I bet it made your Monday to read how one determined woman helped countless small animals by convincing Gelson's to pull glue traps from its stores' shelves. (Really, how dang adorable is the mouse in that post? I could stare at her all day.)

Let us make your Friday too. Check out this year's ever-growing list of companies, businesses, and agencies that have pledged to not use gruesome glue traps ever again, all because of the hard work of PETA and our supporters:

• Notables at the Party Store: Lexington, Kentucky
• AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) software company: Austin, Texas
• Central Technical School: Toronto, Ontario
• Manhattan building owners Richard and Hilde Basch: New York City
• USPS facility: Baltimore, Maryland
• JPMorgan Chase banks
• American Eagle Outfitters stores
• Virginia Beach School District: Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Knox County School District: Knox County, Tennessee
• Carroll County School District: Carroll County, Maryland
• Princeton School District: Princeton County, New Jersey
• Fashion Institute of Technology: New York City
• Lanterman Developmental Center: Costa Mesa, Orange County, California
• Ireland's Four Provinces Restaurant: Falls Church, Fairfax County, Virginia
• Local restaurant: Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Florida
• Lowe's: West Jordon, Salt Lake County, Utah (This store stopped using glue traps to catch birds—now if only the chain would stopping selling the traps as well.)
• Circle Center Mall: Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana (birds)
• United States Postal Service: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky (birds)

And we're waiting for the final word from the following:

• Costco: Gaithersburg, Maryland
• L.A. Unified School District: Los Angeles County, California

I'm sure there are many more establishments that we haven't heard about. Make PETA Files readers' week by leaving a comment below about any businesses you know that have sworn off glue traps.

Posted by Karin Bennett

americajr / CC

Witnessing animal abuse during the previews definitely ruins a movie before it starts, but—thanks to those who participated in our action alert and all of you who tweeted at Sprint—we're thrilled to announce that the company has decided to stop circulating the ads as of July 3 and has pledged never to feature great apes in future ad campaigns. Yay! Check out Sprint's full statement on its Web site.

Chimpanzees and other great apes who are forced into the entertainment industry are ripped away from their mothers when they are only days old, are trained by being beaten, kicked, and punched, and are then discarded at filthy roadside zoos when they're no longer useful in show business. After learning about this abuse, progressive companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Gap Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., SEGA, Honda, PUMA, Yahoo!, Subaru, and now Sprint have been quick to step up and take a stand for animals. Castrol, are you listening?

Posted by Liz Graffeo

cryptomundo / CC

Following the tragic death of Travis, a chimpanzee who formerly starred in Old Navy commercials, PETA approached Levi's and Old Navy's parent company, Gap Inc. (which also owns Gap and Banana Republic), to ask the companies not use apes in any future ads. Executives for both companies knew that their choice was clear once they learned that young apes who are used in commercials are ripped away from their mothers when they are only days old, trained by being beaten, kicked, and punched, and then discarded to live in filthy roadside zoos when they are too old and strong to handle.

Gap Inc. and Levi's join other progressive companies and organizations that have also signed our pledge, including Harris Teeter, SEGA, Honda, PUMA, Subaru, Keds, Yahoo!, and The Ad Council.

And, because we are never ones to let compassionate acts go unrewarded, we are sending both companies thank-you gifts for a job well done.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

After less than a month of PETA campaigning, the Bolivian minister of defense went on that country's national television to announce an historic ban on all animal abuse in military training exercises, stating that the Bolivian government is issuing Resolution 217 to prohibit all acts of violence, exploitation, and mistreatment that provokes the death of animals. Not only has Bolivia beaten the U.S. military to the punch, this ban is also Bolivia's first animal protection regulation ever.

This news comes as a direct result of PETA's and PETA Germany's campaigns, which were launched after horrific video footage was uncovered showing the Bolivian military's mutilation and killing of dogs in combat-training exercises. More than 20,000 supporters joined in the effort, including a leading Bolivian congresswoman, Ximena Flores Castro, who talked with PETA and then met with the defense minister in order to get the resolution on the books.

Resolution 217 puts an end to military training exercises in which dogs were mercilessly stabbed to death as they screamed in pain. Not one more animal—dog or otherwise—will have to suffer such a miserable fate at the hands of the Bolivian military. The resolution also includes sanctions for those who violate the regulation.

This is a giant step in the right direction for Bolivia, and we hope to continue working closely with government officials to enact more animal protection laws.

Everyone who spoke out against this cruelty deserves a big pat on the back! Let's keep up the momentum and urge the U.S. military to follow Bolivia's compassionate lead.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

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First stop on the Midwest Victory Tour is a school district in Wisconsin. A concerned citizen contacted us after learning that the district was offering a kids' summer science course that included six dissections as well as an activity in which students were given a live rat to "care for" throughout the duration of the course. We contacted the school immediately about cutting out the old-school classroom dissections and to inform school officials that rats need constant care and compassion, not a summer course's worth of "caretaking." After nearly a year of persistent follow-up, we are excited to let you know that this course is finally history!

