Last week, Elizabeth Carlisle appeared in court to face cruelty-to-animals charges for allegedly drowning two rabbits while she was working at a Petland store in Akron, Ohio. On the day of Carlisle's arraignment, local PETA members and other outraged members of the community stood outside the courthouse calling on Akron's chief city prosecutor, Douglas J. Powley, to prosecute Carlisle to the fullest extent of the law.

The maximum penalty for each cruelty-to-animals charge is six months in jail—totaling a year in prison if Carlisle is found guilty.

Two peaceful protesters were pushed by members of Carlisle's entourage as they left the building.

Want to get involved? Use this form to urge Petland to end rabbit sales immediately.

This incident is just one example of the abuses animals suffer in pet stores nationwide. For nearly 30 years, PETA has fielded complaints regarding sick or unwanted animals who were cruelly disposed of by pet store employees, all because the cost of caring for or treating the animal exceeded the animal's "price tag." This trial offers an opportunity to send a strong and desperately needed message to the pet-store industry: Pet stores have no business selling animals.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

If there is anything I learned from Saved by the Bell that could help save an animal, it's that oil can equal death for waterfowl.

This knowledge was recently put to quick use by some PETA Foundation staff members. They were walking by the San Francisco Bay when they noticed a seagull struggling to say afloat. The bird had become covered in grease while foraging for food at a nearby rendering plant.

The bird's feathers were matted by the grease, and his natural ability to float had been destroyed, so time was not on this guy's side. So PETA Foundation staffer Jaci Kassmeier didn't think twice before stripping to her skivvies and plunging into the freezing water to save him from drowning.

All cleaned up, the gull is now resting at a local wildlife rehabilitation facility where his other rescuer, PETA Foundation staffer Kelle Kacmarcik, is a volunteer.

Dogs and cats are not the only ones who need us to take action when we see them in danger. When wild animals' natural environments are turned into urban areas, the animals are forced to adapt—and it's often to their detriment. All too often, animals are hit by cars, are caught in traps, or fall victim to human carelessness.

Of course, knowing what to do when you encounter a wild animal who needs help is vital to ensuring that the animal receives necessary care and that you are kept out of harm's way. Please read our tips on what to do if you think a wild animal needs your help, and always take injured wild animals to an animal shelter, veterinarian, or wildlife rehabilitator who knows how to deal with their injuries. Never attempt to care for a wild animal yourself.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

PETA Files readers were outraged by yesterday's story about an Akron, Ohio, Petland employee who allegedly drowned two rabbits in the store's back room. Our readers are not alone, and thanks to the overwhelming public outcry, the store where Elizabeth Carlisle was photographed holding two sopping-wet, dead rabbits by the scruff of the neck has been permanently closed.

In other good news, Elizabeth Carlisle has been charged with cruelty to animals and is scheduled to appear in court later this month. We have written to the authorities and are urging them to throw the book at her—hard.

While it's great that this particular hellhole has been shut down, Petland still has a lot of cleaning up to do. PETA receives many complaints alleging abuse and neglect of animals in Petland's stores. Here are just a few examples:

One person claiming to be a former Petland employee writes, "[I] used to work at a Petland … and [I] can totally relate to this picture … The stores … have puppies dying all the time, due to not having water and food. [T]he kennel techs are untrained and underpaid and they get back at the company by not taking care of the animals! … [A]ll Petlands should be shut down or the animals should all be taken away. [A]ll they care about is money, money, money!"

Another writes, "I used to work for Petland … I ended up being let go, because I refused to … [p]ut dying hamsters, parakeets, … kittens, [and] small puppies in plastic bags and put them in the freezer, and let [animals] breed rampantly. I also got in trouble for … wasting company money by cleaning animal cages that were out of customer sight …"

And yet another writes, "I opened the freezer once and there were frozen snakes in there. I asked what they were … They said they weren't paying the vet to treat [the animals], so they put them to sleep in there. Rats and mice, hamsters and gerbils, and other small critters were always committing cannibalism, because of lack of food, and not having enough space."

Petland is unable to monitor all its employees all the time, which means that other animals are bound to suffer as a result. We would like Petland to stop selling animals in all its stores, but if the company isn't willing to make that leap immediately, what it can do right now is stop selling rabbits in order to ensure that these small, vulnerable animals are spared death at the hands of people like Carlisle.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

Update: The Petland store has closed, and the employee has been charged with cruelty to animals. Click here for details.

Warning: disturbing image.

This photo was taken in the back room of a Petland store in Akron, Ohio, and posted on Facebook by Elizabeth Carlisle, who can be seen grinning as she holds two dead, soaking-wet rabbits by the scruff of the neck—rabbits she just drowned while on Petland's time clock. On Carlisle's Facebook page, she confirmed a friend's guess that she had drowned these two rabbits and wrote, "[T]he manager took the pic for me. [S]he reminded me that there were people outside as [I] was swearing at them to just hurry up and die but then she was so kind as to take this picture."

These horrific deaths followed what was apparently an equally horrifying life for these rabbits. Other comments Carlisle posted made it clear that the rabbits were drowned after sustaining agonizing injuries when they were allowed to "attack and eat each other." The rabbits suffered from "deep wounds all over," "an eye missing," what Petland staff "suspected was a broken jaw," and paralysis from the waist down—injuries that would not have occurred had these animals been provided with proper care and supervision.

Undercover investigations have revealed time and time again that companies that breed and sell animals are concerned about profits, not animals' well-being. We are urging Petland to think long and hard about what this incident makes clear: The company has no business selling any animals.

To prevent future incidents like this one, please, never buy from pet stores and urge Petland at the very least to stop selling rabbits.

Click here to take action against Petland.

Posted by Liz Graffeo