I say get rid of the damn things.

Beth

I'd like to see that video...Janet

NEW YORK — An animal-rights group has released a video showing what it says is the abuse of Ringling Bros. circus elephants.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on Wednesday released what it says is a secretly recorded video showing handlers striking elephants backstage. PETA says someone affiliated with the group made the recording during a circus tour earlier this year.

Circus spokeswoman Amy McWethy denied PETA's abuse claims. "Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey loves its elephants," she said.

The four-minute video shows circus trainers using bullhooks — tools with a 4 to 8 pound handles and pointed metal hooks — to strike elephants across the head, legs and body. In one section of the video, a trainer curses at an elephant then strikes it with a bullhook while telling it to "back up."

McWethy said bullhooks " ... are used harmlessly by elephant trainers throughout the world."

In a statement, Feld Entertainment Inc., which owns Ringling, called the PETA video "questionable in its context regarding the portrayal of circus animal handlers" and said the circus was in compliance with federal, state and local regulations at the time PETA says the video was made.

"Ringling Bros. is proud of its efforts to care for and increase the population of the endangered Asian elephant and we encourage people to come see for themselves that the animals are thriving in our care," the company said.

Nevermind, I found the video....

Activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) will hand out "Unhappy Meals" to children at an Albany McDonald's restaurant today to protest alleged chicken abuse, according to a statement this morning by PETA.

PETA alleges that McDonald's allows its chicken suppliers to abuse the animals before they are slaughtered for food. The organization advocates "controlled-atmosphere killing," a method that promotes animal welfare.

Children who buy meals at the McDonald's at 391 Central Ave. today beginning at noon will encounter PETA staff, headed by an activist in a chicken costume.

The "Unhappy Meal" that PETA will give to children - a spoof of a Happy Meal - will include a "menacing, knife-wielding" Ronald McDonald cutout, a ketchup packet disguised as chicken blood, a plastic chicken covered in "blood" and a "McCruelty" t-shirt.

The statement indicates that PETA will target children so they will "join its campaign" to convince McDonald's to change slaughter methods.

I think Bob Barker fits this category....lol Janet

Even though my life has been full of incredible experiences and I’ve learned that there’s always more on the horizon, I never imagined I’d be writing a blog post for CNN at the age of 85. But when I was asked to write about my work for animals and my recent campaign to free some bears who are living in appalling conditions in Cherokee, North Carolina, I knew it was time to ask Debbie Leahy of PETA to help me with my computer skills.

Knowing about my love for animals, a few months ago my good friend Rep. Bill Young of Florida called me about an unfortunate experience that his family recently had involving caged bears. His wife, Beverly, had taken their children and grandchildren to Cherokee to educate them about life on a reservation. Being part Native American myself and having grown up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, I appreciated their interest in Indian culture.

Beverly saw a sign that said, “Come Feed the Bears,” so they stopped at a roadside zoo. She described what she saw as “sickening.” There were six to seven bears in concrete cubicles. Their fur was hanging off, they were begging for food, and an employee was tossing one bear cub around by the scruff of his neck. Beverly said she had an uncomfortable confrontation with the person who was mishandling the cub and was asked to leave. I remember her saying, “The prisoners at Guantanamo Bay are treated better than these bears, who have done nothing.”

I contacted my friends at PETA, and they sent a staff member and a bear expert to investigate. They reported that the situation was much worse than what the Young family had witnessed. There are actually three roadside zoos in Cherokee—Cherokee Bear Zoo, Chief Saunooke Bear Park and Santa’s Land. They house close to 30 bears in unimaginably awful conditions. The bears are confined to desolate concrete pits or cramped cages where they often pace back and forth, walk in endless circles, get into fights with each other, cry and whimper and beg tourists to throw food at them. They have no dirt to dig in or trees to climb—just the same four walls every single day of their lives.

Accompanied by representatives from PETA and the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sanctuary in California, I went to Cherokee to appeal to Michell Hicks, principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, to intervene in behalf of these beautiful animals. Before the meeting, I planned to visit these zoos to see the conditions for myself. I guess the owners of the two facilities where bears live in pits were too ashamed to let me see what was going on there because they refused to let me in.

I told Chief Hicks that I’m not an expert on bears. I’m an expert on giving away refrigerators. But I can tell you that these bears are not properly housed or fed. Cherokee has a rich cultural history and much to be proud of. The cruel bear displays are a glaring blemish on the area, and I hope that the members of the Tribal Council for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will open their hearts and do the right thing by shutting them down.