Our next stop on the tour takes us to a Utah educational nonprofit that was recommending experiments in which live goldfish were put in ice baths in order to cause hypothermia. Since the experimenters probably wouldn't do this sort of thing to Fluffy, the family kitty, we sent the nonprofit a letter outlining why it's cruel to freeze any kitten—including sea kittens. After hearing our suggestion for cruelty-free coursework, the nonprofit has agreed to no longer suggest shocking the nervous systems of these adorable goldkittens for classroom experiments.

Well, that's the end of our Midwest Victory Tour. See, it's not all beef-expos and pus-farms in the Midwest. There's some compassion for animals too.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Paw Prints tiger

It's not surprising that Time Warner Cable would want nothing to do with a business that has been repeatedly cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for failure to provide animals with veterinary care or appropriate and sufficient food as well as failure to handle animals so that there is minimal risk of harm to the animals and the public. In announcing the cancellation of the event, Time Warner's Director of Media Relations Melissa Buscher stated, "The safety of our customers and the well-being of the animals are a top concern for Time Warner Cable." You'll find a lot of things in our factsheet on Kelly's Paw Print Productions, but customer safety and animal welfare are two things that are noticeably lacking.

Big props to Time Warner Cable for not wanting to associate itself with Kelly's Paw Print Productions, but the truth is that most animal exhibitors have similarly miserable records of animal care. Please thank the Time Warner Cable Store for its decision to cancel the Paw Prints event and ask Time Warner to take one more progressive step and enact a policy permanently prohibiting the display of wild animals at any of its locations.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

110livingston / CC

Well, after several personal e-mails to Urban Outfitters' CEO followed by a PETA action alert, I'm happy to report that just a few months—and a few thousand e-mails—later, Urban Outfitters has become fur-free! In an e-mail I received from the company late last week, a representative wrote, "[T]here is no fur in our stores, and this will continue to be the case."

Kudos to Urban Outfitters for making this compassionate decision, and kudos to all our great supporters who help us win victories for animals by participating in campaigns like this one.

Unfortunately, not all companies are as easily convinced. We sure could use your help persuading Macy's to go fur-free.

Posted by Matt Prescott

Yesterday, attorneys working on behalf of PETA and two plaintiffs won a lawsuit to stop the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) from granting licenses to animal shelters that use cruel gas chambers to kill cats and dogs.

Is that a victory cheer I hear?

You might remember our post a couple of years ago about the GDA's refusal to uphold Georgia's 1990 Humane Euthanasia Act, which banned the use of gas chambers by most animal shelters. Well, thanks to the hard work of attorneys with the law firm Schiff Hardin LLP, a permanent injunction was entered against the GDA's practice of approving and encouraging the illegal use of gas chambers. That's right—the very institution that was supposed to be upholding the law was breaking it. And it's been busted. Now, counties in Georgia with a population of 25,000 or more must provide animals with the best form of euthanasia available: intravenous injections of sodium pentobarbital.

We are still waiting with fingers crossed to see if Georgia's bill to ban all gas chambers permanently has made its way to the Senate. But for now, we are throwing a little victory celebration for all the shelter animals who will be spared a cruel death thanks to this courtroom victory.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

image.examiner / CC

Like I said: geniuses.

As you might expect, we filed a criminal complaint, but the prosecutor's office refused to take the case. So, because the Clay County brain trust had decided that they were qualified to conduct experiments on animals, we filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) because this impromptu experiment appeared to violate numerous Animal Welfare Act (AWA) regulations.

Now, the USDA has cited Clay County Animal Control for no less than five—count 'em, five—violations of the AWA. From the USDA's memo:

Clay County Animal Control does not have an IACUC [Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee]. No protocol was prepared, and a veterinarian was not consulted for this project. There were no searches for alternatives, nor were there any attempts to demonstrate that this project did not unnecessarily duplicate previous experiments.

The animal control brainiacs said that they didn't think that this kind of atrocity experiment was regulated, but, as the USDA official dryly noted, "I explained to them that this was." Apparently, the explanation was slow enough and used one-syllable words, because the violators understood it well enough to assure the USDA that "they will not perform any research activity in the future." Phew!

Clay County's dogs (and other animals) should be able to rest easier—and so should the human residents, as it's now likely that county officials will think twice before deciding that they're qualified to, say, perform open-heart surgery.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

PETA first wrote to JCPenney about its support of the cruel fur industry in 2001, and we have kept the pressure on the company ever since, including sending complaints to the company over its mislabeling of fur items.

In making this decision to become fur-free, JCPenney joins dozens of other major companies—including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, Polo Ralph Lauren, Wet Seal, and Forever 21—that also refuse to sell the fur of abused animals. Like most modern retailers, these companies know that the fur trade is violent and bloody, and they refuse to support it. They know that animals who are trapped and farmed for their fur are often beaten to death, drowned, anally electrocuted, and skinned alive. They know that today's shoppers don't want to support this abuse, and they have responded by refusing to sell any fur, including fur trim.

Three cheers for JCPenney and everyone who helped persuade the company to become fur-free!

If you want to help PETA win more victories like this one, please take part in our current campaign to convince Giorgio Armani to become fur-free by using this automated form to write a letter to his company.

Posted by Matt Prescott

smashin / CC

We contacted James Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase—which recently acquired WaMu—and explained that animals entangled in glue traps often suffer from torn flesh and even broken bones resulting from their panicked efforts to escape. JPMorgan Chase's vice president promptly announced that the company has ditched glue traps permanently and will be opting for more humane methods of resolving conflicts with mice and rats (we recommend these). Yay!

