For more than eight months this year, a PETA investigator worked undercover inside University of Utah animal labs, where she documented the miserable conditions and daily suffering of dogs, cats, monkeys, rats, mice, rabbits, frogs, cows, pigs, and sheep. Today, The Salt Lake Tribune ran a story about the investigation, including the response from Tom Parks, the university's vice president for research. The response is (not so) stunningly callous: "None of the things she alleges are substantive. It's a remarkably banal list of ordinary events in an animal-care facility."

Here's a list of the things the university considers "banal"—part of an "ordinary" day in the "animal-care facility":

• Cutting the spinal cords and tender eyes of rabbits and tying off the nerves in the paws of rats to study pain
• Buying homeless cats from animal shelters, drilling holes into their heads, and injecting their kittens' brains with harmful chemicals
• Cutting into the chests of dogs from animal shelters and implanting medical devices for deadly heart experiments
• Drilling holes into monkeys' skulls, confining them in tiny cages, and keeping them constantly thirsty so that they will "cooperate" in experiments in exchange for a few drops of water
• Inflicting mice with tumors the size of golf balls that covered the animals' bodies

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Brain injections, desperate thirst, tumors, and holes in skulls: just another banal day in the lab, right?

We have filed complaints against the university with the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local law-enforcement officials, and you can take action to help animals at the University of Utah too.

Posted by Logan Scherer

wqed / CC

As horrible as the findings were, our undercover investigation at Aviagen has proven to be the gift that keeps on giving—giving out indictments to those we caught on video abusing animals, that is.

Quick review: A PETA investigator went undercover on Aviagen's turkey factory farms in West Virginia and gathered evidence that workers broke turkeys' necks, stomped on their heads, and shoved feces and feed into turkeys' mouths. This evidence led to the first-ever indictments for felony cruelty-to-animals charges for abusing birds, and the first-ever cruelty convictions of turkey factory-farm workers.

Aviagen's farms are spread out over multiple counties in West Virginia, which means that workers were subject to prosecution in each county where they abused or neglected these intelligent, sensitive birds. The first indictments were handed down in Greenbrier County, and now further felony indictments have been issued in Monroe County against Walter Hambrick and Scott White. White was already convicted in Greenbrier County of the cruelty he committed there, and he went to jail. Hambrick—whose charges in Greenbrier County are still pending—now faces three more felonies just a few minutes down the road.

Of course, it's easy as (eggless, nondairy) pie to stop contributing to factory farm and slaughterhouse cruelty—like the kind at Aviagen, Belcross, AgriProcessors, Pilgrim's Pride, and too many others to mention—simply by going vegetarian.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

Yesterday was a big day for the dairy industry. People across the nation were getting their first peek into what dairy farming actually looks like as media outlets covered PETA's recent, revealing undercover investigation into the putrid living conditions and the abusive treatment of cows on one Land O'Lakes supplier's factory farm. At the same time, PETA was dropping in on the first day of the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin.

A couple of passionate ladies were on hand at the Expo to let attendees and passersby know that the dairy industry is dreadful for cows and disgusting for humans. Our undercover investigation revealed that cows at milking stations were caked in feces and urine. It also showed that many of these gentle animals had untreated abscesses that sometimes burst and oozed pus as cows were being milked.

After hearing stories like these, people in Madison were quick to take home copies of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit." Why don't you do the same?

Posted by Shawna Flavell

posh24 / CC

You may have read about PETA friend and former Miss USA Shanna Moakler and her ex-husband, Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, taking their kids to the circus a couple of weeks ago—but that was before she saw the recently released footage from our undercover investigation at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. As Shanna explains:

My family and I attended the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus a couple weeks ago, and I believed—as I know many do—that the circus would treat its animals humanely. I was so deeply saddened when I saw PETA's video showing the horrific abuse the elephants suffered at the hands of Ringling trainers. I took for granted that people were doing the right thing. I hope everyone watches the video at PETA.org. With this new knowledge, we can draw attention to this issue, make changes, and ensure that animals big and small are properly cared for. No amount of entertainment is worth allowing the torture of other living beings. We will never attend another Ringling Bros. show.

