Home | Animal Writes | PETA.org.uk - Part 2

Animal Writes

  • 09
  • May

For Ducks’ Sake, Gordon – Please Stop Selling Foie Gras!

Celeb chef in PETA US investigationGordon Ramsay has always courted controversy, but it’s still a real shock to learn that he’s associated with the torture of thousands of ducks for the production of cruel foie gras.

A new PETA US investigation of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, which supplies the celeb chef’s Manhattan restaurant, reveals how birds are violently force-fed with appalling cruelty at the factory farm, which calls itself the “premier producers of foie gras” in the US.

Video footage shows farm workers shoving steel tubes down ducks’ throats and dumping huge amounts of grain into their bodies three times a day, every day, for weeks in order to sicken and enlarge the birds’ livers. At slaughter, ducks are hung upside down, have their throats slit and are left to bleed to death.

PETA US has sent Gordon a request to stop selling this vile foodstuff. In the past, he’s rejected some of the pork industry’s worst factory-farming practices on his show, The F Word, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that he’ll act with compassion and swear off this particular “F word” – foie gras – for good.

Experts agree that there is no such thing as humane foie gras. Force-feeding causes oesophageal tears and splits, liver rupture and failure, heat stress and aspiration pneumonia. By Hudson Valley Foie Gras’ own reckoning, some 15,000 ducks on the farm die every year before they make it to slaughter.

Sadly, although this kind of animal abuse is illegal on British soil, there are still companies here that are profiting from the sale of foie gras. Please join our campaign to stop Fortnum & Mason from selling this “torture in a tin”.

Image: gordonramsaysubmissions / CC BY 2.0


  • 08
  • May

Word on the Street: Foie Gras Has Got to Go!

“It sells what?” That’s a common response when people find out that Fortnum & Mason is still stocking inhumanely produced foie gras. Since I joined PETA as a campaigner last month, I’ve been arranging regular protests outside the Piccadilly store to raise awareness about this vile and un-British product.

With the help of a team of volunteers from all around the world (one of them invariably kitted out as a goose), I have taken to the streets to tell passers-by, tourists and, most importantly, Fortnum & Mason’s customers the truth: that geese have metal tubes violently forced down their throats in order to produce foie gras. Before parting with their money and trust, people deserve to know just what kind of company they’re supporting.

F&M foie gras protest 1st May 2013

The scale of the birds’ suffering is immense, and we expose their misery by displaying photos from undercover investigations on signs as we protest. Many people can’t believe what happens on foie gras farms until they see it with their own eyes. For thousands of people who walked past Fortnum & Mason this week, the shop will now always be linked in their minds with images of tortured geese.

The PETA “goose” is a big hit with tourists. Many of them like to pose with our costumed activist for a photo, but their smiles soon evaporate once they learn that the shop they’ve included in their sightseeing tour is making profits by selling a product that is illegal to produce in Britain.

One morning, a gentleman approached us on his way into the shop and asked for a leaflet. He was truly shocked to learn that Fortnum & Mason still sells foie gras, as he had assumed the shop had taken it off its shelves some time ago. After all, both Harvey Nichols and Selfridges refuse to sell the vile product. We told him that the best thing he could do to help the animals dying in agony for foie gras is to contact Fortnum & Mason personally to express his disappointment and to let the company know that he will no longer be shopping there.

This and many other similar encounters show that a lot of Fortnum & Mason’s customers just aren’t aware of the company’s cruel policies. Most people are compassionate at heart and hate the idea of animals suffering. It’s our job as activists to give them the facts. After learning the truth, most choose not to give their money to a business that has no regard for animal welfare.

PETA activists can often be seen talking to people on the street, handing out informational leaflets and grabbing attention with eye-catching banners. We always need more volunteers to help keep the pressure on, so if you’d like to get involved with the campaign by becoming a volunteer, please get in touch with me directly at KirstyH@peta.org.uk or join our Activist Network.

You can also make your voice heard online right now! Please take a moment to contact Fortnum & Mason and tell the company just how wrong it is to sell foie gras.