As a leading company, we hope that JPMorgan Chase will inspire other companies (ahem, Lowe's) to ditch glue traps too.

Feel free to post a comment below thanking JPMorgan Chase for sticking up for mice.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

citypages / CC

In a commentary that appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Jane Goodall explains that the widespread portrayal of chimpanzees as cute clowns in ads, TV shows, and movies has misled the public about the dangers they pose. "Only a month ago," she writes, "Americans watching the Super Bowl may have laughed at an ad in which chimpanzees dressed as mechanics worked on a car. … Is it any wonder viewers might think that chimpanzees would make great pets?"

Y&R joins other progressive companies, including SEGA, Honda, PUMA, Subaru, Keds, Yahoo!, and The Ad Council, that have also pledged not to use great apes in ads.

Icing on the cake? Even the U.S. government is doing its part. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the Captive Primate Safety Act, which would ban the interstate transport of primates for use as pets. The bill is now going to the Senate, so please urge your senator to support this important legislation.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

Back in September 2005, four chimpanzees made a break for freedom from a depressing roadside zoo called Zoo Nebraska after workers at the zoo failed to lock the animals' cage properly. Ultimately, three of the chimpanzees—Reuben, Jimmy Joe, and Tyler (who had been discarded by the entertainment industry once he got too big and strong to reliably perform in TV and movies)—were shot and killed by police. You can view a police video of the escape here.

USDA reports obtained by PETA reveal that in the six and a half years leading up to this incident, the zoo had been cited repeatedly for improper care of exotic animals. Citations included failure to maintain enclosures in order to prevent escape of animals, failure to have a disaster program with means to restrain or capture animals in the event of an emergency, failure to train employees in how to operate a tranquilizer gun, failure to provide shelter, failure to provide primates with environmental enhancement to promote psychological well-being, failure to provide veterinary care to tigers and primates, insufficient access to drinking water, and sanitation violations. The long list of repeated violations and the fatal escape attempt spurred the USDA to file charges against Zoo Nebraska in 2007; last month, the USDA finally revoked the zoo's license.

Most zoos, circuses, and animal trainers that handle great apes have a long list of similar violations, but, all too often, no action is taken until after tragedy strikes. Just this past week in Connecticut, a captive chimpanzee named Travis, who had appeared in advertisements for Coca-Cola and Old Navy, attacked his owner, her friend, and two police officers before he was shot to death. Some people may think that seeing chimpanzees dress up in costumes and mug for TV cameras is "cute," but these heartbreaking events speak loud and clear: Great apes are wild animals who belong in their natural habitat. You can read the letter that we sent to the governor of Connecticut calling for a ban on keeping primates as "pets" here and you can take action yourself here.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

claytonguiltner / CC

Well, Quiznos has just taken its first major step. We've been working quietly with the company for about a year, talking about the importance of animal welfare reforms to improve the lives and deaths of the animals killed for its products. Now, Quiznos has officially moved forward. It will do the following:

• Begin phasing in the purchase of eggs from suppliers that don't cage their hens, starting with 5 percent by next year


• Begin phasing in the purchase of pig meat from suppliers that don't confine pregnant sows to barren, metal "gestation crates" (causing extreme physical and psychological trauma), starting with 15 percent by 2012


• Begin phasing in the purchase of turkeys killed using a less cruel slaughter method called "controlled atmosphere killing" (CAK), starting with 5 percent by the end of 2009


• Give purchasing preference to suppliers using these less cruel production methods, including chicken suppliers that switch to CAK

Quiznos has also removed the eggs entirely from three of its four cookies. (Unfortunately, they still aren't vegan, but this will still prevent thousands of hours of suffering for laying hens).

These reforms mark the first steps forward for Quiznos, and we wish those companies resisting change would at least make similar moves (come on Subway, what are you waiting for?). That said, not eating animals (or their eggs or milk) is still the best way to help them. So while it is terrific that pigs, chickens, and turkeys will now suffer less for some of Quiznos' products, I'll stick with those veggie subs.

Posted by Matt Prescott

Because it's the only way he can get out of the mud! Fortunately, this South Carolina dog and two dozen others are now high and dry—literally—thanks to the intervention of a concerned citizen, a plucky animal control officer, and PETA.

The dog's owner—the word "guardian" wouldn't fit the bill here!—kept 15 dogs in mud-filled pens and another 15 on top of each other inside his mobile home (seen in the background of this photo). We think he fits the description of a hoarder—a person who compulsively collects animals in the same way that someone might collect newspapers or stuffed toys. Most hoarders claim to be "saving" animals from euthanasia at animal shelters—some even call themselves "rescue groups" or "no-kill shelters" and have catchy, appealing names for their hellholes. All hoarders have a compulsion to collect (and usually neglect) animals and a total inability to recognize the horrific misery and often slow death that they are imposing on the animals.

This man claimed to be trying to create a new "designer" breed, but there's no indication that he ever planned to sell any of the dogs, and he didn't have a breeding license. Nor did he provide the dogs with anything close to adequate protection from the elements, as you can see in the photos below.

