Kategorie: Animals

After learning that locally based reptile mill The Gourmet Rodent—a self-professed nationwide supplier to Petco—keeps thousands of snakes in small, barren plastic tubs without room to even extend their bodies to full length, PETA fired off a letter today to owner Mike Layman calling on him to move the snakes at his compound into enclosures at least as long as they are and to end the company’s misleading claims that it’s acceptable to house snakes in tanks that are just a third of the length of their bodies.

Numerous peer-reviewed studies make it clear that to be psychologically and physically healthy, snakes held in captivity must be able to fully stretch out their bodies and that snakes who can’t stretch out feel stressed and experience various health problems, including injuries, joint disease, constipation, and obesity.

“At this wretched reptile mill, tens of thousands of snakes are confined to tiny tubs stacked from floor to ceiling, unable to stretch out or engage in any natural behavior,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “The pet trade peddles in misery, and PETA urges people never to buy a snake or any other animal from a pet store or breeder.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Layman follows.

March 7, 2024

Mike Layman
Owner
The Gourmet Rodent

Dear Mr. Layman:

I’m writing about the tens of thousands of snakes confined to your breeding warehouse. Will you commit to improving conditions for these animals and end your company’s false claim that it’s acceptable to keep snakes in tanks that are just a third of the animals’ length?

A brief video tour of your compound—as well as numerous published photographs—show plastic tubs reaching from the floor to the ceiling in aisle after aisle of snakes. The video shows you removing three of the snakes crammed into these tiny tubs. All these animals—and those you’ve been photographed handling—are obviously much longer than the tubs to which they are confined and can’t even extend their bodies to full length. PETA investigations have found that snakes used for breeding spend their entire lives in tubs like this, intensively confined like dogs at puppy mills.

Such constant confinement causes any animal to suffer and has been implicated in abnormal behavior as well as more than 20 diseases found in snakes kept this way. It’s widely acknowledged among experts—and has been for years—that habitats that allow snakes to stretch and move around are crucial to their physical and behavioral needs. A 2019 study of 65 snakes found that many of them assumed fully stretched-out postures within just an hour of observation during the daytime. A 2021 study found that “recommendations [of] enclosure sizes shorter than the snakes were based entirely on decades-old ‘rule of thumb’ practices that were unsupported by scientific evidence” and that “[r]ectilinear behavior is normal, distinct, and common across snake species, and … fundamental to snake health and welfare.”

Even the care sheet produced by a pet industry lobbying group states that snake enclosures “should provide [the animal] sufficient space to stretch out and move freely.” Why then does your company’s “care sheet” for ball python snakes advise people that these animals can be crammed into tanks just a third of their length? No one would recommend that a 3-foot-long German shepherd be kept in a crate just 12 inches long. Yet The Gourmet Rodent approves of and promotes keeping a 6-foot-long snake in a tank that’s just 2 feet long.

Stretching out fully and moving in a straight line are essential to snakes’ well-being. Accordingly, PETA looks forward to your prompt confirmation that (a) your facility—the largest of its kind in the world—and lucrative company will give this basic opportunity to the snakes you breed and ship around the world and that (b) you have removed the above false and misleading claim from your website and any other materials. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Daniel Paden
Vice President of Evidence Analysis

The post PETA Demands More Room for Snakes, Calls On Newberry Reptile Mill and Petco Supplier to Stop Warehousing Reptiles in Tiny Plastic Tubs appeared first on PETA.

After learning that locally based reptile mill Reptiles by Mack—which sells reptiles to pet stores across the U.S.—keeps thousands of snakes in small, barren plastic tubs without room to fully stretch out, PETA fired off a letter today to the business’s founder and CEO, John Mack, calling on him to improve conditions for the animals at his facility and to remove the misleading claims on the company’s website stating that snakes can be housed in enclosures only half the length of their bodies.