  • 07
  • May

Hollywood Mum Emily Deschanel: Why I Ditched Dairy

Actor, producer and mother Emily Deschanel makes no bones about her beliefs – as a committed vegan, she’s totally appalled by the cruelty of the dairy industry. She stars as forensic anthropologist Dr Temperance Brennan in hit US crime drama Bones, but in PETA’s brand-new video, it’s the horror of factory farming that she’s investigating.

Watch her behind-the-scenes exposé of how cows raised for milk are treated:

As a mum, Emily explains that she doesn’t want to participate in the suffering of other mothers. The idea of having your child stolen away from you, never to be seen again, is heartbreaking for any parent. Yet as the video reveals, this happens to mother cows every day, as their calves are snatched from their sides and sold into a life of misery – even though these sensitive animals have the same strong instincts to love and nurture their young as we do.

The milk that they produce to feed their babies is instead filched by humans. Cows on UK dairy farms are forced into a painful cycle of continuous pregnancy, hooked up to milking machines and drugged to produce many times more milk than they would naturally. Farmers also routinely subject cows to agonising procedures such as punching holes in their ears and burning off their sensitive horn tissue. After a few years of this harsh routine, the exhausted animals are sent to be slaughtered.

Emily has ditched dairy products because she wants nothing to do with this abusive industry. And by raising her son on a cruelty-free vegan diet, she knows that she’s giving him the best start in life, reducing his risk of allergies, helping him to avoid other harmful side effects of milk and teaching him empathy and compassion.

She’s also encouraging you to do the same. Going vegan is the best way to help cows, and with an astounding range of dairy-free vegan products available, the move away from cow’s milk has never been easier! Order our free vegan starter kit for more information.


  • 03
  • May

Curbing the Cruelty Epidemic

Worrying news this week: the RSPCA reports that in England and Wales, convictions for cruelty to animals have risen by a third in the last year. This should be a call to action for society, a clear sign that we need to make humane education a priority and work together to tackle animal abuse wherever we see it.

If you witness cruelty, please report it to the police or relevant authorities. PETA often offers a £1,000 reward to anyone who comes forward to provide information leading to the conviction of animal abusers. The shocking cases that we’ve encountered in recent months include a dog who sustained horrific burns after having acid thrown on her, a rabbit who had his eyes gouged out and a cat who was decapitated and mutilated.

The perpetrators of these sick crimes are often mentally unstable individuals who need to be stopped – before more victims get hurt. Research shows that without intervention, people who harm animals often “graduate” to committing violent acts against human beings. Many serial killers, including Ian Huntley, Thomas Hamilton and Fred West, had a history of cruelty to animals. In fact, police in Scotland have enlisted veterinarians to help them spot domestic violence, as bullies who abuse their companion animals can often turn out to be abusing their partner, too.

It’s upsetting to learn about the terror and pain that some humans inflict on animals. But we can take positive steps to stop it from happening by teaching children the value of compassion from an early age. Kids who learn to consider the feelings and rights of others – to see the “us” in “them” – stand a good chance of growing into kind, benevolent citizens and peaceful community members.

Poster from PETA's teacher resources for kids

PETA’s humane-education resources for teachers are one way to help children learn about kindness towards animals. Parents can also set a good example by adopting a lifestyle free from cruelty. If we instil in kids the idea that everyone deserves respect, we’ll end up with a future that’s better for animals – and better for society, too.


  • 03
  • May

‘Drugs. Breakdowns. Death.’ PETA US’ New Billboard Tells the Real Story of Horseracing

What’s the biggest tradition in thoroughbred horseracing? Not fancy hats or cocktails –it’s drugs. Whether “therapeutic” or illegal, horses are often dosed with chemicals to keep them running, a practice that results in countless tragic breakdowns on the track and the deaths of dozens of animals every week.

Drugs. Breakdown. Death. PETA Billboard at Kentucky Derby

Visitors to America’s highest-profile race, the Kentucky Derby, this weekend will get a striking reminder of these shady behind-the-scenes practices, thanks to PETA US’ bold new billboard, which will be driven in front of the track’s entrance between now and the day of the race. The ad, which was designed by graphic design student Dana Mulranen, comes just days after trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni was banned for eight years for doping offences by the British Horseracing Authority after 11 horses from the Godolphin stable tested positive for anabolic steroids.