Catch this: South Carolina authorities claim that the only law this man was breaking was in failing to provide the dogs with clean water, which is a misdemeanor. South Carolina's cruelty laws are so vague that the broken pallets, rags, tarps, and pieces of plywood that were the dogs' only "shelter" were deemed to not be in violation.

After a delicate round of negotiations, PETA's Cruelty Investigations Division was able to coordinate a meeting between the man and an animal control officer (who had previously been barred from the property by the man—under threat of being shot). At the meeting, the man agreed to relinquish most of the dogs.

If you’re moved by this story please take a moment to help with other cruelty cases by participating in PETA’s Action Alerts.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

greece / CC

The poison would have sent birds into convulsions, made them disoriented, and caused them to suffer for hours before dying. Poison is indiscriminate—any bird could ingest it. And the dead birds' bodies would also have posed a hazard to other animals, including cats, dogs, and birds of prey, who might consume them.

Not only is poisoning pigeons cruel, it doesn't even accomplish the long-term goal of getting rid of the population. Pigeons naturally maintain their numbers depending on the amount of food and space available. If 100 pigeons were poisoned, the surviving pigeons would breed more quickly to replace the dead members of their flock, which means that the population would actually increase over time. Case in point: These same officials had tried poisoning the flock in the past, only to find themselves with even more feathered friends in the long run.

Nonlethal methods of resolving conflicts with pigeons, such as Bird Barrier, are not only kinder but also more effective. Everybody wins!

Posted by Lianne Turner

knoxnews / CC

Thanks go out to everyone who participated in our action alert and told D'Agostino about elephant abuse in the circus. Your letters made a difference! D'Agostino and Florida's Blood Centers now join Denny's, Liz Claiborne, Lukoil, MasterCard, and Sears, all of which ended their Ringling sponsorships.

Well, Ringling, looks like you really should have taken us up on that offer to buy you an animatronic elephant to replace your live elephants. If you had, maybe people would actually want to support the circus again.

We encourage you to write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or other media outlet urging your community to boycott animal circuses that might be rolling in the direction of your town. Click here to find media outlets in your area to contact.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

Remember when we told you about the 140-year-old, 20-pound lobster confined to a tank inside New York restaurant City Crab and Seafood? Well, after initially denying PETA's request to release the ancient crustacean, the good folks at City Crab have had a change of heart and have agreed to send the lucky lobster back home—i.e., into the sea. (Yay!)

City Crab and PETA are hosting a bon voyage event to see off the lobster, who will be sent back to a watery habitat in style. Pretty exciting if you ask me! Next step: ban catching lobsters completely. Lobsters don't deserve to be pulled from their ocean home and kept in tiny tanks in their own waste and then boiled alive.

A huge "thank you" goes out to City Crab for this compassionate decision. To celebrate this victory for lobsters everywhere, I encourage you to try our recipe for mock lobster.

PS If you want to become a "lobster libber" and help liberate lobsters in your hometown, check out our suggestions for how you can get active here.

PPS You know how life sometimes imitates art? Click here to see just how true that really is.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

Donna Karan, the target of one of our campaigns, has announced that her fall 2009 lines will be fur-free and that she has "no plans" to use fur in the future!

PETA is now calling on activists and supporters to put the brakes on our "Donna Karan: Bunny Butcher" antics, which have included protesting outside her boutiques, crashing her runway show, and exposing her cruel use of fur online. This is a win for the real fashion victims—animals, who are routinely skinned alive for their pelts—and will allow us all to focus on Armani and other targets while keeping an eye on Donna Karan's 2010 collection.

Karan's announcement came days after PETA launched our (now offline) DonnaKaranBunnyButcher.com Web site and after mega–fashion guru Tim Gunn sent Karan and designer Giorgio Armani a video that he narrated for PETA showing animals skinned alive for their fur and urged them to open their eyes to the violent and bloody fur industry.

While Donna Karan has followed in the footsteps of top designers—including Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and Calvin Klein—Armani still refuses to stop using fur. Armani claims that he "only" uses fur from rabbits who are butchered for meat. We hope that you will take this opportunity to contact Armani to tell him that while the meat of gentle rabbits killed for their fur in China is sold to be eaten, the suffering that they endure is exactly the same. Point out that the cruelty depicted in this video on fur farms in both China and France show animals who are killed for both fur and meat.

If you're under the age of 21, please send a message to Armani through our youth campaign site, peta2.com.

Posted by Joel Bartlett

court-records / CC

This wonderful news means that animals will not be used in the overwhelming majority of such tests in the future in Europe. The MatTek Corporation announced yesterday that the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods' Scientific Advisory Committee (ESAC) has formally endorsed the scientific validity of the company's Modified EpiDerm Skin Irritation Test as well as L'Oreal's SkinEthic test. I know those are an awful lot of big, impressive words, but it basically means that the big men and women on campus are totally down with these new processes, which do not involve animal testing.

This will allow manufacturers worldwide to use these exciting new non-animal methods. It will also help manufacturers test cosmetic ingredients humanely, which is especially important because animal testing for skin irritation and most other purposes will be banned in Europe as of March 2009. Tens of thousands of rabbits have been used for skin irritation tests each year in the past, but we say, "No more!"

