PETA Global 2017 Issue 1

PETA Sues USDA for Hiding Animal Abusers’ Records

A MESSAGE FROM Ingrid Newkirk PETA PRESIDENT

People looking for previously public information about violators of the federal Animal Welfare Act in the US woke up on February 3 to find themselves out of luck. US Department of Agriculture (USDA) records on puppy mills, laboratories, roadside zoos, traveling animal shows, and other outfits that abuse and exploit animals – records that revealed serious violations of federal law– had been scrubbed from the agency’s website. And anyone seeking such information would have to embark on an often lengthy and potentially expensive bureaucratic process to try to get it, which could take months or even years.

In an effort to undo what it believes is illegal conduct by the agency, PETA – along with five fellow plaintiffs – has filed suit to force the USDA to provide the records. As plaintiff Delcianna Winders, a Harvard Animal Law & Policy fellow, put it, “The government should not be in the business of hiding animal abusers and lawbreakers from public scrutiny.” Meanwhile, PETA US has released every USDA inspection report of captive-animal exhibitors in its archives – nearly 21,000 records, the oldest of which dates from 1984. They can be accessed at PETA.org using the search term “USDA inspection reports.”

Just after the stunning news that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus would finally close its doors after 146 years, an anti–factory farming campaigner posted online that, with so many animals killed for food, he didn’t think it was important to go after the circus. I’m glad that PETA never thought that way. PETA won’t let children grow up thinking that watching the debasement of elephants and tigers is a treat – or that the suffering of even one elephant deliberately orphaned and then abused daily for 60 years is not worth worrying about. “ Persistence eventually paid off, and PETA’s campaigns whittled away at Ringling’s operation until the giant finally fell. ” In 2009, a whistleblower sent PETA photos showing how Ringling trained baby elephants: by tying them down in the presence of their shackled mothers in order to teach them that no one would come to their rescue, then beating, electroshocking, and jabbing them as they screamed – until they figured out what meaningless things they had to do to escape the pain. People saw these photos at PETA ’ s protests, and they turned around and went home. One year, supporters gave PETA money to expand the fight against Ringling, and PETA , s legal department met with the USDA Office of the General Counsel over the deaths of two baby elephants and one lion. Just a few months later, Ringling agreed to pay the largest fine in circus history to settle dozens of violations. Persistence eventually paid off, and PETA’s campaigns whittled away at Ringling’s operation until the giant finally fell. Now, there are other animal circuses, marine abusement parks, roadside zoos, and bear pits to close down. If we all work together, they’ll soon be relegated to the dustbin of history, too.

PETA UK Launches First-Ever Vegan Tube Takeover PETA UK plastered London tube station Clapham Common with more than 60 ads featuring cows, pigs, and chickens telling

travelers, “I’mME, not MEAT. See the individual – go vegan.” The phenomenon attracted international media attention and inspired travelers to pledge to try going vegan.

UK

PETA and its affiliates have been taking “I, Chicken,” a virtual reality tool, to schools and busy lunch spots, letting tens of thousands of users see what it’s like to be a chicken. The experience allows people to socialize with other birds and even take dust baths – until a truck pulls up to take them to the slaughterhouse. There, they are put on a conveyor belt from which they can see another one carry the bodies of their slain friends to a waiting grocery store truck. “I, Chicken” helps Virtual Reality Lets Humans Experience Life as a Chicken

INDIA

PETA India Persuades Government to Ban Drug Tests on Animals Following appeals from PETA India and politician Maneka Gandhi, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare passed an amendment preventing pharmaceutical drugs from being tested on animals in India when they have already been approved abroad.

people understand that chickens are individuals with interests, wants, and needs, rather than merely wings, breasts, and other body parts. Most participants have said that they will reconsider their food choices as a result of the experience.

4 GLOBAL NEWS