Using drugs for performance enhancement poses a serious risk to the health and welfare of thoroughbred racehorses. It’s cruel and unethical. Unlike human athletes who fall afoul of doping regulations, horses don’t choose to take steroids. They don’t choose to compete at all – they are forced to, victims of a multimillion-pound industry that ruthlessly exploits them, then discards them once they can longer keep running.

Retired thoroughbreds are often sold at auction, packed onto crowded trucks and shipped to abattoirs, where they are shot in the head, hoisted into the air by one leg and have their throats slit so that their flesh can be sold – with some of it even ending up being sold for human consumption.

The racing industry is built on cruelty. We’re confident that this billboard will help more people recognise that fact and then make the only compassionate decision available – to boycott horse races completely.


  • 02
  • May

The UK’s Top Five Vegan-Friendly Cinemas

Cornerhouse with credit

Even in the age of Internet downloads and widescreen TVs, nothing beats a trip to the cinema to lose yourself in the magic of the movies. And thankfully for compassionate filmgoers everywhere, long gone are the days of only having stale popcorn and processed hot dogs to munch on. Today’s cinemas, recognising that patrons enjoy healthy meals and snacks during films, are offering a wide variety of creative, delicious meat-free treats. If there were an Oscar for compassionate catering, then our Top Five Vegan-Friendly Cinemas would all be worthy nominees:

Deep down in Lake District National Park, vegetarian cuisine is served with a Mediterranean twist. Choose either the slow-roasted stuffed onion, full of nuts and served on a potato with red-pepper sauce, or the pepperonata cassoulet, a braised sweet pepper, haricot bean and tomato cassoulet with bulgur wheat or rice. How deliciously “vegiterranean”!

 

In the Middle Ages, Robin Hood made sure that nobody went hungry in Nottingham. The Broadway has continued this tradition by serving hearty portions of fresh vegetarian food prepared daily to delight today’s merry men and women.

Home to the Edinburgh International Film Festival, The Filmhouse ensures that there are plenty of vegetarian options to satisfy the tastes of international guests. You may take our knives, but you’ll never take our chickpea-and-coconut curry.

 

ANDY WITH PETA CERTIFICATE

Be sure to stroke the resident moggy who wanders around this cosy gas-lit auditorium, built during World War I. Take a moment to admire the ornate balcony while you tuck into vegan chocolate, ginger tiffins and flapjacks with golden syrup in front of your favourite rom-com.

 

 

While its musicians and football teams are known around the world, Manchester gives us something else to shout about, too: Cornerhouse. The Moroccan vegetable-and-hummus rolls and the mighty falafel burger will make every film-going veggie “mad for it”.

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With all the delicious cruelty-free options available at theatres – as well as restaurants and shops – across the country, going vegan is as easy as ever. Download our vegetarian/vegan starter kit now and see for yourself.


  • 01
  • May

United Against Bullfighting

Injured bull in the arena after being attacked by matador, SpainAll around the world, people agree – chasing, stabbing, mutilating and killing a bull isn’t very entertaining, nor does it constitute “culture”, in Spain or anywhere else. So, upon learning that over the next few weeks, the Spanish government is considering legislation to protect and promote bullfighting and recognise it as cultural heritage, international animal rights groups decided to take action – together!

PETA has joined forces with Humane Society International, the League Against Cruel Sports, World Society for the Protection of Animals, CAS International and Spanish group Fundación de Ayuda a los Animales to oppose the plans to protect bullfighting, which could result in spending public money to prop up the barbaric “sport” and might even threaten existing bans in regions such as Catalonia.

In addition to mobilising, collectively, tens of thousands of supporters to write to the Spanish embassies in their countries, the coalition of organisations will also sign a joint letter to Spain’s culture committee explaining why protecting bullfighting is the wrong decision – for animals and for Spain.

We’re stronger when we act together. Our combined voice will send a powerful message to the Spanish authorities – so please, join the movement by taking action today. You can also show your support on Twitter by tweeting with the hashtag #LoveSpainHateBullfights.

Image: Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals

Take Action Now


  • 29
  • Apr

Brigitte Bardot to Fortnum & Mason: Keep Your Hands Off our Geese!