Well said, Shanna! Readers, if you haven't yet seen the video Shanna mentions, head on over to RinglingBeatsAnimals.com to watch it and find out what you can do to help stop animal abuse at Ringling.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

This is it, people! The circus industry is built on masking animal torture as family fun—and it's time to force that industry to crumble. As you may know, this week PETA broke our latest undercover investigation into Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. With the powerful footage obtained by our investigator, we are closer than ever to seeing animals freed from the living hell that is life in the circus. Can you imagine being stolen from your mom and chained for an average of more than 26 hours at a time, sometimes for as many as 60–100 hours straight, only to be beaten and forced to perform day after day?

My friends, you're in a position to help end their suffering. How, you ask? For starters, watch the video. Second, sign this petition and forward it to all your friends via every social networking site you're on. (There are even links at the bottom of the petition to help you do it.)

And finally, my personal fave—get your booty on the street and protest like these hipsters!

Just think—this could be you!

Standing up for animals is fulfilling, to say the least. Believe me. So get on out there, y'all!

Posted by Missy Lane

Our recent undercover investigation, which revealed exactly what happens to horses abandoned by the coldhearted racing industry, has been picked up by a variety of news outlets, but we were particularly glad to see this piece featured on ESPN's Outside the Lines:

Maybe now more sports fans will recognize that horse racing is anything but sporting—especially for the thousands of horses who meet tragic ends every year—and perhaps they'll join us in calling for an end to these abuses.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

One of four men who was seen stomping on turkeys' heads

We have a brand-new investigation of a turkey factory farm, and we wanted to let the investigator introduce it to you himself. See what he has to say, then please check out the video.

The alarm clock on my cell blares out at 1 a.m. I twist in pain. It can't be time to get up yet. I hit the snooze button twice. Finally I roll over and rub my face with my hands, feeling the calloused-over blisters scratching my cheeks. The insides of my eyes and nose hurt from the dust that I could not wash out from the hours I worked yesterday in the barns where turkeys spend their entire lives.

They are crammed into pens, sometimes 600 or 800 to a pen. There are almost 8,000 turkeys in one barn. Each of these turkey farms has two or three barns. The dust inside the barns is sickening. I can’t even go in without a respirator mask. I cough and choke from not being able to breathe. I see the turkeys panting much of the time. I think about grabbing one of them and carrying her outside and putting her in the grass where she could breathe and walk freely. It is so sad that they are reduced to this miserable existence just to make some profit.

There are times when I have to hold back the tears. To see the workers torture these animals is infuriating. Today we are loading a truck with male turkeys who have been bred to weigh 80-plus pounds—the same weight as my 10-year-old cousin. I will spend the next four hours watching men slam them into cages on the back of a semi truck in temperatures near 20°F. I have seen these guys stomp turkeys’ heads on the concrete. The sound of cracking beaks and breaking bones makes me cringe, but I can show no emotion. I am forced to watch in silent pain as these innocent lives are being destroyed.

Turkey factory farms endorse suffering. They sell death. They make money on abuse. They do not want to show people what happens here. Everyone should know what happens here. I have spent two and a half months in hell so that people will know what it means to have a turkey on the table. Watch the video, and show people the truth. Make this world a better place by reducing pain and suffering. And please do not eat turkey this Thanksgiving.

Here's a rare glimpse into what it's like for an undercover investigator. We would like to give a heartfelt thank you to the two brave individuals who went undercover at this pig factory farm in Iowa (and to undercover investigators everywhere). The investigators hope their experiences will motivate you to make a difference for animals each day in your own way. Here's what they had to say:

What exactly was your reaction when you saw just how badly the animals were really being treated? Did you cry?

