Researchers at the University of Florida are allegedly responsible for the painful — and unnecessary — deaths of multiple animals due to mismanaged, reckless experimentation. This must end now!
In one case, two dogs died from severe medical emergencies after lab staff claimed that an experimental procedure they subjected the animals to supposedly “went smoothly.” In an additional instance, a lab mistake meant rats received a dose of medication that was five times the approved amount.
Yet another time, researchers chose to intentionally burn and scald 24 mice — subjecting them to unconscionable injuries. Five died, while the rest had to live with their pain and maiming. For yet another experiment, staff tortured multiple other mice with “unapproved” procedures to intentionally create traumatic brain injuries.
These practices were so egregious, even the University of Florida itself issued statements condemning the work. Yet somehow, it’s allowing this laboratory to continue functioning anyway!
A young man in Miami-Dade County arrived home to a horrific scene: his cherished puppy was found brutally disemboweled in the bathroom, with the killer standing in his bathtub. She then threatened him, “you’re next.” The person who committed the gruesome crime has been charged, but they clearly need counseling as well.
We have a responsibility to safeguard other animals and people from such traumatic experiences. Anyone capable of intentionally inflicting harm on an animal in this manner should be barred from owning animals in the future and must receive counseling to address their violent tendencies. Sign the petition now if you agree!
]]>In the US, public tax dollars currently fund M-44 wildlife killing devices, also known as “cyanide bombs.” The bombs literally actively try to attract wild animals by spraying cyanide into their mouths and causing them to die, all to protect livestock raised for slaughter. These bombs are inhumane and indiscriminate: they often result in the death of many other animals (including pets!) that don’t even pose a threat to livestock at all. But we don’t have to allow animals to be tortured and killed like this. A new bill, Canyon’s Law, would ban the use of cyanide bombs on public lands!
Sign now to demand Congress pass Canyon’s Law!
The bill is named Canyon’s Law after a 14-year-old boy named Canyon who inadvertently triggered an M-44 on public lands near his home in Idaho. The cyanide bomb he triggered killed his dog and injured him, and experts believe the only reason Canyon didn’t die is because of the wind’s direction. Canyon deserves justice, and we must urge Congress to pass this law! Last year alone, M-44s were used in ten U.S. states. We must ban them for good on public lands! Sign the petition now if you agree!
]]>Last month, thousands of people filled the streets of Mexico City standing up for animal rights and demanding change from the Mexican government.
Citizens are refusing to be silent amidst a wave of horrific animal abuse cases, including a recent tragedy in which a teenager tortured and killed a stray puppy and then posted about it on Facebook.
Protesters are asking for stronger penalties for perpetrators of animal abuse. They also want lawmakers to amend the Mexican Constitution to consider animals as sentient beings.
In the past seven years, lawmakers have attempted to pass three different initiatives to improve animal welfare in the country and failed. In the meantime, while these vital laws weren’t passed, horrific abuses have continued to unfold. For example, earlier this year, a roadside camera captured a man throwing a little boy’s dog into a vat of boiling oil, right in front of him.
Nothing could have prepared members of the National Trust for what they found when they went to investigate a massive arctic tern colony on the coast of Northumberland. More than 600 dead chicks were recovered from the site at Long Nanny.
We must work as hard as possible to protect all the remaining arctic tern chicks and adults in the area, as well as their future chicks. Sign now to demand the National Trust do everything in their power to protect the colony!
Arctic terns are spectacular creatures, capable of flying 22,000 miles round trip per year. These birds are so lightweight and aerodynamic that they can be seen beautifully gliding through the skies on a breeze alone. The species deserves safety and protection! It will likely take years for this colony to recover, and it is important that conservation organizations like the National Trust do everything in their power to protect the remaining birds and future chicks. Sign the petition now if you agree!
]]>As the UK continues to navigate its exit from the European Union and enter new trading arrangements, there’s a real danger that animals will end up paying a hefty — and cruel — price.
