Kategorie: Animals

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Help Animals in 2021!

Countless animals will rely on us for help in the year ahead—will you be one of the 30,000 people we need to renew their support for PETA and power our work in 2021?

 

Yes, I Want to Help

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With what D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee has described as “a major security threat” on the eve of President-Elect Biden’s inauguration, PETA has reluctantly canceled its Inaugural Eve “Dogs Welcome” Drive-in Party /at Union Market to honor First Dog Major and upcoming animal protective legislation—but it’s not going away: The party will now be online for everyone to enjoy!

Visitors to PETA’s blog can join the group in celebrating animals and their champions in Congress and welcoming Major, the first “first dog” (FIDO) to be adopted from an animal shelter. Hosted by Edward James Olmos and former HLN host Jane Velez-Mitchell, the online event will feature appearances from members of Congress who have helped PETA advance animal protection, stories of past FIDOs and the presidents who loved them, and Tony Award–winning Broadway star Beth Leavel’s musical tribute to Major Biden, which pokes lighthearted fun at the president-elect for fracturing his ankle in November while playing with the dog: “If you take a bad fall / you’ll be wearing a boot / when you play with your rescue dog!”

There will even be a signature drink: PETA will arrange for “doggie bags” packed with everything needed to make a vegan hot toddy—including donated bottles of oak-finished Maker’s Mark 46 bourbon (for the 46^th POTUS), “bee-free” honey, cinnamon syrup, and even a lemon—to be delivered to the guests (21 and older, of course) from the 100 cars that had secured a spot at the drive-in event.

“PETA will still celebrate new opportunities to push for stronger protections for those Americans who aren’t lucky enough to be born human,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “Our country may be politically divided, but we can unite to advocate for basic animal rights.”

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

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Times may be difficult in our nation’s capital, but that won’t stop PETA from celebrating Major Biden—the first adopted “First Dog” (FIDO) in the White House—or the major progress we’ve made for animals, thanks to help from our animal champion friends in Congress.

Our planned drive-in inaugural eve party at Washington’s Union Market had to be called off because of road closures and a curfew, so we’re taking it virtual. Now, everyone can join in on the celebration!

Our party was set to include popcorn, soup, and other vegan foods as well as bottles of oak-finished Maker’s Mark 46 bourbon (for the 46^th POTUS) donated by the company and delivered to guests’ cars with dog biscuits and dog treats. But ticket holders won’t miss out: We’re arranging for “doggie bags” packed with everything needed to make a delicious vegan hot toddy—including Maker’s Mark 46 bourbon (to guests 21 and older), “bee-free” honey, cinnamon syrup, and even a lemon—to be delivered to their homes.

Hosted by PETA supporters Jane Velez-Mitchell and Edward James Olmos, our spirited virtual event includes appearances from members of Congress who have helped PETA advance animal protection, including U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who is promoting vegan eating to curb climate change and ensure species survival; U.S. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), who worked with PETA to end the government’s psychological experiments on baby monkeys as well as the Coast Guard’s stabbing and shooting of animals in military training exercises; and Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), who received PETA’s Justice in Action award for her support of bills to phase out the military’s tests on animals and stop the use of elephants in performances.

Also appearing are U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), who cosponsored the BEST Practices Act, which would replace animals in military trauma training with human-simulation technology. Lee received PETA’s Congressional Leadership Award for introducing the Cecil the Lion Endangered and Threatened Species Act of 2015, which prohibits killing endangered or threatened species in the U.S. for “trophies” as well as importing such “trophies.” She also sponsored a similar bill, the ProTECT Act of 2019, and introduced the Bullying Prevention and Intervention Act of 2013 and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, and she’s currently sponsoring H.R.133 to enhance federal enforcement of hate crimes.

And other friends are in the video, too, including U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), who urged the National Institute of Mental Health to end electroshock and near-drowning tests on animals and cosponsored the BEST Practices Act; U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), who hosted PETA scientists for a congressional briefing on cutting-edge, non-animal test methods and who co-chairs the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus; U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), who called on the FBI to stop stabbing and shooting animals in archaic trauma training exercises; U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.), who fought to keep dog leather out of the U.S. and to end the use of aircrafts for animal-abusing spectacles such as “turkey drops”; and U.S. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who demanded that the U.S. Department of Agriculture help Nosey the elephant, who was being forced to perform despite serious health problems, and called on the National Institute of Mental Health to end taxpayer-funded experiments in which mice are nearly drowned, electrically shocked, and hung by their tails.

