Cole Haan Putting Kibosh On Exotic Skins

Nike subsidiary Cole Haan has agreed to eliminate exotic skins like lizard, snake and alligator from its product lines.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said Thursday that Cole Haan is the first maker of high-end accessories and shoes to ban exotic skins. Cole Haan, which is based in New York and Yarmouth, Maine, defines exotic as including alligator, crocodile, lizard, snake and ostrich.

Nike spokesman Nate Tobecksen says products using those materials will be eliminated across the entire Nike line after the summer retail season.PETA has successfully lobbied Nike and Cole Haan in the past. Cole Haan announced in 2008 that it would stop using fur in its product lines.

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Improve Carriage Horse Treatment

New York Gov. David Paterson is taking on the two-century old tradition of horse-drawn carriage rides in Manhattan’s Central Park, saying the horses need to be treated better or the popular tourist rides should be banned.

His comment drew a top ”purr” in the ”Purrs & Grrs” column of ”Animal Times,” the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals magazine. But Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office gave it more of a growl, saying reforms in the works for more than a year could soon address long-standing concerns about the familiar attraction.

Marissa Shorenstein, a Paterson spokeswoman, says the horses have often suffered under difficult work and stable conditions. She notes that although the carriages are important to tourism and the ”fabric of New York City’s culture,” horses must be treated well.

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PETA Proposes Robotic Groundhog For Pa. Festival

An animal rights group wants organizers of Pennsylvania’s Groundhog Day festival to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a robotic stand-in.People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it’s unfair to keep the animal in captivity and subject him to the huge crowds and bright lights that accompany tens of thousands of revelers each Feb. 2 in Punxsutawney, a tiny borough about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. PETA is suggesting the use of an animatronic model.

But William Deeley, president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, says the animal is “being treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania.” The groundhog is kept in a climate-controlled environment and is inspected annually by the state Department of Agriculture.

Deeley says PETA isn’t interested in Phil from Feb. 2 on, and is looking for publicity.

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PETA’s Use Of First Lady In Advertisement Angers White House

No strangers to controversy, the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is up to its old tricks again. This time they’ve raised eyebrows by using an image of Michelle Obama in an anti-fur advertisement without her permission. The White House is not pleased, to say the least.

The ad in question features the image of the first lady alongside the images of Oprah Winfrey, Tyra Banks, and Carrie Underwood underneath the slogan, “Fur-free and fabulous!” The ads, which PETA says features “a bevy of the smartest, most stylish, and most influential women in America,” are being plastered all over the Washington D.C. Metro mass transit system, in addition to appearing in various magazines and websites.

While Winfrey, Banks and Underwood are all on record as publicly endorsing PETA’s anti-fur efforts, first lady Michelle Obama cannot endorse special interest groups such as PETA. Thus, the White House is mildly perturbed by the use of the first lady’s image in the campaign.

PETA Features Michelle Obama In New Anti-Fur Ad

The fur is flying over a new ad campaign by an animal rights group the White House says is using first lady Michelle Obama’s image without her permission.

The president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Ingrid Newkirk, said her organization wouldn’t have sought Mrs. Obama’s consent for the anti-fur ad because it knows that she can’t make such an endorsement.PETA included the first lady in its Washington ad campaign based on White House confirmation that she does not wear fur.

Mrs. Obama appears in the ad with celebrities Oprah Winfrey, Carrie Underwood and Tyra Banks — three others who have shunned fur. The ads are appearing in Washington’s Metro stations, magazines and PETA’s Web site.

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PETA Worker Neglected Snakes In His Care

Attorneys for an exotic animal dealer have accused an employee of intentionally neglecting animals to further his work as an undercover investigator for an animal rights group.Howard Goldman could have done more to provide food, water and care for the animals that he said were being mistreated, said Lance Evans, an attorney for Jasen and Vanessa Shaw, the owners of U.S. Global Exotics.Instead, Goldman secretly took photos and made daily reports to send to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Evans said.

“He was more concerned about helping PETA achieve its goal of putting U.S. Global out of business than actually aiding any animals that he felt were in distress,” Evans said. Goldman worked at the Arlington facility for seven months.During that time, he did all he could to help the animals, PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press. She accused U.S. Global Exotics of trying “to pin the blame for a litany of horrors on the one person who actually cared about the animals.”

PETA Asks Pope Benedict XVI To Go Vegan

“On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 2 million members and supporters worldwide, we applaud your strong exhortations for environmental protection, and we urge you to consider the fact that the most effective action an individual can take to fight climate change is to go vegan (which means not consuming poultry, fish, meat, eggs or dairy products).”

- PETA’s Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs, Bruce Friedrich, in a statement to the Vatican regarding veganism on World Day of Peace. In the past, Pope Benedict has been outspoken on the issues of factory farming and animal cruelty. Here’s to hoping the Vatican starts adopting a more planet-healthy menu!

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Baby Elephants Bound And Beaten To Become Circus Stars

Pulled to the ground by a web of ropes, a baby elephant learns the hard way how to become a circus performer.In case the youngster doesn’t want to co-operate, a trainer stands by with one of the sharp metal hooks used to manage the animals.

The disturbing picture is one of a series taken by a former trainer which campaigners say reveal the brutal reality of how elephants are prepared for circus work.The pictures show them being dragged to the ground by ropes, chained side by side, pinned down by a hook in the back of the neck and checked by cattleprods.Peta – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals – say the elephants are also separated from their mothers by force.The photographs are being used to spearhead a campaign to tighten up laws on the use of wild beasts in circuses.

PETA's 10th Anniversary Celebrations In India

Vegetarian Bollywood actors marked their presence at the 10th anniversary celebrations of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in Mumbai on Friday (December 18).Bollywood actor Mahima Chaudhary, who was present at the event, said that PETA, which is an international organisation, has been doing well in India as well.

“I think its great day to celebrate for them because I know they put in a lot of effort. It”s a huge struggle. Especially in a country where so little is being done for humans and then animals come down way down in the list. And I think they are very-very active in India. And I salute them. And in my own way I have tried to support them, in my own little way. And I love all the people who work here at PETA,” she said.

Hema Malini, John Abraham, Jackie Shroff, Raveena Tandon Thadani, Celina Jaitley, and musician Anoushka Sharma were among the other Bollywood stars present at the event.

Actor Jackie Shroff congratulated PETA for completing ten years and carrying on the good work.

“PETA first of all have completed ten years, they have been doing good work here. The way they take care of animals, I feel very nice. In today”s world you don”t know who is animal and who is human. But whatever they are doing for ethical treatment of animals is fantastic.

PETA's 10th Anniversary Celebrations In India

Vegetarian Bollywood actors marked their presence at the 10th anniversary celebrations of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in Mumbai on Friday (December 18).Bollywood actor Mahima Chaudhary, who was present at the event, said that PETA, which is an international organisation, has been doing well in India as well.

“I think its great day to celebrate for them because I know they put in a lot of effort. It”s a huge struggle. Especially in a country where so little is being done for humans and then animals come down way down in the list. And I think they are very-very active in India. And I salute them. And in my own way I have tried to support them, in my own little way. And I love all the people who work here at PETA,” she said.

Hema Malini, John Abraham, Jackie Shroff, Raveena Tandon Thadani, Celina Jaitley, and musician Anoushka Sharma were among the other Bollywood stars present at the event.

Actor Jackie Shroff congratulated PETA for completing ten years and carrying on the good work.

“PETA first of all have completed ten years, they have been doing good work here. The way they take care of animals, I feel very nice. In today”s world you don”t know who is animal and who is human. But whatever they are doing for ethical treatment of animals is fantastic.