Their Turn - The Social Justice Movement of Our Time Their Turn - The Social Justice Movement of Our Time

New Investigative Technique Transforms “Food” Animals Into Investigators

June 27, 2023 by 8 comments


The News

An animal rights organization in Israel has announced a groundbreaking investigative technique to help activists around the world expose the cruelty that animals endure inside of the secretive factory farms, trailers and slaughterhouses where they are raised, transported and killed.

The organization, Sentient, customized a small, disposable, camouflaged cameras that are affixed to an animal’s back by harmless glue and take streaming video from the point of view of the animal. By wearing the cameras on their backs, the animals are transformed into undercover investigators and whistleblowers.

According to Ronen Bar, the Executive Director of Sentient, the new investigative technique, dubbed “Camera on Animal,” helps to address the challenges faced by activists attempting to expose the dark underbelly of the animal agriculture industry and violations of animal welfare laws. ”As animal advocates worldwide face “Ag-Gag” laws and other hurdles, this novel approach – “Camera On Animal” – offers a creative, lower-risk approach to exposing the truth.”

During the first Camera On Animal, Sentient’s cameras captured dozens of hours of footage in Israel of the final hours of bulls, pigs and sheep. Bar says the footage reveals not only “the brutal reality inside of hidden and sealed facilities,” but also the harrowing journeys of individual animals who are wearing the cameras. He describes a calf who “somehow manages to turn around in the narrow slaughter line and climb over another calf in an effort to escape” and a bull who is “repeatedly electrified in the anus with a probe because he refused to move forward.”

Photo of distressed cow in transport truck

A small camera affixed to a cow’s back takes streaming video from the point of view of the animal

Bar also describes a few moments of a pig’s journey in a transport trailer filled with other pigs. At one point, the pig pushes his way through the other pigs to get to metal slats on the side of the trailer in order to access fresh air and sunlight.

Photo of a pig on a crowded transport truck attempting to get fresh air and sunlight

The image of this pig on a crowded transport truck was taken by a camera affixed to the back of another pig

Bar hopes that activists will use this new investigative technique in campaigns targeting specific companies or industries. He also hopes that stories of individual animals will resonate among compassionate people who aren’t already living a cruelty-free lifestyle.

Photo of Ronen Bar, co-founder and Executive Director of Sentient

Ronen Bar, co-founder and Executive Director of Sentient

In order to share this tool with activists around the world, Sentient is launching a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. The Kickstarter page contains a video that explains more about the camera and process. According to Bar, the fundraiser will “enable us to develop the space of animal storytelling, turning the numbers into what they truly are — stories of sentient individuals.” Funds will be used to place 100 cameras on animals, unveiling their individual stories and effecting tangible change.  To support the Camera On Animal campaign, please visit Sentient’s Kickstarter page.

Sentient is is an Israel-based animal rights organization that creates tools for undercover investigations worldwide. Activists or reporters with questions about the “Camera on Animal” technique can contact Ronen Bar: ronen@sentientworld.org


Animal Rights Activists Protest Adidas over Kangaroo Slaughter

June 5, 2023 by 3 comments


The News

Approximately thirty animal rights disrupted business inside of Adidas’s flagship store in New York City as part of a global effort to compel the sportswear giant to stop using kangaroo skin in its soccer cleats. The protest was organized by the animal rights groups NYCLASS and TheirTurn with the support of The Center for A Humane Economy, a Washington-D.C.-based animal welfare organization running a global campaign to compel sneaker manufacturers to replace “k-leather” with cruelty-free materials.

Holding posters and chanting “Kangaroos Are Not Shoes, Just Stop The Slaughter,” the protesters marched throughout the store’s three floors, stopping twice to deliver speak outs about the cruelty associated with the kangaroo hunt. When the police arrived after 25 minutes, the activists left the store and staged a moving picket on the sidewalk while distributing information. Dozens of curious pedestrians, including Adidas customers, said they were shocked and outraged to learn that Adidas uses kangaroo skin in its soccer cleats.

"Kangaroos Are Not Shoes" Protest at Adidas flagship store in NYC

Animal rights activists with the NYCLASS, TheirTurn and the Center for a Humane Economy protest Adidas over the company’s use of kangaroo skin in its soccer cleats

“Adidas claims to source its animal skins humanely, but chasing down terrified kangaroos in the dark of night and shooting them in the head are acts of extreme cruelty,” said Edita Birnkrant, the Executive Director of NYCLASS. “Adidas needs to do the right thing by joining Nike and Puma in replacing kangaroo skin with cruelty-free materials.”

