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“Bullfighting Is a Sin.” That message is the wake-up call that Catholic authorities need, and PETA Latino is making sure they can’t hit the “snooze” button.

Before the First Meeting of Bullfighting Chaplains and Priests in Zamora, Spain, PETA Latino brought the message—imposed on an image of Jesus protecting a bull from a matador—to Rome.

The ads will be impossible for the Catholic Church to ignore, as the group plastered 100 billboards across the city. There’s also one on the back of a traveling tourist bus, which will bring the message directly to the Vatican.

“The Church teaches compassion for all living beings, yet it’s complicit in the ritual torment and killing of persecuted bulls. PETA is calling on Pope Francis to condemn this vile spectacle, and we urge merciful people everywhere to stay far away from bullrings.”

—Mimi Bekhechi, Vice President of PETA U.K., Europe, and Australia

Bullfights Are No ‘Honor’—They’re Sickening

Every year, humans murder tens of thousands of bulls in bullfighting festivals around the world—some supposedly in honor of Catholic saints. But would saints, recognized for their closeness to God, ever want this “honor”?

In a bullfight, assailants on horses stab lances into a bull’s back and neck, and then others plunge banderillas into his back. These wounds disable the animal, wracking him with severe pain whenever he turns his head and impairing his range of motion.

Eventually, when the bull becomes weak from blood loss and pain, a matador appears and attempts to kill the animal by plunging a sword into his lungs or, if that fails, cutting his spinal cord with a knife. The bull can’t move but may still feel pain as men cut off his ears or tail and present them to the matador as a trophy. Then the animal’s body is dragged out of the arena.

The Vatican Has Already Condemned Bullfighting

As Pope Francis wrote in his 2015 encyclical Laudato sí, “Every act of cruelty towards any creature is ‘contrary to human dignity.’” As far back as the 16^th century, Pope Pius V—now canonized—banned bullfights, which he described as “cruel and base spectacles of the devil and not of man” and contrary to “Christian piety and charity.”

The doctrine of the Catholic Church clearly states that humans shouldn’t “cause animals to suffer or die needlessly.” Yet Catholic priests often officiate at religious ceremonies in bullrings and minister to bullfighters in arena chapels. Some even attack bulls in arenas while dressed in a cassock, the traditional garb worn by Catholic officials.

Bullfights are neither essential nor necessary to the Catholic faith—if anything, they fly in the face of it by celebrating sin and torture.

Do Your Part for Bulls: Urge the Vatican to Ban Bullfights

Just a moment of your time would mean the world to bulls, who humans still put through torment and agony for entertainment. Urge Pope Francis to enforce his values against cruelty to animals and ban bullfighting in the name of the church.

Tell The Vatican: No More Bullfights!

The post PETA Latino Blasts Rome With Provocative Anti-Bullfighting Ad appeared first on PETA.

The heat is on for the wool industry, and its members are sweating. Consumers are ditching wool at a fevered pace, and they’re more aware than ever before that sheep farmers are driving one of the cruelest, most environmentally damaging fiber industries.

The wool industry is now trying to greenwash its image in an attempt to prolong its inevitable demise, but we aren’t falling for it. Here are the top five reasons why you shouldn’t, either.

1. Sheep Are People.

Sheep are gentle animals who can recognize dozens of individuals from photographs, and seeing a picture of a friend can help calm them during stressful situations. But because there’s a market for their fleece and skin, they’re exploited and killed by the millions.

They’re people. They feel joy and pain, and their lives belong to them alone. Empathy for sheep and respect for their rights shouldn’t be trampled by the industrial greed that degrades and exploits them for their wool.

2. Wool Destroys the Environment.

Wool is one of the dirtiest fibers to produce. Here’s why:

• Sheep, like cows, emit large quantities of methane, contributing directly to global warming.
• Feces runoff from sheep farms contaminates local waterways.
• Farmers use sheep “dip” to prevent parasites in flocks—which has historically polluted and poisoned the land.
• The processing techniques used to prepare wool to be used in clothing involve hazardous chemicals and create toxic waste.

3. Wool Is Coated With Plastic.

The wool industry has been trying to greenwash its image by favorably comparing its product to petroleum-based synthetic materials. What a load of noncompostable garbage.

Most of the wool used in clothing is blended with plastic synthetics—compromising its ability to decompose.

And the “superwash” processing that makes wool fibers machine-washable involves coating them with plastic—meaning that even a 100% wool sweater won’t ever biodegrade normally.

4. Plants Can Do It All!

The good news is that plants can provide us with everything we need, including textiles. Here are some stars from among the ranks of plant-based materials:

• Organic cotton is grown without harmful chemicals and doesn’t destroy ecosystems. In fact, it’s known to improve soil quality. Like other vegan fabrics, organic cotton is easier to clean, faster to dry, and softer to the touch than wool.
• Hemp is a “miracle plant”—its fiber is antimicrobial, soft, and extremely durable. It’s also carbon-negative, meaning that it draws carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
• Linen is extremely breathable and soft, and it’s a strong thermoregulator: It keeps you cool in the heat and warm in the cold.

• Soy Cashmere is an eco-friendly fabric made from a byproduct of soybean processing. It has the softness and luster of silk, the drape and durability of cotton, and the warmth and comfort of cashmere. Best of all, it’s fully biodegradable and free of any petrochemicals.

Learn More About Vegan Fabrics!

