March 8, 2010

12-Year-Old Wins PETA's Hero for Animals Award

After you finish school every day, are you greeted by a bunch of cute, loving dogs? Twelve-year-old New Delhi student Laura Moll is! Originally from Germany, Moll says that she has always loved animals. Sound familiar?

Moll is an aspiring veterinarian, and she volunteers at Friendicoes Society for the Eradication of Cruelty to Animals (SECA), a local homeless animal shelter. She records her efforts to help animals on her moving website lamo-india.de. Moll also uses the site – which features poignant photographs of the many homeless animals who have touched her heart – to encourage the public to adopt homeless animals. Moll's dedication to helping animals is a wonderful example for compassionate people everywhere to follow. You can help animals too. If you see injured animals or animals in distress, never give up trying to help them. Take animals who are in need of help to a nearby animal shelter or veterinary clinic. Remember, animals have no voice and need you to speak up for them.

We don't care if your favourite animal is a chicken, a dog or an elephant – you can always join our Street Team and make a difference for animals, just like Laura did!

March 5, 2010

A Victory for Paro and His Pals

If our recent blog about Happy the crane made you happy, you’re going to love this PETA India victory:

Pardon the obvious pun (I can’t help myself), but when it comes to bustin’ big, bad animal experimenters — PETA India doesn’t ‘monkey’ around. Seriously. Back in 2002, PETA and the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) busted Pune’s National Institute of Virology (NIV) for making animals suffer in nightmarish conditions.

During a visit to the facility, investigators discovered a monkey named Paro and many other animals crammed into dank, dark, filthy cages encrusted with urine and faeces. Goats and sheep were unable to walk due to overgrown hooves. Many of the monkeys were suffering from skin lacerations and severed digits, most likely caused by years of clawing futilely at their cages. Which isn’t surprising when you take into consideration that most of the monkeys had been imprisoned at NIV for more than a decade! Can you imagine spending more than 10 years locked in a tiny, barren cell — every day filled with abuse, deprivation, isolation and misery?

Here’s the good news: based on these findings, Paro and nearly 40 of his friends were rescued and taken to a rehabilitation facility in Pune. Here’s even better news: you have the power to help animals still incarcerated in laboratories by taking a stand against The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), a facility that is currently physically and psychologically tormenting hundreds of animals behind closed doors. C’mon, let’s make Paro proud!

March 3, 2010

PETA India’s ‘Happiest’ Victory

As we continue to take a walk down memory lane and revisit some of PETA India’s biggest and bestest victories, we came across this very “happy” story:

Picture this: It’s 2001 at the notoriously dismal and poorly maintained Prince of Wales Zoo in Lucknow. Officials at the zoo announce that they want to keep a baby crane named Happy imprisoned for ‘entertainment’ instead of granting her the freedom that she deserves (it’s pretty obvious that birds are meant to fly free . Hearing this oh-so-animal-unfriendly news, PETA India immediately flew to the rescue. After posting an action alert on its Web site that garnered more than 1,000 petition signatures from Tamil schoolchildren and prompted tonnes of telephone calls, letters and e-mails from people all around the world, the zoo decided to set Happy free!

Okay, now picture this: It’s 2010, and thousands of animals are still behind bars at zoos across the country. The animals may have changed over the years, but the conditions have stayed the same. PETA India has conducted an investigation of more than 30 zoos across the country and found appalling neglect, decrepit facilities, and animal suffering on a massive scale. Many live in concrete and iron cages without even a blade of grass to remind them of their natural habitats. Between cramped, barren enclosures, poor nutrition, and mind-numbing monotony, it’s no wonder that many go crazy and spend hour after hour, day after day, pacing, bobbing their heads, gnawing at the bars, and doing other destructive and abnormal behaviours.

Speaking of behaviour, it goes without saying that you won’t be visiting a zoo again, right? You can however visit here to join our Street Team and earn cool prizes for giving zoos some good old-fashioned Dishoom!

Twilight Star Takes a “Bite” Out of Animal Overpopulation in New Ad

We’re all about Kellshoom! Who is Kellshoom you ask? Kellan Lutz + petaDishoom = Kellshoom. Get it?

That’s right, gorgeous Twilight saga actor Kellan Lutz—known to many fans as the studly vampire Emmett Cullen—reveals his softer side in a new ad for PETA. Part of the "Adopt, Don't Buy" campaign, the ad shows Lutz hugging his rescued mixed-breed dog Kola and reads, "Buying Animals Denies Needy Animals a Home”.

"I love mutts!" gushed Lutz. "If anything, I think mutts stay the healthiest." Lutz also addressed the animal-overpopulation crisis. "There are surprisingly so many animals in these animal shelters," he said. "It's sad, and knowing that there are not enough good homes for them … and there's a lot you can do … spay or neuter your pets so that doesn't happen."

We couldn’t agree more. Almost 25 million homeless dogs are languishing on the street in India because there aren't enough good homes and countless others in shelters. Buying an animal from a pet store or breeder robs a homeless animal of a chance at adoption and encourages sellers to acquire more animals. So if you're thinking about bringing an animal into your home—always adopt and never buy.

A big fan of mutts, Lutz encourages “Twilighters" to do just that and tells PETA, “Kola is my best friend." Check out Kellan's exclusive interview for PETA US and watch him share his thoughts about meeting Kola for the first time. Plus, listen as he gives Twilighters a special message letting them know what they can do to help animals!