The good people of Cherokee welcomed me warmly, and many told me they agreed that the bears are kept in deplorable conditions. Bears are very intelligent, active and curious animals. They need room to roam, natural surroundings to investigate and opportunities to forage, climb and dig dens.

Earlier in my career, I hosted a show called Truth or Consequences. I closed the show by saying, “… hoping all your consequences are happy ones!” I hope with all my heart that Chief Hicks and the tribal council will make the consequences for the Cherokee bears happy ones. Until then, my heart and my conscience won’t allow me to do anything but ask people to stay away from Cherokee and voice their support for allowing the bears to retire to a sanctuary.

To learn more about how to help these bears, please visit PETA.org.

"Unhappy Meals" featuring a knife-wielding Ronald McDonald and bloody rubber chickens are upsetting parents who say the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are unfairly targeting their kids at McDonald's restaurants across the country.

PETA's "McCruelty Campaign" has ruffled the feathers of moms and dads in Albany who say they don't want their kids exposed to any throat-slitting chickens or pictures of slaughtered poultry.

"I don't want my son to be around something like this. This is not fair for a child," Stephaine Gipson told FOX23 News in Albany.

"I think it's unhappy that they target children," said parent Michelle Natale.

But the animal rights activists say kids are jaded enough by television and video games to handle the carnographic images, and intend to continue their campaign pressuring McDonald's to use more humane means of killing chickens.

"I think children and adults deserve to be told the truth — and that's that behind Ronald McDonald's smile is cruelty to animals," said PETA spokeswoman Lindsay Rajt.

Rajt said most parents are usually troubled by what PETA calls McDonald's cruel treatment of chickens, and said that kids who "naturally empathize" with animals enjoy PETA's presence outside the Golden Arches.

"Kids are usually very excited to see the free T-shirts and they like our person in the chicken constume," Rajt said, referring either to the furry, friendly chick that visits some chains, or the full-grown fowl with murder in its eyes.

A representative for McDonald's defended the franchise, saying it supports the use of a stunning technique that numbs its chickens before they are slaughtered.

"McDonald's works with leading independent animal welfare experts and makes decisions based upon science to promote continuous improvement in animal welfare as part of our broader sustainable supply chain initiatives," said Bob Langert, McDonald's vice president of corporate social responsibility, in a statement to the blog Slashfood.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A local billboard put up by PETA attracted quite a bit of controversy.

The animal rights group said Monday it would change the billboard, which is along Atlantic Boulevard near Kernan Boulevard, but not because of the complaints about it.

Channel 4 first showed you the billboard last Monday. It urges people to "Save the Whales. Lose the Blubber: Go Vegetarian."

Critics said it compares overweight women to the sea mammals.

"I think it's rather rude," one local woman said. "Yeah we all need to be a little bit healthier and exercise a little bit more, but that sign is very rude."

PETA spokeswoman Lindsay Rajt said they received positive calls, too, about the sign.

"We received a number of calls from people that were very appreciative," Rajt said. "We received e-mails from people who identified with being overweight, and they said that the whales billboard actually motivated them to start making healthier food choices."

That's PETA's reasoning for bringing down the sign, where they claim to endorse a healthy vegetarian lifestyle.

PETA will replace its controversial billboard with this one.

"Our intent was not to offend anyone," Rajt said. "Our goal was really to encourage people to live healthier lives and of course, as an animal rights group, to save animals at the same time."

PETA will keep the billboard but will put a new slogan that reads: "GONE. Just Like All the Pounds Lost by People Who Go Vegetarian."

Some locals felt the billboard shouldn't be changed.

"If you're insulted you should do something about it, because that shouldn't insult you," one local man said. "The only way you're insulted is if you're insecure about the way you look."

TROUTVILLE, Va. (AP) - An animal rights group wants to rent a prison building the state plans to close and turn it into the nation's first chicken empathy museum. A People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals official sent a letter Monday to Gov. Tim Kaine asking to rent the Botetourt Correctional Center building in Troutville.

Kaine spokeswoman Lynda Tran said the state doesn't lease to private entities except for cases grandfathered in when it purchases buildings.

PETA spokeswoman Ashley Byrne said the Norfolk-based group thinks a former prison is the ideal setting for exhibits on what it contends is mistreatment of chickens raised for slaughter.

Reiman said the museum also would have displays detailing chickens' habits and intelligence.