5. Wool Production Is a Death Sentence for Sheep.

PETA entities have investigated 117 operations in the global wool industry so far, and every visit to a shearing shed has revealed horrific abuse. There’s no such thing as responsibly produced wool, and the wool industry is scrambling to hide the truth from consumers.

At the facilities PETA entities visited, workers hit, kicked, and stomped on sheep’s heads; beat them with clippers or hammers; stood on their necks; dragged them; and punched them in the face. It’s common for workers, who are typically paid by volume, to stitch up sheep’s gaping wounds hastily and crudely with needle and thread and without pain relief right on the shearing floor.

And farmers violate sheep’s bodies in other ways, too, including by breeding them to grow extreme and unnatural amounts of wool. This interference causes the sheep a host of devastating health issues. An estimated 10 million lambs in Australia die within days of birth every year.

Just Say No to Wool!

Keeping your wardrobe wool-free is the right thing to do. It’s also easy, inexpensive, and good for the planet. If you need help learning how to wear vegan, check out PETA’s Vegan Clothes Shopping Guide.

Learn How to Wear Vegan!

The post 5 Reasons Never to Buy Wool appeared first on PETA.

Renowned Mexican mixed-martial artist Irene Aldana teamed up with PETA for a powerful ad, delivering a compelling message about how imperative it is to keep cats indoors. In this knockout campaign, she emphasizes that cats are integral members of the family and should reside indoors, ensuring their safety while simultaneously protecting wildlife.

Cats left outside are vulnerable to the cold in winter and the heat in summer, and they’re often struck by cars or attacked by other animals or by cruel humans who see them as a “nuisance.” Cats kept safe inside have a life expectancy of 12 to 20 years, but those left to fend for themselves outdoors usually suffer and die in prolonged and/or violent ways before they reach the age of 5.

I can choose my own battles, but cats left outside can’t. They have to fight to survive.”

—Irene Aldana

Leaving cats outdoors also increases their risk of diseases such as feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus (feline AIDS), feline infectious peritonitis, toxoplasmosis, distemper, heartworm, and rabies. Free-roaming cats not only experience trauma but also inflict it. An eye-opening article in The New Yorker explains how roaming outdoors is both dangerous for cats and deadly for the billions of birds and other wildlife—including endangered species—they maim and kill.

Unfortunately, even if responsible cat guardians keep their feline companions safe indoors, countless homeless cats—along with the wild animals they prey upon—still face gruesome fates. The best solution for the companion animal overpopulation crisis is to prevent more from being born in the first place by spaying or neutering.

Be an Animal Defender Today!

Irene’s clear message: The outdoors can be risky for cats and vice versa. To keep everyone protected, cats must stay indoors. If your cat loves to explore, they can do it safely on supervised outings in enclosed spaces while wearing a leash and harness designed for cats or in a catio. Keeping cats indoors with their family not only keeps them safe but also protects wildlife—a win-win for everyone.

Pledge Not to Leave Animal Companions Outside

The post Cat Safety TKO: UFC Star Irene Aldana Throws Down for Cats and Wildlife in PETA Ad appeared first on PETA.

Ahead of Mexico City’s last bullfight of the season, PETA Latino attempted to air a public service announcement (PSA) urging viewers to reject the gruesome violence inflicted on bulls in the bullring but was rebuffed by TelevisaUnivision and TV Azteca—even though both stations broadcast bullfighting content.

The PSA features footage from real bullfights played in reverse to show how bulls suffer through every stage of the ritualized executions, as humans drive lances and banderillas into the animals before the matador attempts to kill them by severing their aorta or spinal cord with a sword. The footage then cuts to an unharmed bull standing peacefully in a pasture—before fast-forwarding through his short life, which ends with him being dismembered as he’s dragged from an arena.

The appeal concludes, “Every bull has a past. Choose compassion in the present. Say no to bullfighting.”

Alicia Aguayo, an associate director at PETA Latino, has had more than enough of the hypocrisy:

“It’s very telling that these broadcasting giants regularly show bulls being taunted, tormented, and stabbed to death on their airwaves but won’t accept PETA Latino’s money to show an ad with the same type of content calling for an end to the bloodbaths.”

Like humans, bulls are living, feeling beings with personalities. They’re smart animals with excellent memories. They develop friendships over time and sometimes hold grudges against others who treat them badly. And they’re not the only ones with a grudge—PETA Latino will continue to do everything it can to oppose these cruel spectacles until officials heed the by permanently ending them.

Bullfighting’s Days Are Numbered

In Mexico, 59% of people oppose bullfighting and 73% consider bullfights to be cruelty to animals.

As international opposition to bullfighting continues to grow, the practice has also been banned in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Guerrero, Quintana Roo, Sinaloa, and Sonora and severely restricted in Bogotá, Colombia.

PETA Latino’s joint push with over 800 animal protection groups from around the world led Movistar Plus+—a major streaming platform in Latin America and Spain—to announce that it would no longer air bullfights on its Toros channel.

Change is coming, and TelevisaUnivision and TV Azteca are clearly unprepared for the day when bullfights are no more.

Bulls Need Your Help

Please promise never to attend or support bullfights or other events that promote cruelty to animals.

Sign the Pledge

Please also spread the word about the cruelty of bullfighting by sharing the PSA on social media.

The post ‘Too Shocking for TV’? PETA Latino’s Bullfighting PSA Is Rejected, yet Bull Torture Remains Televised appeared first on PETA.