Gandhi's Be Magazine

“Tea partiers” aren’t the only ones who’ve been
fixed with the gimlet stare of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Social-action groups such as Greenpeace,
the NAACP, and PETA have also been targeted by the agency, and PETA is calling on the U.S.
Department of the Treasury to expand the recently announced criminal probe into the IRS’ activity
to include several audits that targeted PETA’s tax-exempt status.

PETA has been subjected to three lengthy, expensive, and
disruptive IRS audits, including a 20-month one during the George W. Bush
administration, which IRS agents conducting the audit admitted was the result
of the agency’s bowing to pressure from members of Congress with ties to the meat, the experimentation, and other industries being targeted by PETA
campaigns and/or seeing
their workers forced to answer to cruelty-to-animals charges
as a result of PETA investigations. 

PETA came through each IRS audit with a clean bill of health,
but it doesn’t say a lot for our democratic process when Congress, at the
behest of powerful industries, uses tactics worthy of the East German Stasi to
harass and intimidate social-change advocates. For years, PETA President Ingrid
E. Newkirk could not re-enter the U.S. without being escorted into a back room,
having her bags rummaged through, and being detained—sometimes for hours—resulting in missed flight connections.

It doesn’t stop there—ever more repressive state laws are being proposed, the latest
of which are arguably unconstitutional “ag-gag” bills designed to prevent undercover
investigations on factory farms and in slaughterhouses as well as bills to
prevent “interference”
with or new regulations regarding hunting and fishing. 

What You Can Do

Please visit our action alerts page for opportunities to combat cruelty on factory farms, in laboratories, and
wherever else animals are being abused.

It
was a horrifying sight. The dog’s bloated body was spotted off a pier behind a Newport News, Virginia,
boatyard. The young black-and-white female pit bull
had apparently drowned, as indicated by her clenched
teeth and protruding tongue. But most chilling was that she likely hadn’t wound
up in the water by accident: Tied to her red-and-black harness was an 11-pound
weight that looked like the head of a sledgehammer. This dog was almost
certainly thrown into the water and left to struggle for air until she could
struggle no more.

Since
the dog’s body was found in the hometown of Michael Vick’s ”Bad Newz Kennels,” where dogfighting
and pit bull abuse are still serious problems, we can’t help but fear the worst:
that she was bred, trained, and/or used for fighting; either wasn’t “game,”
lost a fight, or got sick; and was meant to “retire” at the bottom of
the James River.

As
we learned from the Michael
Vick case, unwanted “fighting dogs”
are often killed in the most horrific ways. Vick and his cohorts admitted to hanging,
shooting, electrocuting, drowning, and slamming to the ground dogs who didn’t “perform”
well.

While
we may never know if this dog was used for fighting, we do know that someone
did not want her body to be found. A
necropsy report indicates that she suffered a shattered rib, probably inflicted
by the heavy weight when she was thrown into the water. She had recently given
birth and may have experienced complications.

We
are offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and
conviction of the person or persons responsible for this heinous crime.

What You Can Do

If
you ever suspect anyone of participating in dogfighting, alert authorities
immediately. Dogfighting is a felony in all 50 states and is often
associated with other serious crimes, including domestic violence, gang activity,
and illegal drugs, firearms, and gambling. Signs of dogfighting include the
presence of multiple pit bulls chained up in a backyard and paraphernalia such
as treadmills and heavy logging chains.

The week isn’t going so well for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The company had been benefiting from online promotions through Travelzoo, a site that offers discounts and deals on travel and entertainment. But that was before PETA and its supporters stepped in.

PETA sent Travelzoo information about Ringling’s long history of animal abuse. We detailed how Ringling was handed the largest fine in circus history—$270,000—by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for dozens of violations of the Animal Welfare Act. We revealed how former circus employees admitted that Ringling trainers routinely beat elephants and jabbed them with sharp metal bullhooks in order to force them to perform.

We are pleased that Travelzoo listened and made the compassionate decision to stop offering Ringling ticket deals. Travelzoo joins Lucky Brand, Denny’s, Lukoil, MasterCard, Visa, and Sears, all of which have terminated Ringling sponsorships and promotions. Let’s keep going after Ringling until its trainers stop going after animals. Ask the USDA to seize the ailing elephants used by Ringling and transfer them to a reputable sanctuary.

Animal
activist Michelle Doers was reading Animal Times when she first learned
about actor James
Cromwell’s arrest at the University of Wisconsin (UW) for protesting its heinous experiments on
cats. That’s when she remembered reading about something else in the PETA
publication: a woman who wrapped her car in an ad to raise awareness about
animal issues. So Michelle decided to turn her own car into a moving billboard
for animals.

For
the next two months, Michelle will be using her car to speak up for animals in
laboratories and encouraging others to buy only cruelty-free
home and beauty products. After that, she plans to change the wrap on her
car seasonally. Her next message will encourage people to boycott Ringling Bros.
for its abuse of elephants.

Another
stellar activist and PETA supporter, Anne Feingold, helped coordinate a joint
letter through her cat rescue organization that was signed by more than 150 cat
advocacy and rescue organizations from nearly all 50 states. The letter, which
unequivocally condemns UW’s cruel experiments on cats, was sent to the
leadership of the university as well as to the federal funding agency that
enables this abuse. Anne also showed impressive initiative and dedication by
contacting local media in Madison, Wisconsin, to alert them to her efforts.

Are
you inspired by Michelle and Anne? Want to help animals from your computer and
in your community? Join our Action Team! And
if you’re an activist younger than 21, check out peta2′s Street Team!