ForUsToBe » PETA

China’s First Official Non-Animal Test Comes This Summer

ForUsToBe — Sat, 26 May 2012 12:43:20 +0000

The 3T3 Neutral Red Uptake Phototoxicity Assay (which no one can remember because of its name) plans to be accepted by the Chinese officials. This is China’s first non-animal testing guidance report that will be approved for testing methods in cosmetics.

This method tests chemicals for their potential toxicity when they come into contact with sunlight.

Problem occurred when companies that don’t test on animals were required to do animal tests in China.

Thanks to PETA and PETA’s funds, scientists successfully offered non animal alternatives to Chinese officials.

Leaked Video Of Military Trauma Traning

ForUsToBe — Sun, 13 May 2012 13:52:21 +0000

Each year US military and its contractors shoot, stab, mutilate and kill more than 10 000 live animals in crude and cruel trauma training exercises that are nothing like battlefield conditions and don’t help soldiers save lives.

These shoots were taken by the PETA activist during the Coast Guard training course in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Live goats were mutilate and killed during a barbaric course for the members of the US Coast Guard conducted by the military contractor called Tier 1 Group.

Instructors used tree branch trimmers to break and cut of goats legs while the animals were still alive.

Dr. Lisa Cuddy Takes Her Clothes Off For PETA

ForUsToBe — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:50:30 +0000

Lisa Edelstein, best known for her role as Dr. Lisa Cuddy on the tv show House, took her clothes off and posed naked for the new pro-vegetarian print ad for PETA.

“Vegetarianism is a really important part of what we need to do to help the environment,” explains Edelstein in an exclusive PETA interview. “The meat industry is really toxic to the environment. The cattle industry—besides the fact that there’s a lot of cruel things happening—the manure is extremely toxic.”

The meat industry is responsible for an enormous amount of water pollution and land degradation. What’s more, a recent United Nations report concluded that a global shift toward a vegan diet is necessary to combat the worst effects of climate change, as raising animals for food is one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide and the single largest source of both methane and nitrous-oxide emissions.

Not only does going vegetarian help the environment, it can also give your health a boost, as vegetarians are less prone to heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer, and obesity than meat-eaters are. And of course, it spares animals from extreme suffering on factory farms, in slaughterhouses, and on the decks of fishing boats.

“I like to encourage people to be a vegetarian once a week and then maybe twice a week,” concludes Edelstein, “because that makes such an enormous impact for the whole world that it’s really valuable for everyone. So I’m just trying to push that campaign forward—with my body, apparently.”

Edelstein is part of a growing list of celebrities—including Audrina Patridge, Natalie Imbruglia, Amanda Beard, Eva Mendes, and many more—who have teamed up with PETA.

What They Don’t Want You To Know

ForUsToBe — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 09:15:21 +0000

An enormous victory was achieved for animals this week when nearly 200 dogs and 54 cats were rescued from a North Carolina animal testing facility that closed its doors after an undercover investigation revealed apparent abuse of the animals by workers at the facility. Quick work on the part of the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), in partnership with the Humane Society of the U.S. and more than a dozen animal shelters and rescues succeeded in placing all of the rescued animals, offering hope that they will find loving homes and solace after their ordeal.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) conducted the initial investigation that exposed the apparent cruelty at Professional Laboratory and Research Services, an inconspicuous rural lab funded by large pharmaceutical companies to test insecticides and other chemicals used in companion animal products. For nine months, a PETA investigator worked undercover at the facility, and shot video showing animals in excruciating pain from procedures, as well as employees kicking, throwing, and dragging petrified dogs, violently slamming cats into cages, and screaming obscenities at the animals for showing fear and being uncooperative.

Following its investigation, PETA filed formal complaints with federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and submitted evidence to the local prosecutor’s office. Soon thereafter, the USDA inspected the facility and instigated a formal investigation. In the meantime, the lab agreed to surrender voluntarily all its dogs and cats, and to cease research at the facility.

Animal Cruelty, Watch How Pet Trade Supplier Treats Animals

ForUsToBe — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:56:11 +0000

New undercover investigation at a wholesale animal dealer that supplies animals to PETCO and PetSmart stores across the U.S. revealed animal mistreatment and suffering.

Video footage and photos show the widespread suffering of hundreds of birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils, mice, and rats in Sun Pet’s enormous warehouses.

On April 22, 2010, Georgia Department of Agriculture representatives descended on Sun Pet, which was, unfortunately, tipped off well in advance and apparently took the opportunity to clean up its act.

In addition to the misery of confinement to extremely crowded containers, forcing animals to eat, sleep, urinate, and defecate all in the same space, investigator recorded the violent killing and abusive handling of hundreds of animals.