Right now, the UK is preparing to enter a new trade deal that would allow it to import eggs produced in horrifying battery cage conditions.
In this system, handlers lock multiple hens into tiny cages together, to the point where they can’t move, stretch their wings, or take care of themselves. It’s not a natural way to live, and needless to say, creates intense psychological stress as well as physical diseases.
Not only are battery cages horribly brutal for the animals imprisoned inside them, they’re also not healthy for humans. In these cramped, filthy conditions, infections spread rapidly — contaminating human food sources.
That’s why battery cages are falling out of favor around the world, including in the European Union, which has voted to ban them.
Sign the petition to demand the UK reverse this plan and instead ban battery egg imports!
]]>Any person who has pets knows just how hard it can be to leave your furry friend behind while traveling. But a cat owner in Edmonton had no idea just how traumatic her trip away from home would be. Who could ever have imagined that her 7-month-old-cat would be microwaved to death while she was on a birthday camping trip?
When she returned to her home in Edmonton, Canada, Cheech’s owner — who described him as the “most cuddling, caring cat there was” — found him dead, hanging out of a microwave, surrounded by evidence of a break-in.
She said it was clear Cheech had been tortured before being eventually killed in the microwave. “There was blood everywhere.”
This type of sadistic, tortuous behavior is terrifying, and perhaps the only thing scarier is the fact that the person who did this is still at large.
Anyone who could do this to an innocent cat could certainly harm other animals — or people. We must demand swift, intense action from local authorities.
The ACIU must find whoever did this and hold them truly accountable! Sign the petition now if you agree!
A new report from DxE, an animal rights group, paints a terrifying picture of the operations at Petaluma Poultry, a Perdue Farms subsidiary. The details offered by the report are harrowing. Whistleblowers describe some birds missing their “stun bath,” meaning they are fully conscious before slaughter, and others being boiled alive. No living thing deserves this kind of treatment, and yet these slaughterhouses are forcing thousands of chickens to endure it every day.
Sign now to demand the USDA and Secretary of Agriculture shut this slaughterhouse down!
On top of the abuse, the unsanitary conditions also leave us all at higher risk for zoonotic disease transfer. On one single day in April of 2023, over 1,000 Petaluma Poultry animals were condemned, meaning they were disqualified from the food supply after being slaughtered. The USDA must take a stand and shut down Petaluma Poultry for good. Sign the petition now if you agree!
]]>The American South has reached dangerously high temperatures this summer, and pets are paying the consequences. This July, two sweet French Bulldogs tragically died after being left out on a balcony on a 93-degree-day in Houston. A third dog was emaciated, but luckily, was rescued and is recovering. The city of Houston can — and must — take action to prevent any more needless deaths of pets during these heat waves!
It is time Texas cities like Houston prepare for this reality and create action plans to protect pets from the dangers of sweltering temperatures. Through careful and intentional policy, municipalities can both better educate the public on the dangers posed to pets by heat and develop a plan to respond quickly to pets in distress. By creating an action plan, Houston’s mayor and City Council can show that they are committed to the well-being of local pets!
]]>A sea otter known as “841” in Santa Cruz, California has clearly had it with humans interfering in her natural habitat. The precocious, personality-filled animal has become famous in recent weeks for riding on surfboards, even stealing a few from surfers.
No humans have been harmed in the process. But authorities have labelled 841 as “aggressive,” which could put her at risk of danger.
The coastal waters of the West Coast were once filled with sea otters. Then humans began hunting them nearly to the point of extinction, skinning them and using their furs as clothing. Today, sea otters are considered threatened, living in only 13% of their historic range, with much smaller populations.
According to experts, this sea otter’s level of comfort with commandeering surfers’ boards could be due to too much previous interaction with humans. That’s why it’s so important to never feed wild animals, and to always give them their space.
Local authorities have said they intend to educate the public about wildlife safety and relocate 841 to a new, more remote home. But we all know that many things could go wrong in that process.