- Don Lichterman
- Oct 3, 2019
- 10 min read
Convicted Animal Abusers Can Adopt Pets in 35 States. Stop Them Now!
Did you know that in most U.S. states, a person could heinously abuse an animal and then go out and adopt a new one the next day? Even after being convicted of animal abuse, there is very little stopping that person from acquiring another animal in the future.
This is not only a way to protect all animals. It is well known that there is a strong connection between animal cruelty, child abuse, domestic violence, and many other crimes.
Only 15 states actually have any laws preventing known abusers from adopting animals. Of those, about half have a lower-limit on how long their prohibitions apply. In the rest of the states, the length of the ban is up to each individual judge. But we need every single state to ban abusers from adopting animals.
Many states require mental health counseling for those convicted. That's helpful, but it's not enough in terms of keeping other animals safe. Some municipalities like New York City and Chicago have registries and don't allow abusers to adopt. But that doesn't stop abusers from just going to another county to get an animal — because there is no national registry.
Many states have laws banning animal abuse, but the penalties are light and don't deter abusers from adopting and hurting fur companions again. We need real laws that prevent convicted abusers from getting their hands on beautiful, innocent animals.
Urge Aldi to take the responsible road like so many other retailers and commit to a 100% gestation crate free supply chain by 2022.
Many of us are loyal Aldi shoppers who appreciate the grocery chain’s quality, low-priced foods, commitment to sustainability, and desire to serve its customers in meaningful ways. That’s why it is especially disheartening to learn that unlike almost every other major grocer in the U.S., Aldi still has not committed to stopping its pork suppliers from locking up mother pigs in tiny “gestation crates” for virtually their entire life.
Please sign our petition. Urge Aldi to take the responsible road like so many other retailers and commit to a 100% gestation crate free supply chain by 2022.
Gestation crates are widely recognized as cruel and inhumane. They confine a mother pig throughout her 4-month pregnancy in a space so tiny it’s roughly the same size as her body, so narrow she can’t even turn around. The mother pig is subsequently transferred into another crate to give birth, re-impregnated, and then put back into a gestation crate. This inhumane cycle repeats, pregnancy after pregnancy, for virtually their entire lives, adding up to years of immobilization.
Almost every leading company in the food industry has listened to public opinion by adopting a policy to phase-out purchasing from operators using gestation crates —from restaurants like McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, Cracker Barrel, and Quiznos to other cost-conscious retailers such as Costco, Trader Joe’s, Kroger, and Walmart. As one of the largest grocers in the U.S., it is time for Aldi to do the same and acknowledge that animals ought to be allowed to move.
Aldi says it cares about what its customers want. Please sign and share this petition and let Aldi know that you care about the animal welfare practices of their pork suppliers. Ask them to commit to phasing out the use of gestation crates for a mother pig’s entire pregnancy from its supply chain within a specified timeframe.
Hundreds of dogs were held in “unimaginable” conditions at properties in Cole Camp, Missouri and Cameron County, Texas. Law enforcement officers found stacks of rusted crates containing layers of filth—and in some, the bodies of animals who had passed away. Those still alive were crammed into tiny cages, their skin matted and burned from their own urine.
Between the two properties, both reportedly under the care of Steven and Tiffany L. Woodington, the officers found nearly 300 dogs suffering malnutrition and disease.
The pair operated an animal rescue organization called “All Accounted For.”
For many of the animals, help arrived too late. Officials expected that more than half of the dogs from the Texas property would not survive due to such poor health. And law enforcement discovered approximately 120 dead dogs in “various stages of decay” on the Missouri property.
Police arrested the Woodington couple and a third unidentified person in connection to this appalling case and charged them with animal abuse.
These animals—both those who tragically lost their lives and those who miraculously survived—deserve justice.
YUMMY...DOG MEAT....
In Vietnam, millions of dogs and cats are abused, tortured, and killed annually in the horrific meat trade. Live animals are shoved into cramped cages and forced to endure a hellish journey to the slaughterhouse in scorching heat without any food or water.
Over 1,000 restaurants and markets sell dog meat in Hanoi alone.
Once they arrive, the already-wounded dogs are often held down with clamps and force-fed through a tube to “fatten” them up. This brutal practice is done to maximize profits.
