PETA Global 2019 Issue 2

Lobster Roll Horror Deep in the heart of “lobster country,” PETA placed these ads in the Bangor International Airport as a reminder that crustaceans are “people,” too. I

T A L K T H E T A L K , W A L K T H E W A L K • T A L K T H E T A L K , W A L K T H E W A L K •

Lobster: © iStock.com/MediaProduction

PETA Warns: Wish we were'nt here - Look Before You Book A PETA Asia investigation revealed that animals are forced to haul visitors around top Egyptian tourist sites, such as the

Pyramids: © iStock.com/ugurhan • Postcard: © iStock.com/whitemay • Donkeys carrying tourists: © PETA Germany • White horse: © PETA Germany

heavy bags of trash. Once they’re too old or weak to work, they’re often abandoned or sent to slaughter. This cruel “tradition” endures only because tourists demand it, even though a cable car has been operating nearby for decades and the abuse violates Greek animal welfare laws. PETA is calling on authorities to ban the rides and establish a sanctuary for the animals.

Exposed - Live Lobsters Torn Limb From Limb

Great Pyramids, toiling under the sting of the whip in the blistering heat without adequate food, water, or shade.

P ETA’s eyewitness video shows workers dismembering fully conscious lobsters at off their claws, puncturing their shells, and decapitating them. Some were still in agony hours after they were torn apart. Scientists have determined that lobsters feel pain. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to survive. But unfortunately, they don’t enter a state of shock when injured, so, unlike humans, they can feel every moment of their slow, torturous death. HowMany Factories Does PETA Have to Expose? Dismembering live lobsters is common in much of the industry. PETA previously obtained video footage showing that conscious animals were torn apart and their legs were cut off with scissors at the now-defunct Sea Hag Seafood processing plant and at Linda Bean’s Maine Lobster processing plant ( PETA.org/Lobsters ). Crabs at Linda Bean’s facility were shoved up against sharp metal spikes to break off their top shells (or carapaces), and their exposed internal organs were violently scrubbed off with fast-spinning brushes. Faced with negative publicity, canceled business contracts, PETA protests, and tens of thousands of e-mails from PETA supporters, Linda Bean began quietly offloading its lobster business. This Is Illegal, Right? Not only is live dismemberment of lobsters cruel, it’s also illegal. Maine’s cruelty-to-animals statute applies to all Maine Fair Trade Lobster – the “largest lobster processing facility in the state” – by tearing

Animal Abuse in Plain Sight Similar to the kinds of abuse that PETA Asia

documented previously in Jordan’s ancient city of Petra, handlers viciously beat animals who are too exhausted to go on. Workers in Giza were filmed flogging a horse who had collapsed while hauling a carriage. The men did not stop until she finally managed to get back up. She was put right back to work. Even horses with bloody wounds were forced to continue working, as were those so emaciated that their ribs were visible. PETA Asia also observed violent whipping of camels at the notorious Birqash Camel Market, where they are sold into the tourism industry or for slaughter once they’re no longer able to give rides. Tourist Cash Trumps Compassion On the Greek island of Santorini, donkeys andmules are forced to haul tourists upmore than 500 steps in the port city of Fira. PETA Germany’s eyewitness footage shows animals with sores from ill-fitting and worn-out saddles and halters. Handlers whipped exhausted animals and jabbed themwith sticks, and oblivious tourists dug their heels into the donkeys’ sides to make them keep climbing.

EGYPT

sentient beings – including crustaceans. At least, that’s what it says on the books.

PETA submitted a criminal complaint, along with the disturbing video footage, and the local police department opened an investigation. However, the district attorney declined to file charges, allowing this indefensible cruelty to continue.

Other than implementing minimal (but unenforced) weight restrictions after PETA Germany’s exposé, Santorini officials have taken no action. PETA affiliates have asked tour operators to warn their clients not to ride donkeys.

Take Action Now Please contact District Attorney Matthew J. Foster at

GREECE

Take Action Now Complain whenever you see animal rides, and never

Matthew.Foster@MaineProsecutors.com to urge him to prosecute cruelty to lobsters. Visit PETA.org/MaineFreeTrade to watch the video and to contact grocery store chains that sell lobsters who were torn apart. Steer clear of the lobster roll stand! Go to PETA.org/Recipes to find delicious mock-lobster and mock-crab dishes to enjoy and share with others.

patronize them. Visit PETA.org/Santorini to ask officials to stop the use of donkeys and set up a sanctuary for them. And join PETA in calling on Egypt’s minister of tourism to ban animal rentals by e-mailing mot@idsc.gov.eg .

The animals are tethered in the blazing sun without water or shade. At night, many are forced to haul

Global 23

22 BEATINGS AND BURDENS