The zookeeper at the Giza Zoo in Cairo, Egypt didn’t intervene when teenagers used a pellet gun to shoot at lions in a small cage.  According to news reports, the zookeeper himself has taunted the caged animals to get a rise out of them in exchange for tips from zoo visitors.

I don’t know what’s worse: teen bullies shooting lions at the zoo or the fact that the cages are so small that the lions have virtually no space to move. Even in the best of circumstances, zoos are prisons for animals because they are unable to do anything that comes naturally to them, such as hunting, traveling long distances, teaching their children how to survive and thrive in the wild. They are bored, listless, lethargic, stressed and often lonely.  Please learn more about the inherent cruelty of zoos and what you can do to help.

Animal rights activists in Canada led by Humane Society International are protesting an annual pig wrestling festival that attracts 35,000 people and brings $4 million to the local economy.

Do we really need to terrorize these innocent, intelligent pigs by chasing and wrestling them in a field of mud for sake of entertainment?   Thanks to the animal rights movement, the use of animals in entertainment will eventually be banned.  In the meantime, we must all continue to be a voice for these pigs, the killer whales held captive at Sea World, the bulls who are stabbed in bullfight arenas, the elephants beaten in submission at circuses and the horses forced to pull carriages in congested urban areas.  If you absolutely must harm an animal to amuse yourself, buy a fucking piñata. Learn more about animals exploited for entertainment and see how you can help.

Mexico City and six of 32 Mexican states have banned wild animals in circuses. The battle between activists and Mexican circus industry has turned violent, with reports of circus security guards assaulting peaceful protesters.

Critics of animal rights activists like to say things like, “With all of the poverty around the world, why are you wasting your time on animals?”  Among the many responses that we can give to them is: “People in Mexico, who are poor by our standards, are themselves speaking out against animal cruelty.  If they can help abused circus animals in their country, then we can help them in the U.S.”  If you live in a city that has circuses with animals, please join the efforts of local activists to educate members of the public about why they should boycott the circus. Or you can organize a demo in your area.

The South African SPCA is suing the people responsible for the death of a blindfolded giraffe who smashed his head on a bridge while being transported in a trailer on a highway near Johannesburg.

One way to prevent tragic accidents with wild animals is to not move them in the first place!  The news media did not report on why these giraffes were being transported, but I can’t  help but think they were kidnapped from the wild for a zoo or another commercial enterprise.  To learn more about the inherent cruelty of zoos and find out how you can help, please visit Last Chance For Animals.

Actress and animal rights activist Pamela Anderson traveled to Denmark’s Faeroe Islands to join Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in calling for an end to the annual slaughter of 1,000 pilot whales.  She called a four century-old pilot whale drive a “barbaric, psychotic frenzy.” Sea Shepherd has led opposition to the drive since the 1980s.

What could be crueler than rounding up 1,000 gentle and intelligent pilot whales and mercilessly slaughtering them in the name of tradition?  Scandinavian countries are among the most progressive in the world, but the Danish are somehow able to celebrate or turn a blind eye to this annual bloodbath.  Please help Sea Shepherd put an end to what Pamela Anderson aptly describes as a “barbaric, psychotic frenzy.”