One worker put live hamsters into a bag and then bashed the bag against a table in an attempt to kill them—one of the animals was seen suffering and panting heavily minutes later. Other animals whom Sun Pet could not sell were gassed in a crude, filth-encrusted tank. Animals who got loose in the company’s warehouse suffered horribly after ingesting the poison that Sun Pet sets out to kill them.

A supervisor trained PETA’s investigator to determine animals’ genders by forcefully squeezing their abdomens “like a … PlayStation controller handle” to make their genitals “come out.” “You could throw them against the wall and they’ll stand back up again and keep on running,” Sun Pet’s supervisor said to the investigator when ordering him to pack and handle animals more quickly. In more than three months of employment, not once did the investigator see anyone from PETCO’s or PetSmart’s corporate offices inspecting Sun Pet’s facility.

PETA has received information indicating that Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr. has instructed his office to halt its investigation of animal suffering at Sun Pet. Please complete the form to urge Mr. Howard to investigate.

Peta Kills Animals

ForUsToBe — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:18:35 +0000

The high-profile charity, famous for its “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” campaigns, has euthanised more than 20,000 pets in the last decade, according to figures it has supplied to Virginia state officials.

Nearly a decade later, Daphna Nachminovitch still remembers the rerelease of the Disney classic “101 Dalmatians” and the tragedy that followed. First there was a spike in sales of the famous spotted breed. Then, in the months that followed, shelters took in hundreds of Dalmatians from disillusioned pet owners around the country. “As soon as the puppies outlived their cuteness and the kids didn’t want to scoop the poop anymore, the dogs were dumped in shelters,” says Nachminovitch, vice president of cruelty investigations for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). “Many of them had to be euthanized, because there was simply no place for them to go.”

Peta insists that homes could not be found for the dogs and cats, usually because they were in such poor health or because they were “unsocialised” and aggressive, usually because of bad treatment by their owners.

But the organisation, which does not run its own animal adoption programme and does not accept animals into its care elsewhere, admitted to The Sunday Telegraph that some treatable and adoptable animals were also among those killed by lethal injection.

In defense of its policy PETA has insisted that euthanasia is a necessary evil in a world full of unwanted pets. But while the group has some well-known allies, including the Humane Society of the United States, a growing number of animal rights activists claim to have found a better, more humane way.

“Over-population is a myth,” says attorney Nathan Winograd, whose recent book “Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America”" chronicles the rise of the no-kill shelter movement. “With better outreach and public relations, we can find homes for virtually all of the healthy animals we are now killing.” As proof he points to a string of communities across the country whose shelters have managed to stop euthanizing all but the sickest animals. Bonney Brown, executive director of the Nevada Humane Society, says that in 2007, the first year her group went “no-kill,” her shelters managed to save 90 percent of the 8,000 animals they took in. Among other strategies, the organization ramped up its volunteer force, from 30 to 1,700, expanded its hours so that people could come in after work and engaged in extensive media outreach.

Why would an animal rights group secretly kill animals at its headquarters? PETA’s continued silence on the matter makes it hard to say for sure.

PETA has a $33 million annual budget. But instead of investing in the lives of the thousands of flesh and blood creatures in its care, the group spends millions on media campaigns telling Americans that eating meat, drinking milk, fishing, hunting, wearing leather shoes, and benefiting from medical research performed on lab rats are all “unethical.”

“With the resources at their disposal, PETA and the Humane Society of the U.S. could become no-kill in no time,” Winograd says. “Instead they have become leading killers of cats and dogs, and the animal-loving public unwittingly foots the bill through taxes and donations.”

Patricia Arquette Poses For Newest ABC Ad

ForUsToBe — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:17:15 +0000

Patricia Arquette might play psychic Allison Dubois on the NBC hit drama Medium, but Patricia knows that it doesn’t take a psychic to see that companion animal homelessness is a serious problem worldwide. That’s why the Emmy Awardwinning actor posed beside the tagline “Envision a World With No Homeless Dogs or Cats” in PETA’s beautiful new ABC ad.

Every year, more than 7 million dogs and cats are turned in to U.S. animal shelters. Almost half of these animals will be euthanized because there aren’t enough good homes for them. Horrified by those statistics? Good. You should be horrified, especially because the solution is as easy as ABC—animal birth control.

Putting an end to the animal overpopulation crisis is something that everyone can help with. Always spay and neuter your animal companions, and never buy animals from pet stores or breeders. And if you plan to make an animal a lifelong member of your family, adopt him or her from your local animal shelter.