PETA’s event also includes a tribute to past FIDOs, a mini-tour of the nation’s capital with PETA President Ingrid Newkirk (find out which star she escorted through the Capitol’s underground tunnels!), stories of presidents and vice presidents who were passionate about animal rights (one of them even threatened to tie a horse beater to a stake!), and a heartwarming video of Maggie, one of the many dogs we’ve rescued.

Tony Award–winning Broadway star Beth Leavel caps it all off with an energetic musical tribute to Major Biden. With lyrics by Tony Award–winning composer Lisa Lambert and music by Adam Overett, the song—“Rescue Dog Major Biden’s Tips for a Safe Playtime Experience”—pokes lighthearted fun at the president-elect for fracturing his ankle in November while playing with his beloved pup.

“Whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, an Independent, or undecided, one thing PETA wants you to vote for is an end to cruelty to animals,” says Newkirk. “We’re celebrating dogs and democracy as we look ahead to stronger protections for all those Americans who aren’t lucky enough to be born human.”

So pour yourself a celebratory beverage, save a spot on the couch for your canine or feline best friend, and join PETA in toasting Major Biden, major progress for animals, and more to come!

Note: PETA supports animal rights, opposes all forms of animal exploitation, and provides the public with information on those issues. PETA does not directly or indirectly participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office or any political party.

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What becomes of the turkeys who are “pardoned” by the president after Thanksgiving? Recently, PETA paid a visit to Gobbler’s Rest on the campus of Virginia Tech, where four turkeys “pardoned” by President Donald J. Trump in 2018 and 2019 are kept. Video and photographic evidence captured on-site proves that conditions for the birds are abysmal. That’s why PETA is calling on Virginia Tech to allow us to relocate these birds to a proper sanctuary, where they can enjoy the basic freedoms that most Americans assumed they already had.

PETA has secured placement for these birds and is standing by to transport them to a place of true rest for the remainder of their lives. Virginia Tech should make the merciful, decent choice for these elderly, ailing individuals.

What ‘Pardoned’ Turkeys Endure at Virginia Tech

Most Americans would be shocked to learn that these turkeys (named Peas, Carrots, Bread, and Butter) are unable to breathe fresh air, forage, or feel the sun on their backs in the Gobbler’s Rest pavilion.

Two of these highly social birds are kept alone. None can dust bathe or roost—things that are very important to them—or even hide from bright artificial lighting. According to a veterinarian who reviewed the video footage, these conditions present “numerous, cumulative, and chronic stressors that severely compromise the physical and psychological well-being of these turkeys.”

The “pardoned” turkeys are evidently so frustrated by their present conditions that they’re pulling out their own—and each other’s—feathers. Their inability to escape the hard floor may have caused a featherless patch to develop on Carrots’ chest. The brown staining on Bread’s and Butter’s tail feathers could be symptomatic of tremendous stress and gastrointestinal ailments or could simply show that the birds cannot avoid their own feces in the cramped pen.

Unforgivable: How Humans Treat Turkeys Used for Food

Every year, one turkey is “pardoned” at the White House, but there’s always another on stand-by. That’s because the birds are at such a high risk of falling ill or even dying before the ceremony takes place that a backup is needed.

On today’s American farms, turkeys are bred to grow so fast that their organs can barely keep up, if they keep up at all. Up to 10% of turkeys on modern farms die before they even reach the slaughterhouse. Turkeys on more than 99% of U.S. farms are so unnaturally large that many can’t even stand without experiencing pain.

Virginia Tech has worked closely for many decades with an industry that treats turkeys as commodities, fattening them up so much that they have difficulty carrying their own weight and then sometimes suffer heart attacks or are sent on a frightening journey to the slaughterhouse.

Take Action for Turkeys!

Times and hearts change. Most people now understand that turkeys are individuals with complex feelings and emotions. They’re social, playful birds who chirp and cluck along to music. It’s speciesist to believe that they are any less capable of suffering than the cats and dogs with whom many of us lovingly share our homes. That’s why you shouldn’t eat turkey for Thanksgiving, for Christmas, or at any other time of the year.

PETA can help you prepare a fabulous holiday feast that’s 100% plant-based. Celebrating with vegan meals is a great way to show animals—and your guests—that you care about them. What are you waiting for? Check out some delectable holiday recipes:

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