Kategorie: Animals

In time for Halloween, PETA U.K. is releasing a new video warning people of the dangers of the terrifying “octocurse”—which slowly turns any human who kills, cooks, or consumes octopus into a cephalopod—and the group just sent a letter to celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay urging him to avoid the curse by keeping octopus flesh off his menus and out of his kitchens.

“By serving octopus in your restaurants at this eerie time of year, you put yourself and diners at risk of this fabled, ancient curse,” PETA U.K. Vice President Elisa Allen warns Ramsay in the letter, which points out that octopuses are hyper-intelligent beings capable of complex thought processes who have been known to caress and kiss one another, use tools, navigate mazes, attempt escapes, and even squirt their captors with water. They are also extremely sensitive to pain. Their brains are distributed throughout their bodies, so being cut up while still alive or speared to death—both common methods of killing these animals—causes them prolonged agony.

“Fortunately, dodging the curse is simple: Take octopus off your menus for good and pledge never, ever to eat these clever cephalopods,” Allen concludes.

PETA U.K.—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.uk or follow the group on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

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In light of Anderson & Girls Orchards’ mounting violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA)—including a recent citation after a goat bit a child—PETA fired off a letter this morning calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to revoke the owner’s exhibitor license. The group notes that wildlife exhibitor Terry Anderson has racked up 46 citations in eight years for failing to meet the minimum requirements of the AWA, 35 of which are from the past four years alone and include citations for forcing animals to live amid severe accumulations of feces and failing to provide ailing animals with veterinary care.

For years, Anderson has been slapped with citations for failing to adequately supervise visitor interactions with animals—and on September 14, the USDA issued Anderson a “critical” citation for failing to supervise visitors’ interactions with goats or provide a sufficient barrier between the goats and the public, resulting in injury to a child that required medical attention.

“Anderson & Girls Orchards has had years to clean up its act, but now a child has been injured and the veterinary care failures show no sign of letting up,” says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Michelle Sinnott. “PETA is calling on the USDA to revoke the license of this seedy outfit as if lives depended on it, because they do.”

Previous citations also include failing to obtain adequate veterinary care for a rabbit suffering from a swollen eye with yellow-green discharge; failing to alert the veterinarian after a mother marmoset dropped one of her babies, who ultimately died; and failing to provide a capybara who had a limp and red, inflamed skin with veterinary care. The USDA also frequently cites Anderson for allowing animal enclosures to fall into a state of disrepair. In 2021, the USDA issued the facility a $3,875 penalty for previously alleged violations. During the September 14 visit, Anderson received an additional direct citation for failing to provide seven zebu whose hooves were “severely overgrown” with adequate veterinary care and a repeat citation for failing to fix a gap in the fencing around the camel enclosure, putting the animals at risk of injury.

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 or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

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Following recently obtained federal reports documenting workers kicking a pig, chasing and electroshocking another, and denying cows and lambs water at the Scotts Hook & Cleaver slaughterhouse near Scotts, PETA fired off a letter this morning to Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey S. Getting calling on him to investigate and file applicable criminal charges against the workers responsible.

According to the reports, on June 28 a federal agent saw a slaughterhouse worker kick a pig in the left shoulder with “the full swing of his leg.” On November 9, 2021, an inspector saw a worker chasing a pig around the slaughterhouse and repeatedly electroshocking the animal. On June 15, a federal inspector found cows with no potable water—as the temperature reached 90 degrees—“due to the extent of fecal material floating and covering ¾ of the … surface” of the water tank. On March 16, agents found five lambs without access to water. And on February 14, an agent found a cow in a pen with only frozen-solid water available.

“This slaughterhouse is hell on Earth for animals, where pigs have been kicked and electroshocked and cows and lambs left without fresh water to drink,” says PETA Vice President of Evidence Analysis Daniel Paden. “PETA is calling on the prosecuting attorney to prevent more illegal suffering by bringing appropriate charges—and reminds everyone that the only humane meal is a vegan one.”

PETA points out that pigs, cows, sheep, chickens, and other animals feel pain and fear and value their lives, just as humans do. The group is pursuing charges under state law because federal officials haven’t prosecuted any inspected slaughterhouses for acts of abuse and neglect such as those at Scotts Hook & Cleaver since at least 2007.

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

PETA’s letter to Getting follows.

October 19, 2022

The Honorable Jeffrey S. Getting

Prosecuting Attorney

Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office

Dear Mr. Getting:

I hope this letter finds you well. I’m writing to request that your office (and a law-enforcement agency, as necessary) investigate and file applicable criminal charges against the individuals responsible for kicking a pig, repeatedly electroshocking another pig, and denying lambs and cows water at Scotts Hook & Cleaver Inc., located at 8713 S. 38^th St. near Scotts. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) documented the incidents in reports that the agency recently made available to the public. (See the attached table.)

According to the reports, on June 28 a federal agent saw a Scotts Hook & Cleaver worker kick a pig in the left shoulder “with the full swing of his leg.” On November 9, 2021, FSIS staff saw a worker “chasing” a loose pig around the facility and repeatedly electroshocking the animal with a device meant to stun a stationary animal.

On June 15—as the temperature hit 90 degrees—an inspector found cows with no potable water, “due to the extent of fecal material floating and covering 3/4 of the … surface” of the water tank nearby. On March 16, FSIS staff found five lambs deprived of water at the facility. On February 14, a federal official found a cow confined to a pen with only a “frozen solid” water source.

This conduct may violate MCL § 750.50b(2)(b) and § 750.50(2). The documented acts are not the lawful killing and use of livestock otherwise exempt from prosecution. Please note that FSIS’ action carries no criminal or civil penalties and does not preempt criminal liability under state law for acts of cruelty to animals.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Daniel Paden

Vice President of Evidence Analysis

Cruelty Investigations Department

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As the New Braunfels City Council considers an ordinance that would prohibit pet stores from selling dogs and cats obtained from commercial breeders, PETA sent a letter this morning to the council’s members and Mayor Rusty Brockman urging them to vote in favor of the ban to help not only animals but also their constituents and the city’s bottom line.

The ordinance aims to stop abuse in puppy mills, which includes confining mother dogs to cramped metal-floored cages and using them as breeding machines until their bodies give out. Many puppies from such facilities suffer from diseases and inbreeding that mean high veterinary bills for unsuspecting consumers. “Purebred” and “designer” dogs typically are afflicted with uncomfortable or painful genetic conditions. For example, French bulldogs, pugs, and other flat-faced dogs—called “breathing-impaired breeds” due to a debilitating and sometimes fatal condition called brachycephalic syndrome—have restricted airways that cause them to struggle to breathe, which is a leading cause of death in these breeds.

Area animal shelters are full to bursting with adoptable dogs who don’t find homes as a result of pet store operations, and the cost of running those shelters takes a toll on the city budget. Puppy mills continually produce more litters even though approximately 70 million dogs and cats are homeless in the U.S. at any given time.

“Those puppies in the pet shop window commonly begin life in massive breeding mills, where they’re taken from their mothers prematurely, exposed to diseases, and shipped off to make a quick buck,” says PETA Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA members across Texas are encouraging New Braunfels’ leadership to protect dogs, consumers, and the city’s coffers by voting ‘yes’ on this important ordinance.”

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 or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

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