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Animal Writes

  • 09
  • Feb

Giant ‘Condom’ Promotes Animal Birth Control in Run-Up to National Condom Day

With a sign that read, “Dogs Can’t Use Condoms: Spay and Neuter”, a PETA member dressed as a giant pink condom descended on Newcastle in advance of National Condom Day (14 February) to point out that Tyne Tees has England’s largest population of stray dogs per person and that the only way to get a handle on the cat and dog overpopulation crisis is always to have companion animals spayed or neutered.

PETA's giant condom

“If cats and dogs could wear condoms, millions of animals would be saved from suffering and death”, says PETA Senior Programme Manager Yvonne Taylor. “But they can’t – so it’s up to their guardians to take responsibility for spaying and neutering.”

Hundreds of thousands of unwanted cats and dogs enter animal shelters every year in the UK, and many of them are euthanised because there simply aren’t enough good homes for them. Millions more never make it to an animal shelter and are left to fend for themselves on the streets, where they often are subjected to cruelty, are struck by cars or suffer from starvation, disease or injuries. The solution is simple: always spay or neuter your animal companions. Spaying one female dog can prevent 67,000 births in six years, and spaying one female cat can prevent 420,000 births in seven years. Help end the animal-homelessness problem.

PETA's giant condom


  • 09
  • Feb

Win Squash Champion James Willstrop’s Signed Book and Racquet

Pontefract-born vegetarian, the world’s number two squash player (he was number one last month!), and PETA pinup James Willstrop has given us the perfect prize for squash fans.

Not only do we have a signed copy of his new book, Shot and a Ghost, in which James chronicles his rise to number one and the challenges of competing in a sport that takes him all around the world, we also have one of James’ squash racquets that he used during one of his recent matchups. In his book, James also devotes a chapter to the positive effect that a vegetarian diet had on him during competitions and how it improved his fitness.

Here’s how to enter:

Leave a comment below answering the following question before 23 February:
Who did James Willstrop succeed as the world’s number one squash player in January?

PETA will then choose one winner at random from the correct entries and will notify the winner by 24 February.

By submitting this form, you’re acknowledging that you’ve read and you agree to our contest terms and conditions and privacy policy.


  • 03
  • Feb

Missing: Charlie, 2 Days Old! Can You Help?

Charlie is missing! He was torn away from his mother by strangers with evil intentions. Can you help save him? Please read on.

This coming week marks National Dairy Week (3 to 9 February), during which milk-touting companies try to portray as idyllic the life of a cow used for her milk. What they won’t be telling you, of course, is that calves like Charlie are torn away from their mothers within one to two days of being born – a separation so traumatic that the mother cow and her calf whimper for days afterwards. Many male calves are either shot (because they are of no use to the dairy industry) or sent to veal farms in Europe, where they are immobilised and confined in tiny stalls and can never in their short lives graze outside. Female calves replace their mothers in the cycle of forced pregnancy, over-milking, birth and traumatic separation.

Charlie

Click to enlarge and save the full sized image.

Far from being “good for you” as the dairy industry would have you believe, dairy milk has been linked to cancer, juvenile-onset diabetes and many other diseases, and it contains large amounts of fat and cholesterol – and often traces of blood and pus from infected teats. Delicious milk alternatives are available in all major supermarkets. Please ditch the dairy products during National Dairy Week – for your health and for Charlie.

We want you to take a stand during National Dairy Week. For just one week, join us in posting Charlie’s ad as your Facebook profile picture. This will help spread the word and educate others. You can get the image here. Post a comment on our Charlie photo to show us that you’re against cruelty to animals.


  • 31
  • Jan

You Did It: Air France Cancels Live Monkey Transport for Animal Testing!

Within a few hours of obtaining reports that Air France was planning to transport 60 live monkeys from Africa to a United States laboratory for use in animal experiments, PETA and several of our international affiliates quickly mobilised members and supporters to take action.

Within 24 hours, you and others like you managed to generate 68,000 e-mails, thousands of Facebook posts and tweets, and hundreds of calls. Thanks to your fast work and dedication, we are thrilled to confirm that Air France has cancelled plans to deliver these monkeys into the hands of experimenters!

This fantastic show of support proves once again that strength in numbers and coordinated actions can have a huge effect on companies. This victory couldn’t have been possible without your help. From all of us at PETA, a huge “Thank you!” to everyone who helped stop this transport! We are now urging Air France to create a formal policy to prohibit future shipments of primates to labs.

With this victory so fresh, please use your voice to influence the Home Office not to weaken protection laws for animals in laboratories in future.


  • 31
  • Jan

Paris Without Fur

Last Thursday, eco-friendly online magazine Neoplanete and international multimedia platform OneHeartChannel, with the support of PETA France, helped present a brand-new event aimed at showing chic and ethical alternatives to fur at the Hôtel Fouquet’s Barrière. “Paris Without Fur” (Paris sans fourrure) took place on the last day of Paris Couture Fashion Week and aimed to show the public the fabulous alternatives to the real fur produced by the fur industry.

Photo © Maï-wen Wauthy

Spirit Hoods, PLICH, C&A, Etam, Frank Sorbier, VJ Couture and others showed off their latest fur-free collections. Models from Up Models strutted down the runway with elegance and humour promoting the message to the public that winter can be warm and trendy without killing innocent animals.

Join these followers of fashion by ditching the skins and going fur-free today.


  • 27
  • Jan

Unveiled: The Best Vegan Breakfasts in the Country

Everyone agrees on the importance of starting the day with a nutritious and satisfying breakfast. Fortunately, more and more Britons are moving away from the traditional artery-clogging fry-ups of cholesterol-packed eggs, fatty sausages and greasy rashers and demanding lighter and more nourishing fare – which often means delicious vegan options. To mark Farmhouse Breakfast Week (22 to 28 January), we’ve scoured the country to find the top 10 vegan breakfasts in the country. Winners were chosen based on a number of criteria, including reputation and the selection and quality of vegan menu items. With choices like piping-hot tofu scrambles, “meaty” faux sausages and vegan fruit pancakes, you’ll never want to order a Full English again!