Investigator 1: I was horrified and terribly saddened. But I had a good idea of what I was going to see, and I prepared myself for it. … Because it is so critical to conceal my identity and my sympathy for animals while undercover, I [can only] cry on the inside when I see the abuse and the cruelty. I can never let my coworkers see that side of me. Sometimes, I will let out a good cry at home or in my car after a particularly disturbing day.

Investigator 2: There were some nights I would get home and get emotional about the day's events. You have to hold it inside until you get home. If the other employees see you react in an emotional way, it would blow your cover. The people whom I have met working at a hog farm would never get emotional or upset due to the mistreatment of the animals, and so we must act in that same manner.

What toll does it take on you mentally and emotionally? How do you handle working in facilities that abuse animals?

Investigator 1: The job is challenging, both mentally and emotionally. It always helps me tremendously to look at the big picture and focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. Personal sacrifice is almost always necessary to achieve great change. But I take solace in those … moments that I spend, one-on-one, with the animals whom I meet on an assignment. Looking into the sad eyes of a suffering animal motivates me and energizes me to do more. And I realize that my mental and emotional anguish pales in comparison to the suffering and pain this animal is feeling right now. I get to go home after work every day, but the animals never leave.

Investigator 2: It can take a large toll on you. Seeing what happens firsthand day in and day out definitely affects you. There are times during a case when I have had nightmares about it. The only way to really get through it is to always keep in mind that this would all be happening if I was there or not. By being there, I have the opportunity to help stop abuse.

To read all of the questions and answers from the investigators, click here.

Do you think you'd be able to handle being an undercover investigator?

Posted by Christine Doré

By now, you've probably heard about our latest undercover investigation—and you were probably as horrified as we were. Sadly, though, we weren't shocked—because this kind of abuse has happened before, many times.

Abuses like the ones seen at the Iowa pig factory farm should be the exception—but they're not; they are the rule. Look at our investigation of a North Carolina factory farm; just like at the Iowa farm, the pigs were beaten, were spray-painted, and had their eyes poked with sharp objects. In Oklahoma, the pigs were also beaten and "thumped"—and treaded on, starved, and left to die of illness. At a factory farm in North Carolina, the pigs were, again, beaten daily, kicked, and vaginally and anally penetrated—in addition to being skinned alive. Another group found pigs in Nebraska to be suffering from extreme neglect and mistreatment, drowning in their own excrement and covered in open sores. They found similarly neglected pigs in South Dakota, where the conditions were so inhumane that death rates in barns reached as high as 60 percent—and where some pigs were killed by having a water hose placed in their mouths until the animals burst.

Beatings, castration without any painkillers, drowning in excrement, wasting away with illness, and vaginal and anal penetration—these shouldn't be everyday occurrences, but they are. All over the country, pigs on factory farms are suffering just like pigs in Iowa, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and South Dakota are—and each time someone buys bacon, ham, sausage, or a hot dog, that person is saying that he or she agrees with how these pigs are treated.

Please, if you are appalled by the pain and suffering inflicted on these pigs, there is one very simple way to help them—don't eat them.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

You might remember when we broke the news back in December about our undercover investigation at a pig farm in Garland, North Carolina, owned by Murphy Family Ventures, which supplies pig meat to Smithfield Foods. Murphy Family Ventures workers were documented cutting off piglets' tails and pulling out piglets' testicles without any pain relief, among other abuses. You might also remember that at least one employee at the pig farm was fired in response to our investigation. Well, this story just keeps on progressing in the right direction—and that's the way we like it!

Thanks to PETA's undercover work and follow-up, criminal charges have been filed against one of the workers employed by the farm during the undercover investigation.

That worker faces six misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals for actions documented by PETA's investigator, including dragging pigs by the ear, striking a pig in the face with a handling board, and poking a pig in the eyes with his fingers. If he returns to North Carolina from out-of-state, a second worker will face one count of cruelty to animals for also dragging a pig by the ear. FoxNews.com has a great article with more details on the investigation, and you can view footage from the investigation below.

