Kategorie: Animals

PETA has just obtained court documents revealing that the state of Oklahoma is suing Jeff Lowe—operator of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park (G.W. Zoo), now branded as “Tiger King Park”—over delinquent sales taxes, seeking repayment of at least $50,274.01 and injunctive relief, including that the park cease operation. And because Lowe has continued to operate and collect revenue, even though his sales tax application was denied on May 1, he also faces criminal penalties of up to $5,000 in fines and up to one year in the county jail.

The lawsuit is the latest in a long list of legal troubles for Lowe. He is also a defendant in an ongoing PETA Endangered Species Act lawsuit challenging cruel big-cat cub petting, he just lost ownership of the G.W. Zoo property to Carole Baskin of Big Cat Rescue, and in July, he will face another hearing in Las Vegas relating to charges of possessing exotic animals and operating a business without a license.

“Jeff Lowe is a felon who may very well follow Joe ‘Exotic’ behind bars,” says PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet. “The state of Oklahoma can hold him accountable for his taxes—PETA will see him in court to hold him accountable for exploiting big-cat cubs.”

Lowe’s charges in Las Vegas followed a 2017 PETA complaint relating to his unlicensed big-cat cub operation, after which authorities raided his home and seized two big-cat cubs and a lemur. He previously pled guilty to felony mail fraud for posing as a domestic violence charity to get marked-down products for his business.

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.

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Following the arrest of Kelowna resident Leighton Allen Labute—who has been charged with six counts of cruelty to animals after posting online videos of himself stabbing and drowning hamsters he says he purchased at a PetSmart store—PETA has fired off a letter to PetSmart’s CEO urging the company to implement a screening system for animal buyers or, better yet, end its sales of live animals entirely. PETA’s Emergency Response Team received complaints about the man’s disturbing videos and provided law-enforcement authorities with extensive forensic research that helped in tracking him down.

“This man posted videos of himself tormenting and killing gentle hamsters he says he purchased at PetSmart, which will sell animals to anyone who can pay,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA is calling on PetSmart to help prevent acts of cruelty like this from happening again by ending its sale of animals.”

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 click here.

PETA’s letter to PetSmart President and CEO J.K. Symancyk follows.

June 11, 2020

J.K. Symancyk

President and CEO

PetSmart Inc.

Re: The Torture and Killing of Animals Purchased From PetSmart

Dear Mr. Symancyk,

Your attention is urgently requested. A British Columbia man has been charged with three counts of killing or injuring an animal and three counts of causing unnecessary pain or suffering to an animal, after torturing hamsters and distributing images of the abuse online. In an online post, the defendant explains that he “recently purchased … hamsters from PetSmart,” and a PetSmart box is in the video in which he first handles the animals, as seen in the attached screenshot.

We ask that PetSmart please honestly assess its practices and consider that the animals you sell remain completely vulnerable to the whims of anyone who has a few dollars to buy them. Given your company’s claim to “love pets”[1] and your personal goal of “be[ing] the trusted partner to pets and pet parents,”[2] we would like to know that you are taking immediate, concrete action to ensure that such a horrific incident will never recur if you can help it.

Will you immediately implement screening measures to at least attempt to prevent individuals who seek to harm animals from purchasing them and to ensure that buyers are capable of and committed to providing them with appropriate care? Better by far, given that thorough, adequate screening of customers is likely impossible for the volume of animals you sell, will you please stop selling them and instead focus on selling supplies to caring guardians who have adopted animals from qualified and appropriately staffed shelters?

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Colin Henstock

Assistant Manager of Investigations

[1]PetSmart, “About PetSmart” <https://www.petsmartcorporate.com> (Last accessed on June X, 2020).

[2]”PetSmart Appoints J.K. Symancyk as Chief Executive Officer,” BusinessWire.com, May 21, 2018 <https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180521005918/en/PetSmart%C2%AE-Appoints-J.K.-Symancyk-Chief-Executive-Officer> (Last accessed on June X, 2020).

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Does Shore Transit have a problem with PETA’s freedom of expression in our effort to save the lives of animals, slaughterhouse workers, and workers’ families? Judging by the way the Maryland agency recently stomped on our right to free speech, we’d say so.

Today, our legal counsel sent a letter formally objecting to Shore Transit’s refusal to run our ads—including the ones above and below—which proclaim, “Close the Slaughterhouses: Save the Workers, Their Families, and the Animals.”

These ads were designed in response to President Trump’s nonbinding order for slaughterhouses nationwide to remain open despite widespread coronavirus infections, including in Maryland, where hundreds of local Perdue and Amick Farms slaughterhouse workers have tested positive for the virus. The number of infections among slaughterhouse workers is still rising.

The meat industry is killing vast numbers of animals, 86 slaughterhouse workers have died from COVID-19, and many more as well as their families are sick.

So we’re asking Shore Transit to do the right thing by allowing us to inform the public that preventing the next pandemic can be as simple as not supporting the slaughter industry and going vegan.

Already Convinced? Here’s How to Go Vegan

The novel coronavirus originated in a Chinese “wet market,” where live and dead animals are sold for human consumption; swine flu began on a U.S. factory farm; and other influenza viruses have been traced to chickens (who love their families and value their own lives, just as we do). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that approximately 75% of recently emerged infectious diseases affecting humans originated in other animals.