Numerous peer-reviewed studies make it clear that to be as mentally and physically healthy as possible, snakes held in captivity must be able to fully stretch out their bodies—meaning that they must be housed in enclosures at least as long as they are—and that snakes who can’t stretch out feel stressed and experience various health problems, including injuries, joint disease, constipation, and obesity.

“Confining snakes to minuscule, barren plastic bins where they can’t stretch, explore, or express any other natural behavior is just as cruel as keeping cats or dogs in cages so small that they can’t move comfortably, stand up, or even turn around,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “This is the reality of the pet trade, and PETA urges everyone not to support it and never to buy any animal from a pet store or breeder.”

A previous PETA investigation into Reptiles by Mack revealed that tens of thousands of frogs, lizards, turtles, and snakes were confined to filthy, cramped plastic tubs and deprived of basic necessities, such as fresh food, water, heat, UV light, and veterinary care.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Mack follows.

March 5, 2024

John Mack
Founder and CEO
Reptiles by Mack

Dear Mr. Mack:

I’m writing about the countless snakes confined at your breeding and import warehouse. Will you commit to improving conditions for these animals and end your company’s false claim that it’s acceptable to keep snakes in tanks that are just half the animals’ length?

Your late friend Brian Barczyk’s polished video tour of your business shows thousands of plastic tubs reaching nearly to the ceiling in “aisle after aisle of snakes” that go “as far as the eye can see,” as Barczyk puts it. The video shows “really big” snakes—as Barczyk says—crammed into these tiny tubs. Many animals are obviously much longer than the tubs and can’t even extend their bodies to full length. We understand that the snakes you use for breeding spend their entire lives in tubs like this, severely confined like dogs at puppy mills.

Such intense confinement causes any animal to suffer and has been implicated in abnormal behavior as well as more than 20 diseases found in snakes kept this way. It’s widely acknowledged among experts—and has been for years—that habitats that allow snakes to stretch and move around are crucial to their physical and behavioral needs. A 2019 study of 65 snakes found that many of them assumed fully stretched-out postures within just an hour of observation during the daytime. A 2021 study found that “recommendations [of] enclosure sizes shorter than the snakes were based entirely on decades-old ‘rule of thumb’ practices that were unsupported by scientific evidence” and that “[r]ectilinear behavior is normal, distinct, and common across snake species, and … fundamental to snake health and welfare.”

Even the care sheet produced by a pet industry lobbying group—whose board of directors you chair—states that snake enclosures “should provide [the animal] sufficient space to stretch out and move freely.” Why then do your company’s “care sheets” for corn, king, and sand boa snakes advise people that these animals can be crammed into tanks just half their length? No one would recommend that a 3-foot-long German shepherd be kept in a crate just 18 inches long. Why does Reptiles by Mack approve of and promote keeping a 6-foot-long snake in a 3-foot-long tank?

Stretching out fully and moving in a straight line are essential to snakes’ well-being. Accordingly, PETA looks forward to your prompt confirmation that (a) your facility—one of the largest of its kind in the world—and lucrative company will give this basic opportunity to the animals you breed and ship out and that (b) you have removed the above false and misleading claims from your website and any other materials. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Daniel Paden
Vice President of Evidence Analysis

The post Xenia Reptile Mill Warehousing Thousands of Snakes in Tiny Tubs; PETA, Reptile Experts Condemn Cruel Conditions appeared first on PETA.

Big News for Small Mammals in the U.K.: A Twisted Test Is Sunk!

Great News for Mice and Rats! The U.K. Wades Into Better Science With This Move

Mice and Rats, Rejoice! There’s Big News About a Twisted Test in the U.K.

How Did the U.K. Just Toss a Life Raft to Mice and Rats?

The U.K. Makes Waves With Decision on the Forced Swim Test—Check It Out!

Where Is the Forced Swim Test Sinking? Major Progress for Mice and Rats

Why Depression Studies Are About to Get a Major Scientific Boost in the U.K.