The dogs and cats suffer from infectious diseases as they wait to die. Parasites, toxins, illnesses, and rabies can be passed on to the consumer, posing an alarming public health risk.
Public officials in Vietnam are increasingly opposing the dog and cat meat trade. Recently, Ho Chi Minh City’s Food Safety Management Board discouraged people from eating dog meat. A similar caution was also issued by authorities in Hanoi.
But it’s not enough. Despite the efforts of politicians and activists to end the cruel trade in Vietnam, there’s no law against it. As long as it remains legal to slaughter dogs and cats for their meat, the ruthless practice will continue.
Sign this petition urging Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc to urgently push for a countrywide ban on the dog and cat meat trade and put an end to this cruel and dangerous practice.
PETA released a groundbreaking exposé of South Korea's largest horse slaughterhouse. Disturbing footage revealed that workers repeatedly beat horses in the face before violently killing them—a sobering glimpse of the fate of hundreds of Thoroughbreds cast off by the international horseracing industry every year.
It didn't take long for this powerful exposé to go viral, sparking hundreds of news articles, television spots, and radio pieces in South Korea, the United States, and elsewhere. Now, a police investigation launched immediately after the exposé's release has led to a tremendous legal precedent for horses. Authorities have charged the slaughterhouse in Jeju and three of its workers for killing horses in front of their companions in violation of South Korea's Animal Protection Act—likely the first time that a horse slaughterhouse and its workers have been prosecuted under this law.
Jeju authorities are still facing pressure to file charges and administer penalties related to the relentless beatings documented at the facility. And to prevent many more Thoroughbreds from being killed and dismembered so that their flesh can be sold in grocery stores or restaurants, we're renewing our call for the South Korean racing industry to implement a comprehensive retirement plan for horses immediately.
But our work is far from over. As you read this, Thoroughbreds are still dying—at slaughterhouses and on racetracks. That's why PETA and our affiliates are keeping the pressure on the deadly racing industry to clean up its act and inspiring thousands of people to steer clear of horseraces. It's clear that the "sport" is facing an uncertain future—and we can't rest until every horse is spared drugging and death for racing.
Two Connecticut State Senators are using a recent "bear attack" to promote bills that call for the hunting of Connecticut's black bears.
Two Connecticut State Senators are using a recent "bear attack" to promote bills that call for the hunting of Connecticut's black bears.
The Senators who are pushing these bills have jumped at the opportunity to sell this "attack" as a reason for a hunt. A limited hunt is not the answer to reducing bear populations or bear-human conflicts.
Connecticut black bear sightings are on the rise, but that does not equate to overpopulation. Bears possess a biological ability known as delayed implantation. Delayed implantation allows bears to regulate their own populations. When food is abundant, more bears will be born. When there is a lack of abundant food sources, female bears will not reproduce every two years, but alternatively every three to four years. Hunting can increase populations by inadvertently leaving more food for surviving bears. This occurrence is known as compensatory reproduction.
Deforestation is responsible for the loss of critical bear habitat. We often don’t consider the impact this has on bears and other wildlife. Land development and bear attractants such as unsecured garbage are most likely the cause of increased bear-human conflicts, not overpopulation. Education is the key to coexistence with bears. Research shows that eliminating bear attractants and securing trash in bear-proof trashcans can reduce or eliminate bear encounters by over 90%.
In reality, bears are generally shy, elusive animals whose diets consist predominantly of vegetation. Bears are not the man-eating monsters that people who wish to hunt them would like you to believe. Unprovoked bear attacks are extremely rare. According to bear expert Lynn Rogers, Ph.D. of the North American Bear Center says you are 45 times more likely to be killed by a dog, 120 times more likely to be killed by bees, and 60,000 times more likely to be murdered by another human being, than to be killed by a black bear.
Please take the poll at the link below and vote NO to a Connecticut bear hunt!
Centuries of captivity! Across Europe, hundreds of wild animals are held captive and subjected to mental and physical abuse for our entertainment.
Bears have been kept in this moat in the Czech Republic since 1707, with new bears being kept here from donations or from breeding them.
The enclosures don’t resemble their natural habitat, and the wild animals deserve better than being kept as a fun visitor experience.
Every Christmas Eve during the annual bear festival, the bears are fed gingerbread and sweets attached to a spruce tree for the entertainment of visitors.