The validation of these tests is an important step in adopting cruelty-free scientific methods that are effective and humane, and PETA Europe should be so proud to have played a part in that. You can read more about this whole situation here.

On another totally not surprising—but totally awful—note, the U.S. still does not accept these tests. We are, of course, writing the new Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tom Daschle (read letter here), to tell him to get the U.S. to stop stalling!

Posted by Christine Doré

keystoneequity / CC

Why am I personally so extremely excited? Well, of course, there's the fact that taking glue traps off the shelves will prevent huge amounts of suffering, because animals who become trapped in them often tear off patches of skin or fur in their frantic efforts to escape. Sometimes they even try to chew off their own limbs.

However, this also means that I will now have the perfect place to grab my last-minute stocking-stuffers this year (circa December 23 or 24, which is when I typically start shopping).

I hope my giftees will be as delighted as you all must be. But don't forget that we still need your help to get Lowe's to stop selling glue traps too. Click here to take action.

Posted by Sean Conner

ucdavis / CC

Everyone knows how animals in laboratories suffer, so why would anyone knowingly choose to inflict pain on another creature for the sake of unreliable and cruel animal testing, especially when there are so many cruelty-free alternatives? CSPI tried to say that they needed to test on rats and mice because the rats they used before weren't good models for the substance's toxicity in humans. Hang on, what? That's right, they know that the tests on rats don't work, but they want to repeat the tests on rats and do even more tests on mice. Anyway, the FDA finally did something right and approved the substance without the additional animal tests. Score!

Unfortunately, there is still animal testing going on, and the CSPI is still pushing for more and longer animal tests. You can help by sending a polite letter to CSPI executive director Michael Jacobson asking him to focus CSPI's work on safe and effective non-animal testing methods.

Posted by Lianne Turner

phapet / CC

BBC officials have learned that "purebreds" entered into dog shows are genetically predisposed to debilitating diseases caused by generations of inbreeding. And it's all in an attempt to make sure that the dogs who are bred for money are the best "specimens" in town. Kudos to the BBC for taking a stand for dogs!

Apparently USA Network (which broadcasts Westminster Dog Show every February here in the states) hasn't yet gotten the memo that "breedism" is a thing of the past. Remember last year's winner, Uno? As a beagle, Uno has a significantly higher risk of hypothyroidism, demodectic mange, umbilical hernia, epilepsy, eye and eyelid problems, cryptorchidism, hip dysplasia, intervertebral disk disease, and luxating patella. Now what ribbon does that deserve?

Posted by Liz Graffeo

Our fearless campaigners have been hard at work exposing cruelty to animals—and sometimes quite a bit of themselves—all across the country!

A Lowe's in San Diego received a visit from a bikini-clad "mouse," who lay in front of the store on her own glue trap. In case you didn't know, Lowe's still sells hideously cruel glue traps— the kind in which animals can suffer for days before succumbing to starvation, dehydration, suffocation, and shock.

Meanwhile, PETA demonstrators have been visiting cities in Iowa and Nebraska to show the eating populace exactly what factory farming means for animals with these eye-catching gestation crate sculptures. It's hard to buy ham and Spam when you are crying!

Finally, our "tiger" visited some cities in the southeastern U.S., where she sat in a cage to demonstrate the cruelty of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Shreveporters were especially interested to see our tiger, because the last time PETA came to their town, the demonstrators were dragged off by the police! This time, law enforcement officials behaved themselves. Our tiger also captured a lot of attention in Little Rock!

And, while we're on the subject of Ringling Bros.—we heard that Hansons Windows, a home repair company in Michigan, was offering free circus tickets. No, that's not the great news—the great news is this: When we wrote to the folks at Hansons Windows and explained to them how animals in Ringling circuses are beaten, forced to perform tricks, and kept in chains or tiny cages for most of their lives, the president of Hansons ended the promotion!

Kudos to Hansons Windows for making the compassionate choice—and kudos to our campaigners for the great demos!

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Back in August, we wrote to the company about this, urging it to adopt a fur-free policy. At the time, the company said that it would look into the issue to gauge people's thoughts on it. So, to help speed that process up, we launched an online marketing campaign, getting members of the public to write to Zappos.com's CEO and urge him to send the pelts packing—and more than 11,000 of you did! The campaign became totally viral and social networking played a huge part—many people posted tweets on Twitter, passed around our petition on Facebook, and much more.

I mean, seriously, is this the first campaign in history ever to be won by tweeting and the slick use of other online tools? It's pretty exciting if you ask me—and also pretty novel! We are paving the way of the future, my friends.

Well, it seems that Zappos.com got the message that people hate fur, because yesterday, the company officially adopted a permanent policy never to sell any products containing the fur of an animal!

Thank you SO much, all you fantastic online activists, for helping—and thank you, Zappos.com, for making the kind decision to forgo fur now and in the future. This will help spare countless minks, rabbits, foxes, and other animals all the horrors of fur farming and trapping, such as being electrocuted, bludgeoned, and skinned alive.

Now that we're all rightfully pumped up about this exciting victory, we've decided to take on a new campaign—because, well, we can't be stopped! Please join us in asking Amazon.com to follow Zappos.com's lead and go fur-free. For those who want to learn more about the issue and find other ways to help, please visit FurIsDead.com and be sure to check out our compassionate clothing guide here.

