PETA Updates

Well, other than a few articles, I haven't given you guys too much PETA updates, have I?
So, here's the recent PETA news.

First off, Donna Karan says that she has no plans to use fur in the future. Ain't it great?

Australia has passed the new Prevention of Cruelty to Animals regulations, which restricts glue traps for mice to commerical pest-controllers who have a permit, bans the use of twisted bits on horses, the transportation of dogs and livestock and restricts the use of some electric-shock devices on animals. :D

Paris Hilton, that's right - THE Paris Hilton - has proclaimed her fur-free stance. For Christmas, her mom bought her a faux fur coat.

A class in Connecticut raised over $800 for PETA's Angel for Animals organization, which helps backyard dogs live better.

On Christmas two ladies in sexy Santa suits greeted holiday shoppers with free soy nog, kisses under the mistletoe, and copies of PETA's "Vegetarian Starter Kit." They've also been seen protesting KFC, and with Ho Ho Faux signs.

PETA Europe has saved thousands of rabbits! Now, instead of using rabbits for skin tests, the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods' Scientific Advisory Committee (FSAC) will use new skin irritation tests that do not use animals! They will use the MatTek Corporation's Modified EpiDerm Skin Irritation Test as well as L'Oreal's SkinEthic test. This will allow manufacturers worldwide to use animal friendldy methods of testing. Also, animal testing for skin irritation and most other purposes will be banned in Europe as of March 2009. You can read more about this whole situation here. The U.S. still does not accept these tests, so PETA is 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!

In the movie industry, there have been a lot of movies with animals. So PETA has rated them bad, not that bad, and good. The good movies are:
Marley and Me - The Grogans love, care and stick with Marley through all the horrible things. It reminds families that buying/adopting an animal is a LIFETIME commitment. Also, Marley is from a rescue group and not from a breeder. [I loved the movie, but the book was much better. I bawled at the end. Competely recommend it, its great for all of the family]
Bolt - This animated movie has no animals harmed, and gives the message that no dog or other animal would choose to become entertainers. Dogs would much rather play in the yard than perform tricks on a TV or film set.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - This film features exotic animals that are computer-generated.

The not-so-bad movies are:
The Dark Knight - It was good because Batman wore pleather. Bad because the movie portrays dogs as agressive and Batman beats them up, however the dogs were (thankfully) animatronic.
Beverly Hills Chihuahua - Well, after this movie that is based specifically on Chihuahuas, movie-gowers can be impressionable and impulsive and buy a chihuahua without knowledge or commitment. However, Disney has a disclaimer on the Website and at the end of the film that says that animals are a lifelong responsibility and that it's best to adopt from shelters.
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - Good because the animals are shown how happy they are once they get back to their natural habitats. However, they are trying to get back to the zoo - implying that this home would be better, when it's not.

The bad movies are:
Speed Racer - Real chimps were used to play the part of Chim Chim and the animal trainer, Greg Lille, " in an uncontrolled impulse, hit [a] chimpanzee." This only proves that the entertainment industry is incredibly abusive to not only exotic animals, but to all. To train great apes to perform, trainers forcibly remove them from their mothers when the animals are just infants, train them by beating, kicking, and punching them, and callously discard them to roadside zoos when they are too old and strong to handle (which occurs at age 8, and great apes live to be over 60 years old).
You Don't Mess With the Zohan - In this movie, there are numerous scenes which involve real animals. For example, a cat is used as a hacky sack and a cow is used as a punching bag.
Semi-Pro - First off, a bear was included in the cast of the baskebtall film. Not only did Semi-Pro feature a live bear (a bear named Rocky who attacked and killed his trainer only months later), it also encouraged stupid people to do stupid stunts with live animals.

In other news, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled that no further animal testing is needed to declare that a natural plant-based sweetener derived from stevia is safe. Before, December 18th, the Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) was encouraging more animal testing on the extract, even though it's been recognized worldwide as safe and has been used for more than 400 years. 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. Anyways, the FDA approved the substance without any further animal testing. Unfortunately, teh CSPI is still pushing! 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.

For more ways you can help, click here.
The world is in danger, we need to be its superheroes.
Love,
TreeHugger