March 2, 2010

PETA India's First Campaign: Taking on the Leather Industry

In honour of PETA India's 10th anniversary, which we celebrated in December with a party packed full of some of the hottest celebs in Bollywood and beyond, we’re taking a look back at some of the many awesome achievements we’ve scored over the past 10 years. The following is the first in a series of blogs celebrating these victories:

So how did PETA India begin? Sit back and read on…

In 1999, after receiving complaints about the way animals used for leather were being treated, PETA founder Ingrid E. Newkirk put together a team and plunged head-on into an investigation of the Indian leather industry. What they found was shocking.

Indian Leather Investigation

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We’re talking about abuse and behavior that clearly violated Indian law. PETA peeps actually witnessed guards being bribed to allow skin-traders to smuggle cattle across state borders! Cattle were being marched to their deaths over hundreds of miles - without any food and water. When they faltered or collapsed, men smeared chili peppers and tobacco into their eyes and twisted their tails to keep them moving. Crammed into over-crowded transport trucks, many were trampled or gored to death during the long journey. By the time they arrived at the slaughterhouse, many had to be dragged inside. Once inside, their throats were slit in full view of others awaiting the same gruesome fate.

Can you say illegal? While the Constitution of India clearly prohibits cruelty to animals, the law, to this day, is still being violated while authorities simply look the other way. Needless to say, this investigation blew the lid off of the leather industry and prompted PETA to promptly found PETA India. The rest is history. And since that initial investigation, PETA India has been fighting hard to make the Indian leather industry history.

And it’s paid off—big time. Within the first year, an international boycott, protests at Indian embassies around the world and letters from Sir Paul McCartney, Arun Gandhi, Jackie Chan, and other famous folks got tonnes of public attention, and forced officials to take notice. Then Prime Minister Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee directed state governments to enforce India’s animal protection laws, and the minister of commerce and industry, publicly urged state governments to set up committees to ensure enforcement of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA), 1960, promising that “surprise inspections of places where cattle are sold and loaded onto trucks” would be conducted.

Thanks to our investigations, Adidas, Gucci, Gap, Liz Claiborne, Kenneth Cole and about 40 other leather retailers around the world decided to boycott leather from cruelly treated Indian animals. Top fashion designers, including Stella McCartney, Marc Bouwer, Hemant Trevedi, and Anita Dongre, also refuse to work with leather and offer stylish substitutes instead.

After all, fashion should be fun, not fatal! Fortunately, it’s easier than ever to find products made of cotton, jute, plastic and pleather. Plus, many stores and nearly all major brands of shoes, including Bata, Reebok, Nike, Adidas, Liberty, offer non-leather alternatives.

There is no excuse to wear the skins of any animal. Now is the perfect time to make some history of your own by giving leather the boot! From this day forward, pledge that the only skin that you will wear will be your own.

February 23, 2010

Rudolf Schenker: “Scorpions Belong in Your CD-Player – Not in a Terrarium”

Who better to stick up for scorpions than a fellow “Scorpion”?! That’s why we were super excited to score an exclusive interview with the Scorpion’s Rudolf Schenker. The guitarist for the uber popular German heavy metal band (who can forget their 1980s heavy metal rock anthem “Rock You Like a Hurricane”?), Rudolf recently sat down with PETA Germany to chat about the cruel exotic pet trade. Here is an excerpt from his “stinging” interview:

Animals have their own personalities and were not made to entertain us or to be stared at. We have to treat them with respect. Animals are already losing their habitats and their freedom. Plus, a lot of people profit from animal suffering and readily accept the death of many of these highly-sensitive beings. People keeping these animals in their living rooms here in Germany might want to have a little piece of freedom but the animal is the one who pays a high price for that. You can’t just deliver nature by mail.

Why is Rudolf striking out against the exotic pet trade? Scorpions and other animals such as tarantulas, lizards, turtles and snakes who are purchased as pets suffer from the overwhelming stress of unnatural confinement and loneliness, so it's no surprise when they often fail to thrive in captivity or lash out at owners who are usually unaware of their complex needs. Scorpions are highly intelligent and interesting animals. Florescent under ultra-violet light, these little arachnids are also glowing mothers. Giving birth to live young, a mother scorpion will use her folded legs to make a "birth basket" to catch her babies as they are born and assist them in climbing up onto carry her back where they will stay until they are ready to venture off on their own. Some species of scorpion can live up to 25 years. They shouldn't have to spend their lives trapped in tanks.

If you're looking for an animal companion, take Schenker’s advice: “If animals are already here and can’t be returned, you could think about adopting them from the shelter.” If you ever run into a scorpion or other insect around the house, catch him or her humanely. And if you ever run into a “Scorpion” named Rudolf—ask for an autograph!

February 18, 2010

A Lesson in Compassion

In case you have not heard, PETA India is celebrating our 10th anniversary – as part of which we are reviewing our many victories for animals, and tipping you off to ways you can be a part of our future successes!

In June 2009, Kolkata's South Point School, one of the world’s largest schools, agreed to adopt non-leather school shoes as part of its uniform. Why is this important? India's treatment of cows is amongst the cruelest in the world. Since it is illegal to kill healthy young cows, they are often deliberately maimed – not that too many slaughterhouse workers really care. Cattle are tied together with ropes through their noses and beaten mercilessly in forced "death marches" over hundreds of kilometers. Handlers force them along by twisting and breaking their tails at each joint and rubbing tobacco, chilies and salt into their eyes. By the time they arrive at the slaughterhouse, many of the surviving animals are so sick and injured that they must be dragged inside, where their throats are slit in front of each other, their legs are hacked off while still conscious and they suffer the agony of being skinned alive.

Pamela Anderson Exposes the Cruel Leather Trade

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By choosing non-leather clothing and accessories, as South Point School has allowed, we can help prevent cows from having to endure this suffering. Click here to take the pledge that you will never wear any skin except your own!