In
P&G’s hometown of Cincinnati, the concert hall banned PETA’s booth.
So rockers Chrissie Hynde and Kate Pierson took PETA’s Died car to a
local laundromat where they handed out our leaflets calling for an end
to P&G’s animal tests.
Berosini,
who had begun using orangutans in photo sessions at the Tropicana, was
caught on a PETA undercover videotape in 1989 repeatedly slapping,
shaking and punching cowering orangutans used in his nightclub act. The
Tropicana opted to drop Berosini after meeting with PETA and learning
about Berosini’s history of animal abuse. We are now seeking custody of
the orangutans through the Nevada Supreme Court. Kristen Johnston, Emmy winner and star of TV’s 3rd Rock from the Sun,
wrote to NASA when she learned that the space agency planned to
relaunch its controversial Neurolab experiments, which left adult rats
beheaded and baby rats dead of starvation. A
PETA member, Ms. Johnston wrote, “NASA seems to be stuck in the ’60s.
They should be on the ‘cutting edge’ of new technology—and that means
not cutting up animals.” NASA canceled its plans to repeat the
experiment. Calling
the Wienermobile the meat industry’s “Joe Camel,” PETA Vegetarian
Campaign Coordinator Bruce Friedrich, told the media, “Kids love
animals, and they would be horrified by the suffering pigs endure on
factory farms and in slaughterhouses before they are made into Oscar
Mayer wieners.”
Other PETA Web sites include: www.jesus-online.com, www.circuses.com, www.pginfo.net, www.nofishing.net, www.taxmeat.com and www.furisdead.com.
Just
hours after the departure of a PETA delegation appealing to the
Taiwanese government to pass its first-ever animal protection law, the
law passed! PETA’s
campaign began last spring, when Ingrid Newkirk traveled to Taiwan and
visited pounds where dogs were rounded up by garbage collectors using
thin wire snares and metal tongs. Once collected, the dogs were crammed
into pens, the sick and dying along with the healthy. Killing methods
were hideous: poisoning, electrocution, drowning or slow starvation. The
new law prohibits inflicting unnecessary suffering on animals, requires
that companion animals be registered and bans abandoning them. It also
prohibits the cruel slaughter of animals raised for food and mandates
the formation of an ethics committee to monitor animal testing. PETA will continue to campaign to clean up Taiwan’s dog pounds and train workers to handle animals kindly. Ringling
was charged by the USDA for failing to provide veterinary care to Kenny
when he was known to be sick. According to circus whistleblowers, Kenny
was “wailing” and his legs were “wobbly” when he was forced to perform
in two shows on the day of his death.
•
Ask Sears to stop sponsoring circus cruelty. Write: Arthur Martinez,
Chair & CEO, Sears, Roebuck & Co., 3333 Beverly Rd., Hoffman
Estates, IL 60179. When
the “Breakfast of Champions” decided to feature bass fisher Denny
Brauer on its cereal boxes, we wrote to Wheaties’ maker, General Mills,
citing the millions of animals who suffer and die from injuries caused
by discarded fishing hooks and tackle—as well as the suffering of the
fish themselves. Wrote
PETA President Ingrid Newkirk, “Anglers have no place next to real
athletes who better represent the ‘Breakfast of Champions.’” News of
our anti-fishing campaign appeared in the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the Toronto Globe and Mail. When PETA learned that design team Badgley Mischka’s fur collection was inspired by Dr. Zhivago, we told the film’s star, Julie Christie, who had worn a Badgley Mischka gown to the Academy Awards. “I
have been an anti-fur campaigner for years,” Ms. Christie told the
designer. “When fake furs are accessible, whatever can be the reason
for encouraging the awful factory farming of fur-bearing animals, let
alone the trapping in the wild, by creating a market for real fur?”
Please
write Badgley Mischka: Mark Badgley and James Mischka, 525 Seventh
Ave., 14th Fl., New York, NY 10018. Call PETA for a free Fur Action
Pack. Emmy winner and X-Files
star Gillian Anderson took time off to write a letter to officials in
Mesquite, Nev., urging them to cancel a “running of the bulls” event.
