Jordan World Circus

Jordan World Circus is coming to British Columbia, Canada to perform in over a dozen cities between July 16 and July 31. We’ve confirmed that there will be elephants and bears in some, and possibly all, of these shows. Jordan World Circus is notorious for their bad behavior. They have been cited nearly two dozen times for mistreatment of animals and for endangering the public. Sick and injured animals are often forced to perform despite their condition, uncooperative animals have been observed to be beaten with rods and in at least 3 occasions, elephants have attacked their trainers during a performance while giving rides to children! For more info, visit http://www.circuses.com/fact-jordan.asp

> Write to your Mayor

> Write to your Newspaper

Source: Liberation BC .

Adidas and Other Fashion Industry Leaders Boycott Wool From Mutilated Sheep

Following discussions with PETA, global retail giants Adidas and Perry Ellis International and major European retailer IC Companys have pledged not to use wool from farmers who perform the mulesing mutilation. Mulesing—a cruel attempt to prevent maggot infestations, which could be humanely controlled with other methods—is a gruesome procedure in which gardening shears are used to cut chunks of skin and flesh off lambs’ backsides without any painkillers. HUGO BOSS—which has more than 1,000 stores worldwide—has also pledged to be 100 percent mulesed-wool-free in less than two years. With these new pledges, PETA has gained more clout in our campaign to reform the wool industry and improve the lives of the millions of sheep who face mutilation for the sake of a sweater or a pair of socks.

KFC Canada Reaches Historic Agreement With PETA; Pressure Builds on KFC in Other Countries to Adopt Far-Reaching Changes to Reduce Animal Suffering

After months of negotiations, PETA has won a pledge from KFC Canada to phase in the exclusive purchase of chickens from suppliers who use a less cruel slaughter method called controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK). The current method of slaughter used by most KFC suppliers worldwide—during which birds are often maimed and scalded while still conscious—involves electric paralysis and throat-cutting.

PETA has also convinced Popeye’s, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Burger King, Safeway, Carl Jr.’s, Hardee’s, and other companies to give purchasing preference to CAK suppliers.

There’s even an extra bonus for customers: Per our agreement, KFC Canada will provide its customers with a cruelty-free option—saving countless birds—by offering a vegan faux-chicken menu item at the majority of its restaurants!

The agreement with KFC Canada also adds growing pressure to KFC in the U.S. and other countries around the world to adopt similar reforms. To date, PETA has organized more than 12,000 demonstrations at KFC outlets, and our campaign against the companies’ worst atrocities will continue until its global parent company, YUM! Brands, agrees to follow its Canadian counterpart.

Major Grocery Chain Harris Teeter Says ‘No!’ to Ringling Bros.

Large Southeastern grocery chain Harris Teeter confirmed that it will not enter into future partnerships with circuses that use live animals. The announcement followed discussions with PETA about how the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus forces animals to perform confusing, painful, and often dangerous tricks by beating the animals with fists, sticks, whips, and steel-tipped bullhooks. Other corporations that have dropped their associations with Ringling as a result of PETA pressure include Denny’s, MasterCard, Visa, Liz Claiborne, and Sears, Roebuck & Co.

Leading Medical School in Taiwan Cancels Cruel Animal Experiments

After PETA provided the National Taiwan University College of Medicine—Taiwan’s leading medical school—with information about sophisticated non-animal teaching methods, the school canceled its pharmacology experiments. In the experiments, students were asked to inject the toxic chemical strychnine into mice, watch the animals convulse in agony, and record the animals’ times of death. The school also canceled an experiment in which mice were injected with a poison that causes loss of muscular control before they were forced onto a balancing rod. Brain surgeries on living frogs were canceled as well. We are now working on persuading the school to join more than 100 other medical schools that have completely ended the use of animals for undergraduate medical training.

Starz Media Stops Using Live Animals in Ads

As a direct result of PETA pressure, prominent New York-based ad company Starz Media changed its plans to use a live chimpanzee to promote the animated movie Space Chimps. Also, MovieTickets.com—the leader in the online movie-ticket business—has recently ended its use of chimpanzees in advertisements as a result of discussions with PETA.

None of our work to stop the suffering of so many animals would be possible without your continued generous support. Thank you for being a strong and passionate voice for animals everywhere.

Kind regards,

Ingrid Newkirk
Ingrid E. Newkirk
President

P.S. I’d like to give you a verbal “snapshot” from the work of PETA affiliates around the world: A recent summary of Internet search-engine inquiries found that “PETA” was the seventh-most-searched term in India, coming in just after “causes of global warming.” PETA India—which celebrated its eighth anniversary—pushes for zoo reforms; helps retire “working” bullocks; investigates cruelty in laboratories, on factory farms, and in slaughterhouses; and much more. With your help, PETA and its affiliates are truly turning the whole world’s attention to animal issues.