The consumption of meat, eggs and dairy products has been linked to obesity, heart disease, cancer and other health problems. Also, raising animals for food is a leading cause of water pollution, land degradation and greenhouse-gas emissions. And, of course, the meat industry causes animal suffering on a massive scale. Chickens, fish, cows and pigs feel pain and fear – just as we and the animals with whom we share our homes do – yet they are abused in ways that would be illegal if dogs or cats were the victims.

“We give all the winners five stars for respecting their patrons enough to serve them some of the finest vegan breakfast dishes available anywhere”, says PETA’s Yvonne Taylor. “More and more people are recognising that the best way to avoid health problems and help animals and the environment is to go vegan.”

Check out our top 10, in no particular order:

Is there a restaurant or café in your area that you don’t see on this list but would like to? Leave a comment below letting us know who they are and why you think they deserve to be on this list, or head on down to one of those listed above and enjoy a healthy, animal-friendly breakfast!


  • 26
  • Jan

Beagles Are Barking With Joy Today!

This is a great day for animals, the government and common sense. We’re thrilled that following months of campaigning by PETA and other groups, including our appeals to East Riding Council and the Secretary of State, an organised protest outside the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol and almost 10,000 objections from PETA supporters, the government has recognised what the public already knew – that breeding dogs for deadly experiments is a shameful trade. Dogs aren’t commodities, and they aren’t test tubes with tails. These dogs have been spared the worst of all possible lives: bred for profit on a factory farm and then sent to laboratories to be poisoned with pesticides and drugs or cut up in experiments. No animal deserves this kind of fate, and the sooner the whole B&K Universal operation shuts down, the better.

What we now need from the government is positive action to cut the numbers of dogs and all other animals used in experiments. At this moment, the Home Office is considering weakening even further the legal protection for animals in laboratories in response to a new EU directive. We need to see the same kind of enlightened common sense on this issue as we’ve seen today from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Please take action to stop this from happening.


  • 26
  • Jan

Sexiest European Vegetarian Sophie Shows All Animals Have the Same Parts

Defying chilly January temperatures by stripping down to nothing but panties and paint markings that mimic a butcher’s diagram of body parts, our Sexiest Vegetarian winner, Sophie Barrett, marked World Week for the Abolition of Meat by standing behind a poster that read, “All Animals Have the Same Parts: Abolish Meat”.

Sexiest European Vegetarian Sophie Barrett Body Parts

Animals are more than walking entrées. They are made of flesh, blood and bone, just as humans are. They have the same bodily organs, the same five senses and the same emotions, ranging from joy and contentment to depression and fear.

Sexiest European Vegetarian Sophie Barrett Body Parts

“Animals aren’t ‘breasts’ or ‘thighs’ or ‘flanks’”, says Sophie. “Animals think, feel and want to live, just as you and I do. By exposing my body, I hope to expose others to the benefits of a meat-free, cruelty-free diet. World Week for the Abolition of Meat is the perfect time to make the switch!”

Join Sophie in ditching meat by going vegan today!


  • 25
  • Jan

Jallikattu Is Bull****, Say PETA Activists

Led by a costumed “bull” in a wheelchair, PETA activists took to the Embassy of India today with signs that read, “Save India’s Reputation: End Jallikattu”, in English, Tamil and Hindi. They were urging the Indian government not to exempt the state of Tamil Nadu from the national ban against using bulls as performing animals. Tamil Nadu currently has permission to continue jallikattu, a cruel and dangerous “sport” in which terrified bulls are kicked, punched, jumped on and dragged to the ground – and in which human participants are often injured and even killed.

“Exempting jallikattu from India’s laws is a black mark on India’s reputation”, says PETA India’s Poorva Joshipura. “These events are illegal – they violate the ban on using bulls in ‘entertainment’ and are completely against the spirit of India’s animal-protection laws, which prohibit beating, kicking and torturing animals.”

Jallikattu Demonstration outside the Indian High Commission, London

Similar protests will take place around the world this week before the Madras High Court reconsiders the exemption for jallikatu on 30 January.

In jallikattu, bundles of money or other prizes are tied to the horns of a bull, who tries to escape as villagers chase him. PETA India’s investigation into five jallikattu events in 2011 revealed that the terrified bulls are painfully dragged by nose ropes, surrounded by mobs of taunting people who send the animals into a frenzy, goaded with sticks and pushed and wrestled to the ground. Last year, hundreds of human participants were injured, and many were killed. In one four-day period last January, 215 people sustained injuries during jallikattu events, 154 of whom were spectators. Two people died.

While you may not have been able to attend the demonstration, you can still have your say by e-mailing the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests and asking them to put an end to this cruelty.


  • 23
  • Jan

Man Gored to Death in Spanish Fire-Bull Festival

A man who attended a festival in Navajas, Spain, has been gored to death.

During these flaming-bull festivals, bulls are restrained while contraptions that look to be straight out of a medieval torture chamber are fixed to their heads. These sadistic devices have two balls of pitch (a flammable tar-like substance) that are lit on fire before the bulls are released, ablaze, onto the streets, where they desperately try to escape the fire while crowds jeer and torment them. The bulls often smash into walls in their attempts to free themselves from the flames. The fiery balls can last for hours, burning their horns, bodies and eyes.

Picturing the scene, it should hardly come as a surprise to hear that these festivals often result in human casualties. The question is, how many more lives must be ruined before this barbaric custom is banned?


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