Kategorie: Animals

The future of farming means stepping away from animal-based agriculture, and after two young animals—Stetson the goat and Oakly the pig—were killed with an axe during a break-in at the Hollister High School agriculture barn, TeachKind, PETA’s humane education division, sent a letter today to Principal Kevin Medeiros urging him to transition to a plant-powered program with the group’s financial help and asking him to ensure that no other animals suffer on school grounds, only to die there or in slaughterhouses, where many animals used in National FFA Organization (FFA) programs typically end up. Medeiros can make a positive move for the environment, animals, and human health by switching to a vegan agriculture program that teaches students to grow healthy, nourishing fruits and vegetables. Most young people would welcome having the surviving animals sent to reputable sanctuaries—and PETA will donate $5,000 to help get the new program off the ground.

“Stetson and Oakly’s violent deaths are not unlike the terrible end they would have faced after the FFA program, which auctions animals off to the slaughterhouse after students spend months bonding with them,” says PETA Senior Director of Youth Programs Marta Holmberg. “TeachKind is urging educators to ensure that no more lives are lost on their watch by embracing a vegan program that helps students cultivate crops as well as compassion for individuals of all species.”

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

TeachKind’s letter to Medeiros follows.

February 13, 2024

Kevin Medeiros
Principal
Hollister High School

Via e-mail

Dear Mr. Medeiros:

I’m writing from TeachKind, PETA’s humane education division, which works with thousands of educators across the U.S. to promote compassion for animals. We were sad to see the news that month-old animals Stetson the goat and Oakly the pig were violently slaughtered with an axe and other animals were injured, allegedly by a San Benito County man during a break-in at the Hollister agriculture barn. These lives can never be replaced, but for the sake of the remaining animals and in honor of those who died, we urge Hollister High School to allow the surviving ones to go to a reputable sanctuary and to stop using animals in your agricultural program. PETA is ready to donate $5,000 to your school to develop a plant-based agriculture program if you commit to no longer using animals.

Changing times call for a reevaluation of agriculture programs and reflection on the underlying messages they send to students, namely that it’s acceptable to exploit animals for awards, accolades, and money or to send their animal friends—even if they’ve cared for and bonded with them for months—to a violent, terrifying death at a slaughterhouse. Many young people join animal agriculture programs because they’re interested in animals, but these programs demand that they develop a harmful disconnect from those very animals, the consequences of which can be detrimental. The suspect is charged with, among other things, child abuse for causing emotional distress—and one bereaved student said of Stetson, “I wish he would have gone the way he’s supposed to instead of being murdered like that,” while another expressed shock at the animals’ deaths, saying they didn’t understand how someone could “just kill” them as though they were “nothing.” These grieving young people echo the sentiment of FFA members who were the impetus for the LEAP program, an innovative agriculture initiative in which students study animal care and our food system in a sustainable, compassionate way.

It’s critical to note that the suffering these animals experienced is like what they would have endured at the end of the program. When FFA projects are completed, most animals involved are typically sold at auction for slaughter or to be used as “breeders” (and then likely sent to slaughter once their bodies give out and they’re no longer profitable). Often, FFA program participants don’t fully grasp the devastating fate an animal will face after being sold, as evidenced by the students’ comments above. As students express their feelings about the killing of these animals, we encourage you to have an honest dialog with them about what animals are subjected to at a slaughterhouse. Presenting young people with broad and accurate details about an issue promotes critical thinking skills, and giving them tools to enact change based on their findings empowers them to become lifelong learners. Hollister students are likely ready for a new tradition—one without heartbreak—and we’re ready to help.

We urge you to adopt 21^st century programming, which recognizes that the future of agriculture relies on growing crops instead of raising and killing animals for food to combat the climate catastrophe. Worldwide, farming communities like your own are shifting their practices toward sustainability and compassion by recognizing the devastating impacts of animal agriculture.

Raising animals for food requires massive amounts of land, food, energy, and water. By some estimates, animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than all the world’s transportation systems combined. According to the United Nations, a global shift toward vegan eating is vital to combat the worst effects of climate change. Your agricultural program could help students better prepare for the future by teaching them how to produce healthy fruits and vegetables, supporting their growth into compassionate, responsible individuals who will make the world a better place for everyone.

At TeachKind, we’re former teachers, so we know that educators often have the best intentions and want to build on students’ natural interest in animals to cultivate qualities like responsibility and care for other sentient beings, as well as helping them develop career skills. But we can share these essential lessons in ways that teach students that animals are someone, not something. Extending respect and kindness to all animals would be a great way to expand on your educational goal to support students to “not only excel academically but also to develop the skills and mindset needed to thrive beyond high school” and help you meet California’s state law expecting all teachers to provide instruction in the “humane treatment of living creatures.” Will Hollister High School commit to ending the use of animals in its agriculture program?