The spectacle is modeled after the infamous run to the bullfighting
arena in Pamplona, Spain, which leaves both bulls and humans wounded
and dead. “Why
would Mesquite want to emulate a bloodsport that most of the world has
condemned?” asked Ms. Anderson. “It is completely unacceptable to
harass and torment bulls in order to generate excitement and
entertainment.” In response to pressure from activists, the Nevada Department of Transportation refused to allow the event on a state highway. PETA
is asking KFC to institute a minimum of two square feet of space per
bird, humane standards for transportation and a requirement that all
birds be stunned before their throats are slit, as well as to introduce
a veggie burger, as KFC UK has. Please help by writing to Jeffrey A.
Moody, President, KFC, c/o Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc., 1441
Gardiner Lane, Louisville, KY 40213. To
get the word out about how easy it is to enjoy turkeyless celebrations,
PETA placed the first-ever pro-turkey TV ad on stations throughout the
holidays. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, the young vegan star of Return to Paradise and Clay Pigeons, and directed by Pigeons
director David Dobkin, the ad informed millions about vegetarian
alternatives, PETA’s veggie hotline and our free holiday recipes.
Stories about the ad educated millions more when it made entertainment
news worldwide. Said Joaquin (who donated his services), “I wanted to
do something to help ease the suffering of these wonderful birds.”
Fishing
will soon be as welcome at America’s national parks as forest fires if
Gill the Fish has his way. PETA’s 7-foot-tall finned friend visited
parks all summer, asking fisher-folk to lay down their rods and reels.
PETA has written to every national park where fishing is permitted
asking for a ban, citing cruelty to fish, as well as to the millions of
birds and animals who die from injuries caused by discarded line and
tackle. Write PETA for a free Fishing Pack.
The
Pretenders and the B-52’s shared the spotlight of their summer tour
with PETA by inviting us to set up booths at concert venues around the
U.S. to educate fans about Procter & Gamble’s animal tests.
Contact
Durk Jagger, the new CEO of Procter & Gamble, 1 Procter &
Gamble Plaza, Cincinnati, OH 45202; 513-983-4602. Tell him you will
boycott P&G until all its animal tests are stopped. U.K. members,
write to Mr. R.W. Johnson, Director of Corporate Affairs, Procter &
Gamble, St. Nicholas Ave., Newcastle Upon Tyne NE99 1EE.
The
chips are down again for former Las Vegas entertainer Bobby
Berosini—who has been told by Tropicana Hotel management that his
orangutan act is no longer welcome.
This
summer, wherever Oscar Mayer’s “Wienermobile” went to recruit
youngsters to sing, “I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener,” PETA was
there to add, “Not if you could see what happens to the pigs.”
Pigs
are friends, not food! Look for delicious, low-fat, cholesterol-free
veggie hot dogs in your local supermarket or health food store.
What better way to let ’Net surfers know about Vogue’s
shameless promotion of fur than by setting up a Web site called
www.voguemagazine.com? We thought it was a great idea, but the folks at
Vogue were none too pleased. After they fired off a letter citing “trademark infringement,” we changed the name of our site to www.voguesucks.com. Check it out for information on fur and how to contact Vogue to protest its persistent peddling of pelts.
A
host of celebrities appealed to the government on our behalf, including
Jackie Chan, the Dalai Lama, Luciano Pavarotti and Jean-Claude Van
Damme. Action star Steven Seagal traveled to Taiwan and personally met
with Taiwan’s President Lee Teng-hui. Our full-page ad in The Hollywood Reporter resulted in a flood of public appeals to Taiwanese officials.
PETA’s
and Kim Basinger’s complaints to the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) about the death of a baby elephant named Kenny have resulted in
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus’ being forced to pay
$20,000 to settle the case.
•
Don’t let your entertainment dollars subsidize animal suffering. Attend
ONLY circuses, like the Cirque du Soleil and Circus Chimera, that DON’T
use animals.
Visualize
whirled peas! Call PETA’s vegetarian hotline at 1-888-VEG-FOOD or
contact our Literature Department for free vegetarian recipes.