Original source: People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals at http://www.peta.org/

Circus Employees Tell of Bloody Beatings, Routine Abuse

Two former Ringling employees have contacted PETA independently with allegations of routine abuse in the circus, including bloody beatings and a culture in which employees who object to animals’ cruel treatment are either ignored or punished. Still haunted by what she witnessed, Archele Hundley quit Ringling’s red unit in June 2006 after just two months, and Bob Tom, who worked on the same unit for two years, was fired in August 2006, allegedly for complaining about the beatings.

Elephants Live in Fear of Beatings
Both Hundley and Tom worked on the animal crew and tell PETA that they witnessed a violent beating of an elephant that lasted at least 30 minutes when Ringling had a layover at the fairgrounds in Tulsa, Oklahoma. When an elephant refused a command to lie down, Ringling’s head elephant trainer, Sacha Houcke, allegedly beat the elephant with a bullhook, hooking her behind the ear, on the leg, and on the back. At one point, he reportedly inserted the hook inside the elephant’s ear canal and pulled on the handle using both hands and the full force of his body weight. The elephant cried out in agony and was left bleeding profusely from severe wounds.

The following were among the whistleblowers’ declarations to PETA:

• Elephants are so terrified of the trainers that they begin urinating, defecating, and trumpeting in fear at the sound of their voices.
• Elephants are aggressively hooked on a daily basis, and handlers rub dirt into bloody bullhook wounds to conceal them from the public.
• Elephants suffering from arthritis are kept on the road.
• Elephants are only unchained when the public is around.
• Some employees were outraged at Sacha Houcke’s recklessness when he brought Luna and another elephant perilously close to a PETA staffer and assaulted him in Oklahoma City. Luna is extremely dangerous and unpredictable. She has attacked handlers and frequently shows aggression toward people, and employees are regularly warned not to go near her.
• The circus knows in advance when U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors are coming for what are supposed to be unannounced inspections.

Horses Beaten and Whipped
Horses are one of the most commonly used animals in circuses, but they receive the least protection, as they are not covered by the federal Animal Welfare Act.

Hundley and Tom reported severe alleged abuse of horses, including the following:

• Horses are grabbed by the throat and shoved, jabbed with pitchforks, and given “lip twists,” a sadistic way to inflict pain on one of the most sensitive areas of a horse’s body.
• Most of Ringling’s horses are head-shy from being punched in the face so many times. If you try to pet them, they jerk their heads away because they fear being hit.
• A handler allegedly tethered a horse named Sonny and whipped the horse with the metal snap of the lead for 10 minutes. The horse was later found to have a broken tooth.
• A miniature horse got loose and was repeatedly punched on the back and sides when he was recaptured.
• Sacha Houcke allegedly slugged a shrieking miniature horse named Gunther in the face twice with such force that it would have knocked down a full-grown person. The sound of his fist, which could be heard 20 feet away, knocked the horse senseless.
• A horse named Mizean had cuts across his sides and back from being viciously whipped.

Miserable Transport Conditions
The former circus employees further report that during transit, elephants are packed inside boxcars so tightly that they are unable to turn around or lie down. On three- and four-day trips, animals are let off the train for exercise only once. Most of the time, they are forced to stand in mountains of foul-smelling feces and urine that fill up to two Dumpsters. Hundley says that the stench inside the boxcars is so bad that it causes people’s eyes to water and their noses to burn.

Some elephants scrape their backs when they are loaded and unloaded from the trains because the openings in the boxcars are not large enough.

Tom described an incident in Fairfax, Virginia, where two horses suffered heatstroke after they were left in stifling boxcars for almost 12 hours in near 100°F heat.

Whistleblowers Threatened While Abusers Go Unpunished
The whistleblowers contend that Ringling falsifies personnel performance reports for employees who quit in disgust or are fired after complaining about the systematic abuse of animals so that the phony records can be used to discredit anyone who goes public with what he or she witnessed.

Employees are warned not to show affection toward animals. And Ringling management tells employees who complain about the beatings, “If you don’t like it, pack your bags,” and even threatens them with legal action if they report abuse to advocacy groups.

Instead of firing employees who mistreat animals, circus management simply cautions handlers not to discipline animals in view of the public.

You Can Help Change This

Find out what to do when the circus comes to town—and how to keep it from coming in the first place.

Forward this to a friend.

Help support PETA’s lifesaving work to stop the suffering of elephants, tigers, and other animals abused in the name of “entertainment.”

Source: http://www.circuses.com/ringling_employees_tell.asp

Be Like Oprah and Try a Vegetarian Diet Today!
Oprah Winfrey is trying a vegetarian diet, and we are challenging you to do the same for at least seven days! After signing our Pledge to Be Veg for 7 Days, you’ll receive all the resources you need to get started. Sign the pledge now!

