PETA AU Global Issue 4 2020

J enny Woods, Regan Russell, and Shimon Shuchat were all wonderful “PETA people” who died prematurely this year. Jenny never hesitated to put herself in a tricky situation or a silly costume to help animals, taking over the runway at an Oscar de la Renta fur fashion show and even pieing chicken-flesh peddler Frank Perdue with a tofu cream pie to highlight the violence behind meat. She also spoke eloquently in TV interviews, describing the terror and pain that pigs and ferrets felt when strapped into General Motors cars and slammed into walls for crash tests. With PETA’s victory in that campaign, all American car companies’ crash tests on animals came to an end. FOR US ALL TO FILL BIG SHOES Regan and Shimon worked hard to protect animals killed for food. Regan gave water and a kind touch to pigs in trucks going through a Canadian slaughterhouse gate, while Shimon protested outside live-animal markets and against harming chickens during kapporos, a Jewish rite of atonement. Deeply affected by what he saw, Shimon took his own life. He was just 22 years old. Regan was run over and killed by a pig-transport truck. Jenny died after a painful struggle with cancer. everyone to buy a vegan meal for someone who hasn’t tried vegan food, donate to an animal rights project, leave vegan starter kits in public places, or help animals in other creative, meaningful ways – all of which these three kind souls would do if they were still here. In their memory, PETA and a local group rescued seven hens and two ducks from a New York City live-animal market, persuaded a factory farmer in Iowa to spare two 6-week-old piglets (and thanked himwith a basket of vegan foods), and dedicated a new rescue vehicle. Read more at PETA.org/RescuedPiglets and PETA.org/Shimon . “God, I love PETA,” Jenny would say after every victory, and PETA loved her back. Let’s Keep Their Activism Alive In honor of these brave and compassionate advocates for animals, PETA invites

The True Story of One Anonymous Animal’s Last Hours

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Cow: © Jessie Pierce

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Pigs: © Arthur’s Acres Animal Sanctuary/@pitchforkwarrior

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end of a rope around her neck and the other end to a post, and they drove the truck away. She was dragged along the truck bed and then slammed to the ground, landing with both hind legs and her pelvis broken. She remained like that until 7:30 that evening. For the first three hours, she lay in the hot sun, crying out. Periodically, when she urinated or defecated, she used her front legs to drag herself along the gravel roadway to a clean spot. She also tried to crawl to a shaded area, managing to drag herself 13 to 14 yards (about 12.5 meters), but never reached it. The stockyard employees wouldn’t give her any drinking water – the only water she received was given to her by Jessie Pierce, a local animal rights activist, who was contacted by a woman who had witnessed the incident. Jessie arrived at noon. After receiving no cooperation from stockyard workers, she called the county police. An officer arrived, but his superiors instructed him to do nothing. He left at 1 p.m. She was dragged along the truck bed and then slammed to the ground, landing with both hind legs and her pelvis broken. The stockyard operator informed Jessie that he had permission from the insurance company to kill the

cow but wouldn’t do so until Jessie left. Although doubtful that he would keep his word, she left at 3 p.m. She returned at 4:30 p.m. and found the stockyard deserted. Three dogs were attacking the cow, who was still alive and had suffered a number of bite wounds. Her drinking water had also been removed. Jessie contacted the state police. Four officers arrived at 5:30 p.m. State Trooper Jan Wuchner wanted to shoot the cow but was told that a veterinarian should kill her. The two veterinarians at the facility would not euthanize her, claiming that in order to preserve the value of the meat, she could not be “destroyed.” The butcher eventually arrived at 7:30 p.m. and shot the cow, ending her long, miserable ordeal. Her body was purchased for $307.50. When questioned by a reporter from The Kentucky Post , the stockyard operator stated, “We didn’t do a damned thing to it,” referring to the cow, and said the concern on the part of humane workers and police was “bullcrap.” He laughed throughout the interview, saying that he found nothing wrong with the way the cow had been treated. After PETA got involved, the Kenton County Police Department adopted a policy requiring that all downed animals be immediately euthanized. But the dead, dying, and disabled populations at slaughterhouses have never gone down.

Jenny and PETA stopped General Motors’ horrific crash tests on animals. To pay homage to Jenny, please consider dedicating a weekend to activism.

M any people never stop to think about it, but there is no retirement home for cows exploited by the meat and dairy industries. By the time they’re trucked off to be killed for hamburger meat or dog food, many are so lame from a lifetime of intensive confinement and standing on concrete floors that they can only hobble. Some can’t walk at all. The industry calls these animals “downers.” This is the story of one of them. The truck carrying this cow was unloaded at Walton Stockyards in Kentucky one September morning. After workers removed the other animals from the truck, she was left behind, unable to move. They used the customary electric prods in her ear to try to get her out – then beat and kicked her in the face, ribs, and back – but she still didn’t move. Finally, they tied one

PETA rescued these piglets in Regan’s honor and placed them at a sanctuary.

Take Action Now What we choose to eat, pour on our cereal, or put on our pizza means the

As a tribute to Shimon, these birds were rescued from live-animal markets in the US.

difference between life and an agonizing death for animals like this cow. Going dairy-free is easy with dozens of delicious vegan milks, cheeses, ice creams, and other products now available everywhere. Visit PETA.org/DairyFree for options.

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REST IN POWER