Kategorie: Animals

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia just ruled that PETA and its co-plaintiffs, which include the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), may proceed in their First Amendment lawsuit over Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) refusal to run PETA ads suggesting that people “go vegan,” among other ads. The lawsuit, which was initially filed against WMATA and its general manager, will now proceed solely against the general manager.

The lawsuit takes aim at WMATA guidelines implemented in 2015 that prohibit ads “intended to influence members of the public regarding an issue on which there are varying opinions,” those that “support or oppose an industry position or industry goal without any direct commercial benefit to the advertiser,” and others. The prohibited PETA ads, available here, include appeals to go vegan and choose dairy-free coffee creamer. Others affected by WMATA’s policy include the ACLU, a nonprofit health care network that specializes in providing women with access to birth control, and conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.

“Under the guise of skirting controversy, WMATA refused PETA ads that included a poster showing a pig next to the words ‘I’m Me, Not Meat,’ while allowing a restaurant ad proclaiming, ‘Porkadise Found!’” says PETA Foundation General Counsel Caitlin Hawks. “PETA looks forward to establishing that WMATA’s advertising guidelines are inherently discriminatory and restoring PETA’s First Amendment rights to advocate in behalf of animals.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—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.

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Below, please find a statement from PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange on the death of Paul Reubens:

Just as Pee-wee raced into a burning building to rescue dozens of animals in his Big Adventure, Paul Reubens was a real-life friend to individuals of all species. From auctioning off his time in support of PETA’s lifesaving work to starring in a PETA campaign celebrating Pee-wee’s favorite vegan candies, he used his inimitable talents to promote compassion to animals as only he could. He was our friend and our favorite rebel, and the world will be a little less joyful without him.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—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 PETA Remembers Paul Reubens’ Compassion for Animals appeared first on PETA.

Scaring mother bears out of their dens with bottle rockets while standing by with shotguns and running chainsaws “so the mothers can’t hear the babies screaming”—that’s how workers at Bear Country U.S.A. stole cubs from their mothers before putting them on display at the roadside zoo, as revealed in footage from a new PETA undercover investigation. Workers, one of whom described the process as “stealing children and taking them to a white van” and “a little bit bad on the morals,” were warned not to discuss it with customers, as a supervisor instructed in an e-mail, “Refrain from going into … detail that could be offensive to the public. … [G]uests do not need to know the entirety of the truth.”

In nature, cubs stay with their mothers for at least 16 months—but PETA’s exposé reveals that Bear Country U.S.A. forcibly separated them when they’re no more than 8 weeks old and kept them in cardboard boxes. The cubs were exhibited to a group of children, even though the supervisor acknowledged that the animals were “scared.” Weeks later, the supervisor instructed PETA’s investigator to “kick [the cubs] down” and to “pinch their nose as hard as you f***ing can” if they bit. A senior worker noted that “the longer you hold these guys, the more of a d**k they’re going to be as they grow.”

Workers at Bear Country U.S.A. also used firecrackers to separate 4-week-old wolf pups from their mothers so that they, too, could be displayed to the public, and adult animals at the roadside zoo were denied adequate veterinary care, including a thin 17-year-old fox named Mama who appeared to be in pain and was missing an extensive amount of fur. When the supervisor finally sought care for her nearly 11 weeks after PETA’s investigator raised concerns, a veterinarian euthanized her and found that she had widespread cancer.

“Screaming cubs and mourning mothers are Bear Country U.S.A.’s bread and butter,” says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Welfare Debbie Metzler. “Generation after generation of bear families are torn apart by the sordid roadside zoo industry, and PETA urges everyone to stay away from any business that uses vulnerable baby animals as props.”

Workers were also injured at the roadside zoo. PETA’s investigator was bitten and scratched on the arms, one bear “rip[ped] out a chunk” of a worker’s leg, another swatted at and lacerated the worker’s heel, and a cub “beat the s*** out of” a third worker’s face. That worker said animal bites are “something you … get used to.”

Accordingly, PETA has submitted evidence to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration seeking investigations into apparent violations of laws regarding animal welfare, neglect, endangered species, and worker safety.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—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

The post Exposé: Chainsaws, Bottle Rockets Used to Separate Mother Bears From Screaming Cubs at Roadside Zoo appeared first on PETA.

Bear Cubs Torn From Their Mothers to Entertain Tourists at Dreadful Wildlife Drive-Through

 

Every Parent’s Worst Nightmare Come to Life: Babies Torn From Mothers and Forced to Entertain Tourists

 

Watch What PETA’s Investigator Found at Greedy Tourist Trap Where Bears ‘Could Die Any Minute’

 

Watch Supervisor of Greedy Wildlife Drive-Through Admit That Bears ‘Could Die Any Minute’

 

 

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