Posted by Christine Doré

Blind and sighted, man or macaque—we all celebrate in the same way. A recent study from scientists at the University of British Columbia and San Francisco State University shows that the "victory dance"—arms raised, chest puffed out—is an instinctive trait of all primates.

You mean I have something in common with Michael Phelps? All right, then!

cnn / CC

It turns out that the victory dance closely resembles the dominance displays of chimpanzees and monkeys—"Yes, I'm strong, and I'm bigger than you"—and is universal among all athletes, from all cultures, including blind Paralympians. Since the blind athletes couldn't have learned this behavior from others, the victory dance has to be innate.

Similarly, poses of defeat—heads down, shoulders slumped—are also the same for all primates (and not only primates), with the exception of some sighted athletes from the U.S. and Western Europe. The lead author of the study speculates that "the athletes were intentionally hiding their feelings—consciously overriding their innate urge to signal defeat—because losing is so stigmatized in their cultures." Tellingly, blind athletes from the same countries did exhibit the same defeat poses as other primates—showing again that this is innate behavior.

More and more studies confirm what we already know—that we are all one under the skin. Hopefully, these studies will bring humans one step closer toward having respect for all primates.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

After more than 7,000 e-mails of complaint from our wonderful members and supporters, Verizon has pulled an ad depicting two chained pit bulls who were straining at their chains in a junkyard. They may now realize that the sight of miserable, lonely, aggressive dogs just doesn't help them hawk cell phones.

Pit bulls are by far the most abused of breeds, and this ad certainly didn't help boost their image. Since they're seen as the "tough guy's" breed, they all too often end up neglected and chained outside, left to lie amid their own waste through all weather extremes and without adequate shelter, food, or water. If that wasn't enough, even less fortunate ones end up in the hands of dogfighters.

Many thanks to all who participated in our action alert—your pressure helped get this ridiculous ad pulled. Further proof that it's worth it to ruffle a few feathers!

Posted by Sean Conner

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Well, that's what I thought when I first saw this news story: "Hogs Gone Wild, 50 team [sic] compete in Eldorado Picnic hog wrestling contest." Surely, I thought, the wrestlers wore pig costumes or something. They didn't actually wrestle with pigs …

But no—there were, in fact, 50 teams of people, all clamoring to wrestle a pig. The goal? To grab a frightened pig and force him onto a padded barrel in less than a minute.

Eldorado's fire chief, who is either PR-savvy or oblivious, says—in the words of the article—that the hogs "are kept cool and treated with utmost respect." But the astute writer of the article observed, "Not buying that for a minute, the hogs huddled together drawing deep furrows in the muck with their snouts. They glared, squinted-eyed, each time a squealing comrade was herded away." I certainly fail to see how terrorizing pigs qualifies as "respect"—just look at the first picture in the photo gallery. Look at the expression on the pig's face—does he look respected or terrified?

This isn't the first time that misguided people have used animal wrestling as a fundraiser. In fact, the Brooks Hill Community Fair in West Virginia—which was just this past weekend—had planned to hold a greased pig race until PETA told them how cruel it would be. The race was subsequently canceled—a victory for PETA and pigs and a show of decency from Brooks Hill! The Delta Fair and Music Fest in Tennessee is another event that decided not to hold their pig-wrestling competition. Good for them.

Of course, if anyone's wondering what the Eldorado Lions and Fireman's Community Picnic might do next year to raise money in a cruelty-free way … might I suggest tofu wrestling instead? We'll even provide the tofu.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

robertslab / CC

This landmark bill is the first of its kind in the nation to protect sick and injured farmed animals from further torture. Animals on factory farms suffer such injuries so frequently that the industry has a term for them: "downers." Downed animals can suffer immensely as they are either dragged to slaughter or left to die from their ailments—a truly unimaginable hell to suffer through. I think that our downed cow story really had an impact on the passing of this bill. The story is just completely heartbreaking, compelling, and all too common. The good thing is that this story really inspired people to do the right thing and get this bill PASSED.

The frequency of this is staggering. Each year, millions of animals arrive for slaughter either already dead or too sick or injured to walk. This comes from a lifetime of abuse on factory farms, followed by transport to slaughter through all sorts of weather extremes.

"California cannot allow unscrupulous slaughterhouse operators to endanger the safety of America's food supply and engage in grotesquely cruel practices. [This bill] is an important step toward … basic decency to farm animals, and I am delighted that the Governor has signed it into law," said Assemblymember Krekorian, who introduced the bill.

Now if only federal laws were changed to extend this most basic consideration to farmed animals nationwide …

Posted by Sean Conner

beedata / CC

1. North Carolina officials have filed six counts of misdemeanor cruelty to animals against a North Carolina man for acts documented in our 2007 undercover investigation of a Smithfield supplier's sow farm. The charges are for acts of dragging pigs by the ear, striking a pig in the face with a handling board, and gouging a pig's eyes with his fingers.


2. After talks with PETA, the New Hampshire Motor Speedway agreed to stop its plans to feature live elephants at a NASCAR race.


