Kategorie: Animals

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PETA has just obtained a necropsy report for Buffy, an elephant whose death at the Monterey Zoo was kept from the public—and in a letter sent this morning to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, PETA calls for an investigation into what appears to be highly questionable care that the document reveals she received before she died. If officials find that the Monterey Zoo failed to provide Buffy with adequate care, they may then revoke the operation’s permit to hold elephants.

Buffy was found dead on February 5 after 17 days of suffering from colic (or abdominal pain). The necropsy shows that she had eaten a large amount of sand that blocked and ruptured her large intestine—although no tests were conducted that would have detected that while she was alive—eventually causing blood poisoning. She was undoubtedly in agony when she died, alone and unaided, on the concrete floor of a barn. If the Monterey Zoo had performed essential diagnostic tests, the cause of her illness would likely have been determined and aggressively treated, potentially saving her life.

“This roadside zoo failed to administer a few essential tests that had the potential to spare Buffy an agonizing death,” says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Rachel Mathews. “PETA wants state officials to investigate exactly what went wrong and how she died and is calling for the facility’s last remaining elephant to be retired to an accredited sanctuary.”

Buffy is the third elephant to die under questionable circumstances at the Monterey Zoo in recent years. Paula was euthanized in January 2019 after she was unable to stand because of a painful joint condition, and Kristy died in October 2019 of a severe bacterial infection. Only one elephant now remains: Butch, who lacks the essential companionship of others of his species and is still being exploited by the Monterey Zoo for pricey public encounters and photo ops.

A PETA lawsuit challenging the Monterey Zoo’s use of weapons to control elephants is ongoing.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

The post Elephant’s Necropsy Prompts Call For Investigation of 3rd Elephant Death at Sleazy Zoo appeared first on PETA.

PETA dispatched a letter this morning to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with a tip that convicted wildlife trafficker Ammon Covino, who is prohibited from holding a USDA exhibitor’s license because of his criminal history, has apparently continued his involvement in the San Antonio Aquarium and the Austin Aquarium while using his wife’s name for official paperwork—the same kind of actions that got him sent back to prison in 2016 for parole violations related to his prior conviction.

PETA also notes that Covino appears to be heavily involved in the opening of the Houston Interactive Aquarium & Animal Preserve, which has been illegally exhibiting animals to the public—including through hands-on encounters with black and white ruffed lemurs and other endangered wildlife—without a federal exhibitor’s license. PETA is calling on the USDA not only to revoke the permits for the San Antonio and Austin facilities but also to deny any permit applications for the Houston “interactive” aquarium.

“This criminal must not be allowed to keep operating paperwork-fudging, animal-exploiting petting zoos,” says PETA Foundation Associate Director and Counsel of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Michelle Sinnott. “PETA is calling on the USDA to pull the licenses of every business that he has his hands in.”

The notorious Covino family has faced scrutiny across the country from the public, authorities, visitors, and employees alike, including for the following incidents in Texas:

• Last March, police found the San Antonio Aquarium operating in violation of the state’s shutdown order and ordered the manager to close the facility immediately. An hour later, police found the aquarium still operating and physically removed visitors and nonessential employees from the building.
• In 2019, the parents of a 10-year-old girl who was allegedly bitten by a lemur filed a lawsuit against the Austin Aquarium, and the USDA cited the business for failing to consult an attending veterinarian in order to determine the cause of ear problems exhibited by kangaroos prior to treating them.
• In 2018, the USDA found that half of the lemurs used in public encounters at the San Antonio Aquarium had bitten or scratched members of the public.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—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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The post NRA Chief Shoots, Struggles to Kill Elephant—Take Action! appeared first on PETA.

Below, please find a statement from PETA President Ingrid Newkirk in response to the video showing NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre repeatedly shooting and failing to kill an African bush elephant (an endangered species), as the dying animal rumbles in distress or to warn others—until someone else finally takes over to make the killing shot. LaPierre’s wife stands by, laughing at the moaning elephant.

“Behind the NRA’s macho posturing are scared little men who pay tens of thousands of dollars for someone else to track elephants so that they can shoot them ineptly at close range. This elephant died horrifically so that Wayne LaPierre could have the animal’s front feet hacked off and shipped to the U.S. under someone else’s name in order to be made into stools for his home. PETA urges every member of Congress to watch this video, condemn the murder of animals for their body parts by trophy addicts, and have the courage to reject NRA money.”

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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