Vote for 2008’s Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity!
It’s time once again to pick the hottest vegetarian celebrity in PETA’s 2008 Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity poll. Check out who’s on this year’s list, and vote for your favorite today!

Kentucky Fried Cruelty: The Movie
It plays out like the most frightening of horror films, yet it’s based on true events. Watch the Kentucky Fried Cruelty trailers—described as “gut-wrenching,” “profoundly disturbing,” and “almost unbearable to watch”—for a sneak peak at the sinister world of KFC.

Battlestar Galactica’s Tricia Helfer PSA and Contest
One of TV’s hottest stars, Tricia Helfer, posed for PETA’s sexy new “Angel for Animals” ad. See Tricia’s ad, watch the behind-the-scenes footage of her PETA photo shoot, and enter to win seasons one through three of Battlestar Galactica—and the movie Razor—on DVD.

Alyssa Milano’s Sexy Veggie Ad
An animal lover, Alyssa Milano believes that anything you can do to alleviate suffering matters. She’s letting everyone know about the vegetarian diet by appearing in an ad for PETA with the message “Let Vegetarianism Grow on You.” Check out the ad and sign PETA’s pledge today!

Pick PETA’s Best Anti-Circus Video
We need your help! Please take a moment to watch PETA’s videos that expose circus cruelty and take our poll to tell us which video you think is the most compelling and would work best in our campaign to get circuses to stop using animals. Take our poll now!

Source : PETA

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Thoroughbreds: Drugged, Whipped, and Run to Death
Eight Belles’ breakdown and euthanasia at the Kentucky Derby on May 3 has put the spotlight back on an industry that puts speed and profit first and leaves the horses in last place. Please ask your member of Congress to take action to investigate the horse racing industry’s dark side by calling for hearings right now. Learn what animals go through at Rodeos here .

Get Bikini-Ready With a FREE Vegetarian Weight-Loss Kit
Slim down for swimsuit season with a vegetarian weight-loss kit! The kit is loaded with Yoga Fit DVDs, including “Pilates Fit,” “Yoga Fit Basics,” “Yoga Butt,” and a core ball. It also includes a DVD on eating and a GoVeg.com yoga mat. Enter to win now!

Johnny Rockets Veggie Burger—Yours Free!
Johnny Rockets has teamed up with PETA to celebrate World Vegetarian Week, and during May, the restaurant is giving you its famous Streamliner® for free*! Check out this awesome deal and claim your free burger today.

Go Away, Speed Racer! Put the Brakes on Chimpanzee Cruelty
In spite of PETA’s request to leave real animals out of Speed Racer, the film’s producers chose to use a live chimpanzee to play the role of Chim Chim. A whistleblower reported to PETA that a chimpanzee was beaten while on the set. Read more and take action today!

Win a Gift Certificate From Manic Panic!
The seasons have changed, so why not change your hair color? Add some flair to your locks and look with intriguing cruelty-free color from Manic Panic. Enter for your chance to win a $50 gift certificate.

Pledge to Be Veg for Seven Days!
World Vegetarian Week, the annual celebration of meat-free meals, is rapidly approaching (May 19 to 25), and you can celebrate by taking the Pledge to Be Veg for Seven Days—the beginning of a healthier and happier you!

PETA Salutes Animal Moms on Mother’s Day
Many animal moms show the same tireless dedication to their children that moms of the human variety do. While you’re praising your mom this Mother’s Day, also take time to remember that some of the best moms in the world are found in the animal kingdom. Celebrate all moms this Mother’s Day!

Source : PETA

Dear Suffering Animals , I’m so sorry

I wish there’s more that I could help

I think about you who are defenceless against we humans,

little dogs caged in wire confines yelping away, taken away from your parents days after you were born.

caged in that little space living in your own urine and faeces..scarcely a concern of those who profit from your sale
for mommy dogs, never to have experienced the clean sensation of a fresh smelling bath, humped on each period to breed and bear puppies in the puppy mills,

each offspring whisked off somewhere or killed, depending on their conditions , for in-breeding triggers abnormalities which the rich would be horrified to see in the cute puppy trade

Panting from the sweltering heat of the day, how we need to lap up some clean water that’s nowhere in sight

in the cold months of Fall and Winter, how we long to be in your houses , where warm lights glow and shimmer behind the curtained windows. ..some days, my caged companions never wake up from their frozen slumber after spasmodic shudders in the night

I think about you — the family of African elephants trying to escape from the firing squad, always hiding somewhere for you

…not many escape, those who do have shot wounds in their flesh that fester with maggots in the savanna plains,

and your unfortunate loved ones collapse to the ground injured, stricken by armour-piercing bullets, while my human poachers run excitedly towards their prized catch of the day

My heart pains for the baby seals bludgeoned to semi-consciousness, while their moms plead for mercy at the hunters swiping away at their heads to deal that crucial blow

Consider it lucky to suffer an instantaneous death , or else suffer an ignominious pain while my human hunters tear off your blood-soaked coat of fur in your throes of slow death… I cringe at the thought of your skin-less baby freshly stripped and tossed into the mass of red snow, alive,  in extreme pain and crying till it whimpers its last breath.