PETA’s Animal Birth Control campaign was created to help put an end to the animal overpopulation crisis through spaying and neutering and encouraging adoption of animals from animal shelters rather than purchasing them from breeders or pet shops. Why is this campaign important to you?
One of my best friends is a woman named Whitney Smith and she works with the REVA foundation… She’s constantly rescuing animals… and she’s educated me about the horrors that animals in Los Angeles face. Half a million dogs and cats are put down in California every year—[one] every three seconds… I had heard over the years people say, “I don’t want to spay them before they have a chance to have babies.” There are half a million animals in our own state who are killed every year just because people want to have that experience.

What are some things that people can do every day to make their companion animals’ lives a happy one?
Play with them, kiss them, pet them, walk them. Take them out whenever they can. Let them have adventures. Smell the world.

What other animal issues are close to your heart and why?
I don’t like fur… My mom had a [fur] jacket from the 50′s … But the concept of buying fur today doesn’t make any sense to me. I’ve seen people in fur coats, and in my wild mind, I’m hoping someone will throw red paint on them!

Audrina Patridge’s Fotoshoot

ForUsToBe — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:29:41 +0000

Audrina Patridge spends her time onscreen juggling work, relationships, and the drama of life in The Hills, but off-screen, she spends her time being an “Angel for Animals.” The girl that Maxim magazine dubbed “Queen of The Hills” has joined with PETA to pose in an ad (with rescued pooch Speedy Gonzalez) that says, “Be an Angel for Animals.”

During the photo shoot, Audrina told us, “I wanted to get involved with PETA because I’ve always been passionate about animals, and I think this is a great way to make people and all my fans aware of all the animals that need a home. And a lot of people go to pet stores and breeders to buy their animals, but you should adopt, so go to an animal shelter and rescue a dog.”

Audrina knows that choosing to adopt from an animal shelter is the only way to ensure that a loving animal will not be killed because there simply aren’t enough good homes. While millions of animals must be killed for want of a good home, greedy breeders churn out millions of animals each year for pet stores to sell. You can help stop the cycle by joining Audrina and promoting animal birth control: always spaying and neutering and never buying from a pet store or a breeder. Over the years, Audrina has proved to be a great friend to animals. Watch her behind-the-scenes interview and find out about her experiences rescuing animals, how she feels about fur, and what she thinks you should do to care for your companion animals properly.

ER Doc Goes to the Dogs

ForUsToBe — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 09:46:01 +0000

An animal rights group kicked off its first antifur campaign in eastern Europe with roadside billboards featuring Goran Visnjic and his pet dog Bugsy.

Croatia’s most famous export, actor Goran Visnjic, costar of the international smash TV series ER, and Animal Friends Croatia (AFC) have joined with international pressure group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

The arresting image was launched in Goran’s native Croatia-PETA’s first-ever campaign in Eastern Europe-on billboards in Zagreb and Split, as well as on leaflets that members of Animal Friends Croatia will hand out to fur-wearers walking their dogs in parks. The ER doc’s prescription for fur-free fashions will also be plastered on billboards and leaflets around the United States.

The billboards show a picture of Visnjic, star of NBC’s ER, cradling Bugsy and the slogan: If you wouldn’t wear your dog, please don’t wear any fur.

Visnjic, who grew up in Sibenik, said in a statement released by PETA that he decided to support the campaign after he and his wife read a magazine article about fur. “My wife and I were disgusted,” he says. “What’s going on? Civilization is advancing, but some people are going backwards. Today we can use many different materials to warm ourselves without killing other beings. Ninety percent of the people seeing a person wearing a fur coat think that person is an idiot.”

Goran believes that animal protection is an issue that crosses all political and social boundaries. “Somebody once asked me, when war was happening in my country, why don’t you do more for humans, against wars?” he says. “It’s our own stupidity that people are so violent to each other. What people do to animals is a one-sided war, and animals are innocent and cannot protect themselves. It’s important to be a protector of this planet, not a destroyer.”

Help Goran spread the message about fur-industry cruelty by distributing leaflets at dog parks in your area. One look at this debonair duo and folks might just hang up their minks once and for all.

Robert Is Retired

ForUsToBe — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:17:38 +0000

Earlier this week, PETA called on caring people to urge the University of Utah to retire Robert, a sweet tabby purchased by the school for $15 from the Davis County animal shelter and used in a cruel experiment in which his skull was cut open and electrodes were implanted.

PETA has received confirmation from university officials that Robert will be retired from the laboratory and adopted into a new home. Hip, hip, hooray!

While we pause to celebrate Robert’s release, we cannot forget that other homeless cats and dogs purchased from animal shelters are still languishing in the University of Utah’s laboratories.

Please speak out in their behalf by contacting the school again. Demand an end to its cruel betrayal of dogs and cats in shelters by telling the school to stop purchasing homeless animals for painful—and often lethal—experiments. Let’s work to protect other vulnerable animals like Robert from this awful fate, shall we?