3. During a routine visit to a North Carolina trailer park, our Cruelty Investigations Department found two pit bulls suffering from severe puncture wounds and infections—neither of the dogs had been treated for their injuries. One of the dogs appears to have been used as a bait dog and lost both her ears. All 13 thin and miserable dogs—most living in mud pits—were turned over to PETA within four days. The bait dog had to have tubes put in her neck to treat the infection that had spread.


4. On the spay-and-neuter front, Our SNIP-mobile spayed and neutered 476 dogs, cats, and rabbits in the last 30 days! And our new ABC bus spayed and neutered 69 animals; most of the surgeries were done completely free of charge!


5. A butterfly release planned as part of a celebration of two merging Michigan hospitals was called off after speaking with PETA staffers. The butterflies, which had already been received, were taken home by a hospital worker who lives on a farm. The butterflies were released in a secure area.

Stay tuned for future victories!

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

Chances are that if you live in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, or Mississippi, you've shopped at a Winn-Dixie. Well, you'll be glad to know that this top grocery chain, which operates 520 stores in the South, has just made some improvements in how some of the chickens and pigs killed for its products are treated.

Now before anyone jumps all over us, yes, we are vegans; yes, we spend buckets of money trying to get other people to go vegan; and yes, as long as one chicken is going to be killed because we aren't able to prevent people from buying and cooking birds, we want that death to be as painless as possible.

Following about five months of discussions with PETA (and there was that matter of the shareholder resolution we submitted to the company), Winn-Dixie has adopted an animal welfare plan. The company has agreed to do the following:

• Give purchasing preference to suppliers that use or switch to controlled-atmosphere killing (the least cruel method of bird slaughter) and begin purchasing 5 percent of its turkeys from suppliers that use this method by the end of 2010.


• Give purchasing preference to suppliers that don't use gestation crates—restrictive metal enclosures that confine pregnant pigs—and increase the total amount of pig meat that it purchases from crate-free facilities by 5 percent over each of the next three years (to reach a total of 15 percent).


• Give purchasing preference to producers of cage-free eggs, increase the amount of cage-free eggs that it sells to 4 percent by the end of 2009 and 5 percent by the end of 2010, and work toward increasing that amount to 10 percent within the next five years.

Winn-Dixie is following in the footsteps of other major grocery and restaurant companies that have recently made animal welfare improvements after working with PETA. Those companies include Safeway, Harris Teeter (another large Southern grocery chain), Burger King, Carl's Jr., and Hardee's.

While this certainly doesn't mean that the eggs and meat at Winn-Dixie (or any other chain) are produced without causing animals to suffer (check out Meat.org to see what I mean), it does mean that the worst abuses have been eliminated for some of the animals. And we welcome any improvements in animals' living and dying conditions!

If you'd like to thank Winn-Dixie, drop them a line through their online customer service form.

Posted by Christine Doré

itvt / CC

Ready for even more good news? HSN has also agreed to donate any furry items leftover at the end of the year to PETA so that we can use them in our anti-fur campaign.

Way to go, HSN!

Although dozens of companies have adopted fur-free policies—including Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, and the Gap—some callous companies still insist on using the fur of tortured animals to make their products. One of these companies is ShopNBC. Take a few seconds (literally, like 10 seconds) to send ShopNBC an automated message urging them to follow HSN's lead by dropping fur once and for all.

Posted by Matt Prescott

In March, a video surfaced on online showing a smiling Marine throwing a live puppy off a cliff while another Marine laughs. People everywhere were outraged, PETA was immediately flooded with calls and e-mails from people who wanted to know how they could help get justice for the puppy.

PETA's Emergency Response Division immediately contacted the Commanding Officer at Marine Corps Base Hawaii urging strong action on this case. In addition, we launched an online action alert, which allowed tens of thousands of outraged people to share their feelings with Marine Corps officials and ask for court-martials and severe penalties for those involved.

Today, we received the long-awaited results of the Marine Corps' investigation. According to news sources, the soldier shown tossing the puppy has been expelled, and another Marine in the video apparently faces disciplinary action. A big, big thanks to everyone who took action and let the Marine Corps know that cruelty to animals is never acceptable—no matter who the abuser is.

PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch has these strong words on this matter:

The Marine Corps is right to expel David Mortari and discipline the other Marine who was involved in videotaping the pitching of a tiny puppy off a cliff in Iraq. We only wish that Mortari could face a proper trial; courts all over the U.S. sentence animal abusers to jail time nowadays—and such a punishment would certainly be in order here. Mortari embarrassed the U.S. and its military, and we hope to see his dismissal send a strong message that cruelty to animals simply will not be tolerated in our military ranks.

And here are my words:

Puppy torturers and people who perpetuate the torture of animals deserve to rot in prison.

- Joel Bartlett

So I told some of my animal buddies about the progress with the KFC campaign in regards to the animal welfare changes we secured for chickens killed for Canadian KFCs..

So we had a little celebration, as you can see here. They couldn't really wait for the grapes to ferment into wine and all that, so they just gobbled (no pun intended) them up.

Congrats to everyone for doing such a great job with the campaign so far! The chickens especially thank you for working to make their lives better.