Why Other Countries Should Follow the U.K.’s Lead and Ban This Watered-Down Test

Test That Hurts Mice and Rats Is Sunk! Find Out How PETA U.K. Made Progress

 

After relentless campaigning by PETA U.K., the U.K. government has made a change that will encourage scientists to focus on human-relevant research methods.

 

The U.K. government reviewed its policy on the forced swim test and made a big announcement that will protect small mammals and change the lives of humans waiting for help with depression.

The post How Did the U.K. Just Toss a Life Raft to Mice and Rats? appeared first on PETA.

Mason Melito, a 19-year-old Point Pleasant native, never misses an opportunity to advocate for animals, humans in need, or the planet—whether it’s dressing up as a giant carrot to encourage presidential candidates to go vegan or encasing his feet in cement outside Liberty Media’s headquarters to urge the company to end its support of the deadly Iditarod. Melito just wrapped up travels to Alabama and Texas with Abduction, an award-winning virtual reality experience landing on college campuses across the country, in which visitors are abducted by aliens and subjected to a shocking experience similar to what animals endure in laboratories.

Melito’s most recent action follows his appearance at the Netflix Cup golf event, where he was arrested on his knees while pleading to executives of F1 and its parent company, Liberty Media, to end Liberty’s support of the Iditarod. He advocates for climate justice as cofounder of Greenpeace Jersey Shore and Sunrise Movement Point Pleasant Beach and is also a regular at vegan farmer’s markets, anti-dairy rallies, and tabling events, where he hands out literature about animal rights and teaches people how they can be animal allies. An advanced marketing intern for peta2—part of PETA’s youth division—Melito creates compelling content for the group’s TikTok and Instagram pages as well as Students Opposing Speciesism’s Instagram page.

“Whether he’s opening students’ eyes to the cruelty to animals taking place in laboratories on their college campuses or teaching people about how the dairy industry tears mother cows away from their calves, Mason Melito is a true leader and a tireless advocate for animals,” says peta2 Senior Director Rachelle Owen. “peta2 urges young people everywhere to look to Mason as an example of how they can make a difference for animals in their own lives.”

After Melito graduates from San Diego State University this spring, he’ll begin working full time for PETA’s International Grassroots Campaigns Department. In addition to his advocacy work, he’s passionate about traveling, hiking, exploring the outdoors, and spending time with his rescued dogs, Stella and Roxy.

peta2—whose motto reads, “Animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit peta2.com or follow the group on TikTok or Instagram.

The post Point Pleasant Teen Leads Next Generation of Animal Advocates appeared first on PETA.

Days after disrupting Victoria Beckham’s Paris Fashion Week show, PETA U.K. is calling on the mother of four to consider how calves are stolen from their loving mothers to be slaughtered for their skin and to ban leather from her namesake brand with the release of a powerful new video.

“Much of the skin used for ‘luxury’ fashion comes from calves who were torn away from their mothers just hours after they were born,” PETA U.K. Vice President of Corporate Projects Yvonne Taylor writes in a letter to Beckham. “As you know, a mother’s instinct to protect her babies is intense. Just like us, cows share a strong, loving bond with their young, and no handbag or jacket can justify the trauma of separation they endure or the horror of the slaughterhouse.”

At slaughterhouses, cows killed for leather may be skinned and dismembered while they’re still conscious—after they endure castration, tail-docking, and dehorning, without any painkillers, on farms. Female cows are repeatedly impregnated, and their terrified babies are torn away from them shortly after birth for calf leather.

In addition to the horrific cruelty it inflicts on animals, the leather industry also contributes to the climate catastrophe, land devastation, pollution, and water contamination. Sustainable vegan leather made from apples, cork, corn, grapes, mushrooms, paper, pineapples, soy, or tea mimics the properties of leather without the cruelty to animals or environmental devastation. PETA U.K. sent samples of animal-friendly leathers to Beckham to consider for future collections.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

The post Victoria Beckham Receives Leather ‘Bloodbath’ Video Appeal From PETA U.K. appeared first on PETA.