Don’t let suppressed freedom of expression stop you from saving the lives of animals such as chickens, who have been known to complete complex mental tasks, learn from watching each other, demonstrate self-control, and worry about the future.

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Shore Transit may not want you to learn more about going vegan or that slaughterhouses are the least safe workplaces in the world, but that doesn’t mean you can’t. Click on the links below to learn more about both subjects and discover how you can save nearly 200 lives per year (including maybe your own) just by making the switch:

Save the Workers, Their Families, and the Animals—Go Vegan

Why PETA Stands in Solidarity With Slaughterhouse Workers

Note: PETA supports animal rights, opposes all forms of animal exploitation, and provides the public with information on those issues. We do 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.

The post ‘No One Needs to Kill to Eat’—but Shore Transit Doesn’t Want You to Know It appeared first on PETA.

During today’s annual meeting of shareholders, SeaWorld dodged PETA’s question. PETA had asked the company to pour some of its profits into developing seaside sanctuaries and to stop breeding dolphins and whales, but SeaWorld deflected to praise its “zoological settings”—and didn’t address breeding at all.

Please see the following statement from PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman:

SeaWorld isn’t defending its breeding program, because drugging and forcibly breeding generations of dolphins and whales for a miserable life in captivity is indefensible. The company seems intent on misleading shareholders as PETA drags it, kicking and screaming, toward making meaningful changes for animals.

For more information, please visit SeaWorldOfHurt.com.

The post Update: SeaWorld Dodges Dolphin-Breeding Question appeared first on PETA.

As coronavirus precautions have most students limited to taking walks, going on short trips to the park with their closest friends and family, or spending more quality time in their own backyards, summer education may seem a bit challenging—but there are still lots of ways students can observe and learn about the truly amazing abilities of animals they likely see every day. An easy way to help kids relate to other species and see that they’re “like us, only different,” is to have them consider the fascinating traits, capabilities, and hidden lives of animals in their very own neighborhoods.

Encourage students to engage in this animal scavenger hunt. Order our FREE stickers to give to those who find all 15!

Instructions for Students

In your own backyard, while on a picnic with your family, or when taking a walk this summer, notice the amazing animals all around you. Be sure not to touch, bother, or get too close to wild animals—just watch them from a distance. See if you can spot all 15 on this list:

• Geese have 13 different calls—they honk to give warnings, say hello, and even express happiness. How do you express happiness? How similar or different is your way of showing happiness from a goose’s way?
• These animals go “bzzz bzzz,” and sometimes people are afraid of them, but bees are truly amazing. They have a complicated social system, can remember colors and landmarks, and can recognize different types of flowers, shapes, and patterns. Just like us, they can make plans and decisions and understand concepts like time. Honeybees play an important part in our ecosystem, and we should never hurt them.
• These animals have eight legs—and when we spot one in the house, we should think of them as roommates, not pests. Did you know that some male spiders pluck their webs like a guitar to attract females? Pretty cool!
• Deer are gentle and intelligent. Did you know that baby deer (also called fawns) stay close to their moms for two years before going out on their own? You probably like to be close to your family, too.

• These little guys are all around us—and because they’re so small, their abilities may be hard to believe. But ants can carry up to 20 times their own weight. That’s some strength!
• In a bad mood or feeling sad? Dogs can tell! Studies show that they can do this by paying attention to how your voice sounds, how you smell, and the look on your face. And we know dogs can be very comforting to us, so this is really no surprise.
• Did you know that many birds, like pigeons, have great memories? Pigeons care about their family, stay with the same mate for life, and can even recognize themselves in a mirror.
• Just like humans, frog fathers watch their babies closely and protect them. Some species of frog dads even swallow their babies when danger is near and spit them back out again when it’s safe! Frogs belong in nature—don’t ever catch them and take them away from their homes outdoors.

• Your parents tell you to eat your greens, right? Then you have something in common with rabbits—they eat greens like grass, clover, wildflowers, and vegetable plants. Rabbits sometimes live underground in burrows with lots of tunnels that they dig for safety.
• When moths want to signal each other, they use light patterns that only other moths can see. Do you have a secret language that you use with someone special?
• How long can you hold your breath? Some kinds of turtles can hold theirs for 100 days under the ice!
• Crows and ravens are very smart birds. The crows in your neighborhood might remember your face after seeing you for a few days—and they can also remember if you ever seemed like a threat. Ravens have shown that they can use tools to get food and solve problems, just like us.
• You learn a lot as a kid, and you’ll remember some of it forever. Butterflies are the same way—they can even remember things they learned when they were caterpillars!
• If you’re hungry, you might wander into your kitchen looking for a snack, right? Worms can think and make decisions based on what they want, too! We have so many things in common with even the smallest animals!
• Even though they look really different from us, snails and humans have a lot in common. These small animals can remember the smells of good things to eat and can also smell danger.

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For more animal-friendly activities to help keep your students busy all summer long, check out PETA Kids’ Animal Rights Summer Activity Choice Boards!

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