Four former workers at a North Carolina testing lab have been indicted on felony animal cruelty charges, following an undercover investigation that captured video images of animal abuse/cruelty. The video shot by a PETA member working at the lab shows workers throwing a cat, pulling a dog’s teeth with inadequate pain medication and trying to pull a cat’s claws off by jerking it from a wire cage. Professional Laboratory and Research Services Inc. was closed in late 2010 after the USDA received PETA’s report and began to investigate the operation. More than 200 dogs and 50 cats were confiscated from the lab by the USDA following the investigation.

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Sadly, PitBulls are often portrayed in the media as vicious killers that cannot be trusted. PitBulls account for 75% of the animals impounded at shelters in America and 90% of PitBulls at the shelter are euthanized. However, temperament evaluations by the American Temperament Test Society (http://atts.org/) have given pit bull terriers a very high passing rate of 90.6 percent! A much higher rating compared to the average passing rate for the other 121 dog breeds participating in this test which average 77 percent. For complete story click HERE

The Humane Society of the United States revealed through laboratory testing that a Phillip Lim brand parka sold online by Barneys New York as “faux fur” is real animal fur, and that the same Phillip Lim parka was sold in the Manhattan flagship store without the “real fur” label required by New York state law. Selling unlabeled real animal fur-trim jackets has been allowed for decades through a loophole in the nearly 60-year-old federal fur labeling law, but a new bill signed on Saturday by President Obama will close this loophole. H.R.2480, The Truth in Fur Labeling Act, will take effect in March and will require all garments made with animal fur to be labeled and advertised with the correct species of animal on the label. It is unlawful to describe garments containing animal fur as “faux fur.” Violations of the federal fur labeling law carry up to a $5,000 fine and a year in prison. For complete story, click HERE

An estimated 1,200 dogs from a notorious Kansas puppy mill were euthanized by a state agency last week because of a severe distemper breakout. The facility, owned by Jeff Fortin, has a history of Animal Welfare Act violations since at least 2008. Stronger laws in Kansas could have prevented this tragedy. The outdated law governing commercial dog breeding facilities in Kansas does not require regular veterinary exams for dogs and allows unlimited numbers of dogs to be warehoused in stacked, wire-floored cages, which lead to unsanitary conditions, overcrowding and disease. For complete story, click HERE

Exciting news! Animal Advocates Alliance efforts are a key component of the Compassion Revolution. Every other Saturday, we offer a free basic obedience and proper pet care class at the Baldwin Park shelter.   This exciting program has launched at the Baldwin Park shelter and has eager community pet guardians becoming ambassador’s of kindness and responsibility in their neighborhoods.  We not only educate neighborhoods and provide tools to a healthy relationship with one’s pet but offer low to no-cost spay/neuter for the their own pets! Take a class, learn and become part of the solution.

To watch a short video of this amazing project:

Allegations of conditions so deplorable that dogs are literally freezing to death have surfaced for the San Bernadino County Animal Shelter in Devore, CA. A letter from the shelter’s Supervising Officer, Doug Smith, refutes all allegations. He states that the kennels are equipped with automatic heating systems that would prevent the dogs from freezing. Right now, various rescue organizations are working frantically to pull the dogs from this shelter – desperately trying to save lives and free them from their misery. The animals located at this shelter are at the mercy of their care-providers. If nobody takes the time to speak up for them, nothing will change and they will continue to suffer and die. For complete story, click HERE

After the Saints lost to the Dallas Cowboys last season, David LeBlanc, Dwayne Jenkins, and Carnie Smith stole a 3-day-old calfand dragged the animal to a parking lot where LeBlanc and his friends were gathered for a Saints party. LeBlanc hit the calf with the shovel until it died while Jenkins and Smith watched. Another man, Christopher Murphy, removed the calf’s carcass and dumped it. Jenkins, Smith and Murphy received probation while LeBlanc was sentenced to 5 years in prison. For complete story, click HERE

A dog rescued from Afghanistan after she alerted soldiers to a suicide bomber was accidentally euthanized at an Arizona shelter on Monday.  The dog, Target, was recently brought over from Afghanistan by a soldier who had returned from his tour of duty. Target’s new owner, Army Sgt. Terry Young whose life was saved by the stray, helped bring the 2-ish-year-old from Afghanistan to her new home in Arizona.  She disappeared from Young’s home on Friday. An animal control officer picked up the dog and brought her to the shelter where the dog stayed over the weekend. On Monday morning, the employee mistakenly took the dog out of its pen and euthanized it.  The dog was not scheduled for euthanasia.  For complete story, click HERE

Some believe that because Vick served his time in prison, he should be beyond reproach for his former actions. Many others believe that cruelty to animals isn’t something somebody does, it’s something somebody is. Essentially, an ex-convict is dominating America’s most popular sport while victims of his previous crime continue to live with the brutality of that crime.

Richard Hunter and his wife adopted “Mel” after watching a documentary on the nearly 50 dogs seized from Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels.  Mel had been a bait dog, thrown into the ring as a sparring partner for the tougher dogs, sometimes muzzled so he wouldn’t fight back, beaten daily to sap his will. Mel was under constant attack, and couldn’t fight back, and the deep cuts were visible on more than just his body. Every time the 4-year-old dog meets a stranger he goes into convulsions and lowers his face and tries to hide; New faces are not new friends, but old terrors. “Some people wonder, are we ever going to let Michael Vick get beyond all this?” said Richard Hunter. “I tell them, let’s let Mel decide that. When he stops shaking, maybe then we can talk.”

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The Humane Society of the United States is taking aim at the largest producer of fresh eggs in the country, releasing images and a report that documents federal safety violations and inhumane treatment of chickens. An undercover activist spent 28 days at the farm in Wilder Texas documenting multiple abuses and food safety threats. Michael Greger, the Humane Society’s director for public health and animal agriculture said “In terms of animal cruelty, unfortunately there are no federal laws covering farm animal treatment on the farm.”  For complete story, click HERE