Brigitte_BardotFortnum & Mason has had quite a week. Tuesday saw a flurry of activity outside its Piccadilly store, as volunteers turned out to protest against the sale of cruel foie gras. Hundreds of online activists have been giving the company a piece of their mind on Twitter. And now, from across the Channel, Brigitte Bardot and French animal protection groups, representing tens of thousands of French citizens, have joined the call for Fortnum & Mason to end unethical foie gras sales.

French organisations, including the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA), L214 and Rights of Animals, have come together to send a letter to the store’s managing director, Ewan Venters, voicing the opposition of their French supporters to the barbaric force-feeding of geese. “[W]e respectfully urge you not to help keep this inhumane and shrinking industry alive”, they wrote, highlighting the growing movement against shameful foie gras production within France.

Sixties sex siren Brigitte Bardot had her own comment to add. “Mr Venters seems to be one of those imbeciles who, just for a fleeting moment of flavour, is willing to ignore the overwhelming scientific evidence that force-feeding ducks and geese to produce grotesquely enlarged livers for foie gras is horrifically cruel”, says the actor.

On St George’s Day, people united to tell Fortnum & Mason that foie gras was un-English. Now, French people are standing up to tell the company that many of them want nothing to do with it either. People of every country can stand together and agree on one thing: this vile product, manufactured by torturing birds, is unnecessary and unkind, and no company should be selling it.

Image: Michel Bernanau / CC BY-SA 2.0


  • 26
  • Apr

Thousands Come Together to Ask, ‘When Will Mali Be Free?’

New PictureRemember Mali, the only elephant at the Manila Zoo? She was taken as a baby from Sri Lanka in 1974 and has spent the last 35 years in a small concrete pen. People all around the world have asked that she be sent to a sanctuary, but the authorities have yet to grant her freedom.

But we’re making progress! Every day, Mali gains new supporters and friends. This week, the acclaimed musician formerly known as Cat Stevens, Yusuf Islam, became the latest celeb to express sadness at Mali’s plight, joining stars such as Brigitte Bardot and Morrissey in backing the campaign. Thousands of students in Metro Manila have also drawn cards and written letters for Mali, while vets and wildlife experts agree that Mali is not receiving adequate care at the zoo.

Earlier this year, a congressional resolution was passed that supports sending Mali to a sanctuary, yet the Manila city administration, including Mayor Alfredo Lim, is stalling and delaying her transfer. Meanwhile, Mali continues to suffer. This heartbreaking video shows the constant pain that she is in:

Mali committed no crime. She did nothing to warrant being locked up in solitary confinement for her entire life in a barren cell far from her natural environment and the company of other elephants. Like all caged animals, she deserves better.

They say that an elephant never forgets. But in this case, it’s up to us to show Mali that we won’t forget her – and that caring people around the world will keep up the pressure until she is transferred to a sanctuary.

Take Action Now


  • 25
  • Apr

What if Animals Wore ‘Human Fur’? Shocking Ad Turns the Tables on Fashion’s Sick Obsession

Wearing the skin of another animal – an animal forced to live in a cramped, filthy cage before having the hide ripped from his or her back – is a pretty disturbing fashion statement.

For anyone who hasn’t yet grasped that message, this thought-provoking ad should be an eye-opener. Donated by top ad agency Ogilvy & Mather, the video depicts a catwalk show with a twist: the statuesque models are “foxes”, and their grisly outfits include a coat made from dozens of “human arms”.

In reality of course, it’s humans who kill millions of animals a year in the name of fashion. In addition to foxes and minks, the fur industry’s victims include 1 billion rabbits and 2 million cats and dogs each year. These animals are sometimes skinned while they are still alive, and their hearts may continue beating for five to 10 minutes after their bloody bodies are tossed aside by fur farm workers. Other animals languish for days in traps or are gassed, beaten or electrocuted.

One way to stop the killing of animals for their fur is to support a ban on fur farms. Please also sign the pledge to go fur-free – and encourage your friends and family to do so as well. Swearing off fur sends a powerful message not only to the fur industry but also to designers, retailers and others who directly profit from the suffering caused by this cruel industry.


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