Our staff is on standby to discuss this issue with you further and to assist with this compassionate change.

On behalf of PETA and our many members and supporters who live in California, thank you in advance for your time and your consideration of this important matter. I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Julie Everett (she/her)
Correspondence and Project Administrator
TeachKind | PETA’s Humane Education Division

cc:         Derek Barnes, Assistant Principal
Amber Kearns, Assistant Principal
Natalie Kimura, Assistant Principal
Allison Musich, Assistant Principal
Elaine Klauer, Assistant Superintendent of Academics and Instructional Programs
Jacqueline Bautista, Administrative School Psychologist

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a new report revealing another slew of federal Animal Welfare Act violations at the Miami Seaquarium—including a dolphin found with a 2-inch nail in his throat—so a large pod of PETA supporters and anti-captivity demonstrators will dump a bucket of nails outside the office of Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava on Monday in the first of a two-part action to demand that officials shut down the notoriously derelict marine park. The dolphin defenders will launch another action on Friday morning outside an event hosted by Levine Cava at the Joseph Caleb Auditorium.

PETA supporters converge outside the office of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava last month to demand the closure of the Miami Seaquarium. Credit: PETA

“Animals will continue to suffer and die as long as this sleazy, incompetent abusement park stays open,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Mayor Levine Cava and county officials to put the final nail in the Seaquarium’s coffin and use their authority to help get these animals moved to reputable facilities, where they can finally receive the care they need.”

The USDA report also revealed such serious failures as not having the basic equipment needed to provide animals with necessary veterinary care and neglecting to schedule cataract surgery for a sea lion whose eye pain became so severe that she began refusing food. Dolphins were also found with other dangerous foreign objects in their mouths and throats; a dolphin was kicked in the mouth by a customer during an interaction; and numerous dilapidated enclosures were once again found to contain rust, mold, and bubbling paint.

Where:           Outside the Miami-Dade County Mayor’s Office, Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 N.W. First St., Miami
When:             Monday, February 12, 12 noon

Where:           Outside the Joseph Caleb Auditorium, 5400 N.W. 22^nd Ave., Miami
When:             Friday, February 16, 9:30 a.m.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other 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 (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

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With overnight temperatures expected to drop back below freezing in the upcoming week and because the city’s three-hour limit on tethering dogs is reportedly not being enforced—leaving many dogs chained outdoors 24 hours a day—PETA has rushed a code blue alert to the Motor City, courtesy of two sky-high appeals urging everyone to unchain their dogs and bring them inside.

“Dogs left outside when temperatures plummet suffer every moment in the cold and could easily die from exposure, so they must be brought inside right away,” says PETA Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations Daphna Nachminovitch. “While the Detroit City Council has made an effort to help dogs, they are still being kept chained outdoors 24/7, and PETA encourages city leaders to ban unattended tethering altogether.”

PETA points out that the current three-hour tethering limit is nearly impossible to enforce. Other communities that initially passed tethering time limits, including Newport News and Portsmouth, Virginia, later revisited the issue and prohibited the practice altogether.

PETA also notes that chained dogs are typically deprived of adequate food, water, and veterinary care—and that their emotional and social needs are completely ignored. Many are denied adequate shelter and have only an overturned trash bin or plastic barrel—or nothing at all—to shield them from the elements. Studies show that continuous chaining also makes dogs aggressive.

PETA’s billboards are located near the intersection of S. Wayne Road and June Avenue in Westland and at 17706 Plymouth Rd. in Detroit.

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 (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

 

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Ahead of the big game on Sunday—one of the biggest days of the year for cheese consumption—a team of PETA supporters, accompanied by a giant inflatable baby armed with a sign that reads, “If You Can Read This, You’re Too Old for Breast Milk,” will touch down at the Official Chiefs Watch Party at J. Rieger & Co. to give out free Babybel Plant-Based cheese snacks to fans, reminding people that cow’s milk is for calves and that vegan nosh is a winning play for everyone.

Where:    Outside J. Rieger & Co., 2700 Guinotte Ave., Kansas City

When:    Sunday, February 11, 4 p.m.

“Stubborn dairy-dependent men need a new game plan that doesn’t involve loading up their Super Bowl pizzas and snacks with bovine breast secretions,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “There’s never been a wider array of vegan options available, and PETA urges everyone to kick off kinder eating habits with delicious vegan cheese this Sunday and beyond.”

In the dairy industry, calves are torn away from their mothers within a day of birth so that the milk meant for them can be stolen and sold to humans as cheese, yogurt, and other “products.” PETA’s investigations into dairy facilities have found workers electroshocking cows in the face, hitting them with poles and a cane, and abusing them in other ways. Once their bodies wear out from repeated pregnancies, they’re sent to slaughter. PETA’s downloadable vegan starter kits can help anyone make the switch to vegan eating.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other 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 (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

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