I have to say, it's great to see that the officials who are presiding over the case are taking this one seriously—as seriously, in fact, as they would a case that involved a sadistically tortured dog or cat. And rightfully so: Just like dogs and cats, pigs have the ability to feel pain. And if someone just happened to say that a pig is smarter than a dog or a three-year-old child, well, he or she would be right.

It's about time that these pigs—whose suffering and misery PETA has caught on film—finally get some justice. This case sends a message loud and clear to factory farms and slaughterhouses that cruelty to farmed animals will not be tolerated and that violations of animal welfare laws will have consequences such as, oh, say—a court date.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

mchenrycountyblog / CC

Ever wondered just how PETA is so magnificently successful in acquiring insider knowledge of animal abuse worldwide? Well, if you haven't figured it out based on this post's cheesy title—or seen the fantastic in-depth documentary about this and other colorful strategies of those on the frontlines of the animal rights movement—I'll spell it out: H.A.R.D.C.O.R.E. B.A.D.@.$.$. S.P.I.E.S.! (I'd give you a backronym, but this is already verbose.)

Seriously, though, not only do we employ James Bond-caliber infiltrators, what they uncover is more sinister—and of far greater value—than any Hollywood glam, pyrotechnic diamond heist too.

So just who are these fearless, selfless souls? Well, allow me to introduce two of PETA's MVPs: spy couple Hannah and Philip Schein. (It's cool. I can out them 'cause they are semi-retired and have already been sued.)

Get a load of this rap sheet:

• They have clandestinely captured video footage of chinchillas killed for their fur.
• Practicing Jews, the Scheins have participated in seven kosher-related investigations, most recently at a slaughterhouse in South America, where they captured footage of horrific "shackle and hoist" cow slaughter.
• They also helped direct an investigation at the world's largest kosher slaughterhouse, where an investigator documented cruelty that was anything but kosher.
• Hannah went to dinner with Beyoncé and took a hidden camera with her to take the singer to task for glamorizing the use of fur for fashion.
• Philip has been on covert missions among monks running an egg factory farm in South Carolina and black-bear hunters in Canada. Bad@$$!

So if watching these videos makes you want to throw things, just imagine being the one that filmed and edited the footage. These courageous folks risk their necks by enduring abysmal circumstances to uncover abuses that are deliberately hidden by powerful industries. And their work saves countless animals' lives. Think about it. How many of you are now veg because of a film with this kind of footage? I see quite a few hands raised. (Of course, there's no shame for those of you lured into the fold by a hot half-nekkid girl preaching the good "pro-veg" news with nothing but a few lettuce leaves covering her naughty bits. By any means necessary, yo.)

"Hannah and I know how important and effective it is to make the abuse of animals behind the scenes public," says Philip. "We are proud of our undercover work for PETA and glad that it is something we've been able to do as a couple." Suffice it to say that these heroes and their team deserve our relentless support for educating the masses while stickin' it to the man.

On behalf of animals everywhere, we the cruelty-free thank you!

—Missy

Posted by Missy Lane, Public Information Specialist

Three years ago, we went inside AgriProcessors slaughterhouse—the world's largest Kosher slaughterhouse—and uncovered close to 300 instances of inhumane slaughter. Workers at that slaughterhouse were ripping the tracheas out of fully conscious cows and watching them writhe in pools of their own blood. As usual when we uncover this kind of abuse, the company hemmed and hawed and tried to pretend that we were making a big deal out of nothing, but despite their unwillingness to accept responsibility for their actions, we had hoped that the widespread public outrage would convince the company that, even among meat-eaters, the treatment of farmed animals is a matter of serious concern that directly affects the bottom line of organizations which refuse to take it seriously. In 2006, the owners of AgriProcessors opened a new kosher slaughterhouse, Local Pride, in Gordon, Nebraska. Sadly, as this video shows, little has been done to help mitigate the suffering of the animals who pay the price for corporate greed. Click here to learn more. And if you’re unable to get all the way through this video without wincing, you can take a pledge to try out vegetarianism here.