—Pulin

Posted by Pulin Modi, Senior Street Team Coordinator, peta2

If I were to list the most interesting experiences I've had in my 26 years of life, I'd say that eating a meal of vegan fried chicken with the president of the company that coordinates the purchasing of chickens for all Canadian KFCs at the PETA HQ—in the midst of our bitter five-year battle with the chicken chain—would make the top 10.

That was back in December. Six months later, I'm happy to report that our bread-breaking (along with negotiations, dozens of e-mails and phone calls, and a meeting in Toronto that preceded my "chicken" dinner) was successful: PETA has officially ended our Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign in Canada. Our decision came with a new animal welfare plan that will affect all chickens killed for KFCs in Canada.

For one thing, 100 percent of the chickens killed for Canadian KFCs will be purchased—through a phase-in program—from suppliers that use "controlled-atmosphere killing" (CAK), the least cruel method of bird slaughter available. CAK works by replacing birds' oxygen with a mixture of nonpoisonous inert gasses to gently put them "to sleep." It may sound horrible—because killing animals for a fleeting taste sensation always is—but for animals killed for food, it's a 180° turnaround. Gone will be the days of broken bones, abuse by workers (because with CAK, workers never handle live birds), electric shocks, and live throat slitting and scalding.

The conditions for animals on farms will also be improved. In addition, the company that coordinates the purchasing of chickens for all Canadian KFCs will encourage the chicken companies supplying Canadian KFCs to move away from the cruelest breeding and farming practices and will also form an animal welfare advisory council.

But I haven't even gotten to the best news yet. That vegan fried-chicken meal that I ate with the head honcho in December might not be his last. Most KFCs in Canada will now be adding a vegan chicken item to their menus. That means that at least 65 percent of KFCs in Canada will now have a totally cruelty-free option (ask for the item, called the Classic Vegetarian Sandwich, in a wrap and with no mayo to make it vegan). Not too paltry, huh? (Get it?)

As for our campaign against KFC, it continues in full force everywhere else. In fact, I sent a letter to the CEO of KFC's parent company, Yum! Brands, today urging him to make the same changes that are being made in Canada.

Thank you to everyone who helped us win this historic victory by staging protests, writing letters, and forwarding videos (among other things).

To everyone who has yet to help: Lend a hand by logging on to KentuckyFriedCruelty.com and signing our petition urging KFC to improve animal welfare worldwide.

—Matt

Posted by Matt Prescott, Assistant Director of Corporate Affairs

PETA is calling off our campaign against POM Wonderful after the company announced that it will permanently end all animal tests. There follows a brief synopsis of our campaign against the juice company in dramatic form. For a longer, less dramatic synopsis of the campaign, click here.

POM Wonderful: Let's damage the arteries of male rabbits and induce them with erectile dysfunction in order to make health claims about our juice.

PETA: Um… WTF?

PAMELA ANDERSON: Considering the cruel experiments on animals that POM is funding, I'm calling on everyone to get Naked instead.

PETA: Meaning, like, Naked Juice, which doesn't test on animals. Frutzzo and Old Orchard are great alternatives too.

REUTERS: Whole Foods Market Inc., the largest natural and organic grocery chain, told Reuters it had decided to stop selling POM Wonderful pomegranate juice and associated tea blends by April 1 if POM continued to fund studies that might include animal testing.

POM: POM Wonderful pomegranate juice has ceased all animal testing.

PETA: Can we have that in writing?

POM: Neither POM Wonderful nor its related entities provide funding for ongoing animal testing on POM Juice (or POM Tea). Moreover, there are no plans to do so in the future.

PETA: Hooray! Thanks.

To tell the truth, the campaign was a little more hard-fought than that, but that's the general idea. This is a major victory, and a huge thank you is also due to everyone who participated in demonstrations, handed out information, contacted POM about this issue, and boycotted POM products. When we win a major campaign at PETA, that often means free vegan pizza for everyone, so fingers crossed that upper management doesn't forget about that small, but important detail in all the excitement.

Victory! Raley's has discontinued the sale of live lobsters.

Update: After Thousands of Complaints From Customers, Raley's Has Agreed to Discontinue the Sale of Live Lobsters in Its Stores!

Earlier this week, a customer of Raley's—which is a popular grocery chain in Nevada, New Mexico, and California—sent PETA disturbing pictures of live lobsters kept in tiny plastic containers barely larger than the lobsters' bodies in a Raley's store. After PETA put an action alert up on our site last night, thousands of people wrote to the company to ask that they abandon this cruel practice immediately and consider following in the footsteps of chains like Safeway and Whole Foods and discontinue the sale of live lobsters entirely.

This morning, we received an e-mail from Raley's announcing that the company would do just that! Raley's Spokesperson Nicole Townsend gave PETA the following statement:

Raley’s Family of Fine Stores offered live Maine lobsters to our customers for three days during the holiday season. Raley's will not repeat this promotion or offer live lobsters in any of its stores.

It goes without saying that this is a massive victory for lobsters everywhere, who suffer immeasurably in grocery-store lobster tanks before being boiled alive. Raley's compassionate decision—along with the example of Safeway and Whole Foods—sends a strong message to supermarkets everywhere that cruelty of this sort simply will not be tolerated. A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to write to Raley's about this issue! Thanks to your kindness, countless lobsters will be saved from a horrific fate.