Let’s break the chains of abuse. Sign and share our pledge️ http://bit.ly/wildlife-tourism
We call on UPS to stop shipping wild animals
Did you know that UPS is transporting cruelty? They are allowing thinking, feeling, sentient animals to be stuffed into boxes and shipped across the country every single day - all for profit. As one of the largest shipping companies in the world, UPS should be a leader in wildlife protection. Instead, they are putting thousands of animals' lives at risk and delivering them to a lifetime of suffering in captivity.
Helping stray dogs on World Rabies Day
On September 28, we honored dogs around the world by bringing to light a disease that results in mass suffering and millions of canine deaths each year: rabies. Through our ongoing veterinary clinics and on the ground to work to vaccinate as well as spay/neuter stray dogs, we have saved millions of dogs so far. Please consider helping out today to stop the needless killing of dogs.
On World Farm Animals Day, speak up for pigs
From the moment they are born, piglets endure a horrific amount of suffering on factory farms. From painful mutilations such as teeth clipping, tail docking, and surgical castration, to being separated from their mothers by steel cages, these wonderful, sentient beings deserve so much more than living in cramped, concrete pens. World Farm Animals Day is October 2 and there is no better time to take action for pigs.
Trapping Is Cruel and Dangerous!
Each year, millions of animals are caught in traps, killed in the name of “nuisance” wildlife control or for their fur. Animals caught in traps die slowly – by drowning, predation, exposure, shock, injury, or blood loss – sometimes after languishing for days.
Myths about trapping abound. Trapping apologists frequently claim that trapping is humane, tightly regulated, selective, and necessary. But, in truth, trapping is a cruel practice that causes great suffering. And, trapping is everywhere – public, private, and even protected lands and recreational areas are not immune. As a result, targeted and non-targeted animals (like household pets and endangered species), and even humans, can fall victim to these traps.
Enough is enough! It's time to tell trappers to "Shut Your Traps!"
This October, Born Free USA is doing just that with our new, limited-edition #ShutYourTraps t-shirt bearing the bold, compassionate message: "You're either against trapping or you're wrong!" Purchase yours today to support our work against this cruel practice and send the message that you are 100% against trapping!
The 27th Annual Animal Law Conference Representing Animals: Elevating Animal Status on October 25-27, 2019 in Portland, Oregon.
Are you ready to vote for animals!
Along with a coalition of hundreds of organizations across the country, we're urging our members to update their voter registrations and to make sure that they have met the qualifications to vote in their communities.
In order to continue to give a voice for animals in the halls of Congress and state houses across the country, we have to ensure we elect humane minded candidates—and you can't do that if you're not registered to vote. So update your voter registration today, ask your friends and family to do the same, and Get Political for Animals!
Become a Partner in Protection
Our Partners in Protection Program makes it easy to help animals throughout the year.
Inspire Your Animal Activism this October with Online Events!
We've got lots in store for you and your vegan activism this October. Join in two online summits to heal the planet, as well as explore new strategies to revolutionize our agriculture system, and meet motivational guru Justice King. READ MORE
Take Action, Responsibility & Wildlife...
"Corporations Are People Too My Friends."
Our companies are known for creating products that enhance people's lives. Through Sunset Corporation of America and its companies, we’re equally dedicated to improving lives. Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment, animal welfare, wildlife issues and encouraging employee volunteerism.
The Sustainable Action Network (SAN), A Don Lichterman non-profit organization dedicated to building a global community raising awareness of corruption, injustice and the need for action across a full range of issues impacting people and animal/wildlife welfare around the world, such as conservation, climate change, campaign law, lobbying, government action and rescue work. SAN’s vision is to create safer world, free from political, environmental, and social oppression, where all the inhabitants of Earth can live in harmony within their own natural environments. Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment, animal welfare, wildlife issues and encouraging employee volunteerism.
Activism and Sustainability:
Gun Safety & Gun Laws
Cruelty Free
Death Penalty
Demand Action
Sustainable Action Network
Fairness and Equality:
Privatization
Voters Issues & Gerrymandering
Private Prisons & the War on Drugs
Finance, Housing & the Economy Corporate Responsibility:
Candidates, Bills, Laws & Protections
Wildlife & Oceania
Labeling & Transparency
Comprehensive Captivity & Hunting Results Databases
