federal criminal or civil penalties.

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.

PETA’s letter to Ashlock follows.

The Honorable Keaton Ashlock

Polk County Prosecuting Attorney

Dear Mr. Ashlock:

I hope this letter finds you well. I’m writing to request that your office (and the proper law-enforcement agency, as you deem appropriate) investigate and, as suitable, file criminal charges against those responsible for neglecting dogs at a breeding facility operated by Teresa Rauch at 4026 S. 110^th Rd. near Bolivar. PETA hopes investigators will visit the facility with a veterinarian who has expertise in canine health and welfare so that they can identify any animals in need of care and opine on the conditions of and for the approximately 150 animals there.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) veterinarian documented neglect at the facility in the attached reports. On June 16, the veterinarian found that two Pomeranians had “dried fecal matter” trapped in their hair, which they wrote “can result in matting, skin irritation, and can even hinder” defecation.

On March 23, the veterinarian found that a third dog had “excessively matted hair along her back, on her tail, and down her back legs” and noted that this “can be painful.” The same day, the veterinarian found 15 dogs who were “wet and dirty,” three dogs caged with “an excessive amount of fecal material,” and four dogs confined near standing water.

These findings may violate Missouri’s prohibition against animal neglect, RSMo § 578.009, which requires that individuals provide animals in their custody with “adequate care.” RSMo § 578.005 defines that term to include “shelter and health care as necessary to maintain good health.” The USDA renders no aid or relief whatsoever to animals on site, and these reports carry no criminal or civil penalties and don’t preempt criminal liability under state law for acts of animal neglect. If you’d like to learn more about the USDA’s findings, please see the contact information for its office in Riverdale, Maryland, here.

Thank you for your time and consideration and for the difficult work that you do every day. Please let us know if we can assist you.

Sincerely,

Daniel Paden

Vice President of Evidence Analysis

Cruelty Investigations Department

PETA

The post Feds Find Dogs Neglected at Polk County Puppy Mill; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe appeared first on PETA.

The results are in for PETA Kids’ 2023 All-Star for Animals Contest—and for the first time in the contest’s history, two sets of siblings have won, for the grand prize and the second-place finish.

Top honors went to sister and brother Leilani Hefa, 10, and Daylan Hefa, 7, who have been raised vegan from birth and seize every opportunity to speak out against speciesism—the human-supremacist belief that other animals exist for our benefit. The siblings from Hillsdale, New Jersey, have marched for animal rights in New York City, protested against Nike for using leather, hosted their birthday parties at animal sanctuaries, and encouraged friends and classmates to leave animals off their plates.

Hailing from Eastham, Massachusetts, runners-up Dani Chianciola, 12, and her 7-year-old sister, Lana, are both vegan, and they’ve spent their lives advocating for animals to their friends and family members and even their family’s followers on social media. Dani—who wrote an article for PETA Kids’ website about why everyone should believe in animal rights—is particularly passionate about encouraging others to let animals keep their eggs, wool, feathers, and anything else that belongs to them. Lana is especially concerned about the plight of orcas held in captivity and talks to her friends about avoiding marine parks and watching aquatic animals in their natural habitats instead. Video of Dani and Lana collaborating on a poetry and art project about orcas is available here.

“Whether they’re marching for animal rights, encouraging their classmates to choose animal-friendly entertainment, or creating pro-animal poetry and artwork, these four activists are setting a heroic example for young people everywhere,” says PETA Senior Director of Youth Programs Marta Holmberg. “Animals have remarkable allies in the Hefa and Chianciola siblings, and PETA Kids is delighted to honor them for leading us all toward a kinder future.”

The four honorees will receive delicious vegan cookies from San Diego–based Maya’s Cookies plus personalized megaphones and T-shirts from PETA Kids. Their work in behalf of animals will be shared across the country to help inspire kind kids everywhere, including future All-Star for Animals contestants! See the full contest details here.

PETA Kids’ motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way.” For more information, please visit PETAKids.com, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram.

The post Two Sets of Siblings Earn National Recognition for Animal Activism appeared first on PETA.

Because Whole Foods is selling coconut milk from Thailand—including through its own 365 by Whole Foods Market brand—even though PETA Asia investigations have revealed that monkeys in that country are caged, kept in isolation, chained for life, and trained through fear of punishment to pick coconuts, PETA “monkeys” will dump wheelbarrows full of humanely picked coconuts outside Whole Foods’ McKinney Avenue store as part of an international campaign against the company. The action follows HelloFresh’s ban on coconut milk from Thailand.

When:    Thursday, August 3, 12 noon

Where:    Outside Whole Foods Market, 2510 McKinney Ave., Dallas

Many monkeys used in Thailand’s coconut-picking industry are abducted from their forest homes as babies. Handlers put metal collars and leashes on them and sometimes remove their canine teeth so they can’t defend themselves. PETA Asia’s investigative footage shows trainers striking them, dangling them by their necks, and whipping them. Because the industry and the Thai government lie about and deceive consumers about their systemic reliance on monkey labor, it’s impossible to guarantee that any coconut milk from Thailand is cruelty-free. One of Whole Foods’ coconut milk suppliers was implicated in PETA Asia’s latest investigation into the trade, but the company failed to act after PETA presented it with this information.

“Whole Foods knows that Thailand’s forced monkey labor is a damnable business, yet it’s profiting off these suffering primates by obtaining coconut milk from that country,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Whole Foods to take a whole lot of cruelty off its shelves by selling canned coconut milk only from countries like India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, where monkey labor isn’t used.”

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, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

The post Monkey Business’ at Whole Foods Has PETA Dumping Coconuts at Store appeared first on PETA.