Somewhere in a lab, the lights turn on a few minutes before office hours, and you wonder, what’s going to happen to us today? We scutter about nervously in our cages; somewhere frantic screeches could be heard.

Will I or my fellow caged friends suffer the excruciating pain and torture?

At that instant, somewhere on many TVs and myriad communication media, flashy commercials beckon with the latest new formula shampoos, anti-ageing cream and body wash

a pair of gloved hands reaches in and grabs a struggling rabbit, injects some fluid into its arteries . As its taut muscles relaxes, liquid chemicals are deftly applied to its eyes and shaven skin during its sleep

it wakes up with an unstoppable burn…blinded by the chemicals, too abrasive for the next new formula. Oops, this doesn’t work, notes the researcher

Sometimes, I wish there was no birth.

I wish animals never have sex, I wish eggs never hatched

for in many cases, it’s better never to have an opportunity to live, and then be sentenced to a life of misery which grows worse each day

Foie gras, veal, farmed chicken….anyone ?

A calf snatched away from its mother and confined for the rest of its life in its small pen to keep its meat supple, so that we may enjoy tender veal ? NOT ME !

Geese and ducks machine-pumped with food through their beaks forced open by strong farm-hands

It’s not a meal-time to look forward to I bet… each passing day, these ducks and geese grow weaker with a bloating liver that increases to reach foie gras proportions, that’s the time to be served in some high-end restaurant

> Visit NoFoieGras.org to see how it is made

Chickens in cages, well, the story goes on…as long as their trip along the never-ending roads,

Transported from one place to another in their tight coops, their beaks gasping for air from the pack crammed into a tight crate, amidst the foulness of their dried droppings and tongues parched from the heat and thirst

no option to rest, stand they must with the rest of the pack.

The many which collapse from mere exhaustion can only be discovered when their journey ends , as live chickens are wrenched away from the coops into a processing centre, and they topple to be chucked into some grinding machine with a petrified squawk

Animals may not be smarter than any one of us humans (except perhaps dolphins), but each one has a life like ours.

They experience fear and the sensation of pain.

I’m not sure how to ask humans to change their perspective on animals, to treat them with care

if only love for animals was fostered at a young age to nurture compassion!

Would humans care to spend some time putting themselves in the shoes of these animals ? Perhaps they don’t have the time, or see no need to.

What if humans were one day to be dominated by some other “superior”, or more powerful species and be treated like these animals ?

I wonder.

letter to animals, April 10, 2008, by Andrew Wee

If only elephants could forget.

Armed with assault rifles, poachers greedy for ivory pump magazines of armor-piercing bullets into an innocent herd of elephants.

Elephants are highly intelligent social creatures that create lifelong relationships. They cry, play, have incredible memories, and even laugh!

But when an elephant walks by the ivory-stripped remains of a murdered loved one, they stop still; pausing sorrowfully to roar and mourn. Elephants can stand vigil over dead herd members for days, even covering the bones with branches and dirt.

Take action now to help save elephants from poaching.

Illegal wildlife products such as ivory products are distributed online at tremendous speeds that go completely unchecked: a trade so large it is now estimated to be second only to illegal trafficking in drugs and weapons.

Ivory poachers illegally kill 4,000 elephants in Africa each year; an average of eleven elephants per day. Every time a new elephant is killed, the risk of extinction increases — raising the market value of ivory and the likelihood of further poaching.

Wildlife rangers are losing their lives protecting elephants from ruthless gangs of heavily armed poachers that operate freely across national African borders, but the rangers are greatly under-staffed and under-equipped. Without our help, they will lose the fight.

IFAW is working with enforcement agencies like Interpol to apply crime-fighting techniques such as DNA testing to catch poachers. From Africa to China, we’re working with local leaders to rebuild wildlife parks and create new sanctuaries, rescue individual elephants, and train and equip rangers to combat poaching.

Certain regions of Asia and Africa may be completely emptied of their elephants if we don’t act now. I simply can’t stand by and do nothing while this goes on, and I know you can’t either.

Elephants never forget, and neither should we.

Sincerely,

Fred O’Regan
President and CEO

P.S. Many people are not aware of the vast scale of the illegal ivory trade and how it is wiping out our elephants. Please forward this email to ten of your friends right now.

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