Photo of animal rights activists protesting at the Adidas store in NYC

Animal rights activists are calling on Adidas to join Nike and Puma in replacing the kangaroo skin used in its soccer cleats with cruelty-free materials

Commercial hunters hired by companies like Adidas kill approximately two million kangaroos each year. It’s the largest commercial slaughter of land-based mammals on the planet. according to the Center for a Humane Economy. An estimated 40% of kangaroos are shot in the neck or body instead of the head, which often wounds the kangaroos instead of instantly killing them. Those who escape the hunters die slowly from their gunshot wounds. 

Some of the females who are shot have babies (joeys) in their pouches or by their sides. Code dictates that hunters either decapitate or bludgeon them to death. The joeys who are not in their mother’s pouch die from exposure and predation. Each year, an estimated 500,000 to 800,000 joeys fall victim to the nightly kangaroo hunt.

Photo of kangaroos killed by commercial hunters

Adidas hires commercial hunters in Australia to kill kangaroos for their skin, which the company uses to make soccer cleats

“When Adidas peels the skin off of the bodies of the kangaroos who they kill, they are engaging in theft,” said Jamie Logan. U.S. Campaign Manager of Generation Vegan. “The kangaroos don’t belong to Adidas, and the skin is not theirs to take.”

The May 31st protest at Adidas took place two months after Nike and Puma announced that they would discontinue their use of “k-leather” and replace it with cruelty-free materials by the end of 2023.

“Adidas has become an outlier in the athletic shoe industry by continuing to source kangaroo parts even though other fabrics can be used for high-performance shoes,” noted Wayne Pacelle, president of the Center for a Humane Economy. “We are so grateful to TheirTurn for so boldly raising awareness of this form of cruelty to wildlife and demanding that Adidas do better.”

Photo of news coverage of NIke's announcement that it would stop killing kangaroos to make soccer cleats

In March 2023, Nike and Puma announced that they would stop using kangaroo skin by the end of 2023

Animal rights groups in Australia, which are especially protective of their native kangaroos, staged their first protest against Adidas on May 7th in Melbourne. The activists in New York say they will continue to protest at Adidas until the company announces a kangaroo-free policy.

Photo of Australian animal rights activists protest Adidas in Melbourne over the use of kangaroo skin in their soccer cleats

A coalition of animal advocacy groups in Australia staged a protest at the Adidas store in Melbourne (May 7, 2023)

To learn more about the campaign to end the use of kangaroo skin, please visit Visit KangaroosAreNotShoes.org.

Kangaroos Are Not Shoes

The Center for a Humane Economy’s KangaroosAreNotShoes campaign website


NYC Lawmakers Encourage Humane Society of New York to Relocate Animals

April 9, 2023 by 8 comments


The News

In an open letter to the Humane Society of New York (HSNY), two New York City Council Members have suggested that the large and prominent NYC shelter relocate their adoptable animals to “another facility that is open to the public, where the prospect of adoption is much greater,” or to “foster homes” so that “these animals have the best possible chance to find their forever homes.” According to whistleblowers and animal rights activists, adoptions at the HSNY came to a virtual standstill in April 2020, when the organization closed its doors to the public.

Photo of a letter sent to the Humane Society of New York by two NYC Council Members

NYC Council Members Julie Menin and James Gennaro sent a letter to the Humane Society of New York expressing concern about the welfare of the animals in the prominent Manhattan shelter

In the letter, which is addressed to the organization’s Executive Director Sandra DeFeo, the lawmakers express concern about the welfare of the animals, noting that “8 out of 14 cats and dogs on your adoption page in October 2021 are still listed as available for adoption on your current website.”

Photo shows that 8 of the animals listed on the Humane Society of New York's website in October 2021 were still there in March 2023

Since August 2021, animal rights activists have been sounding the alarm about the warehousing of animals at the Humane Society of New York

The Council Members, Julie Menin and James Gennaro, sent the letter after being contacted by constituents who expressed concern about the welfare of the animals.

In an interview with Pix11 News, Council Member Menin, whose district includes the Humane Society of New York, remarked on the slow pace of adoptions: “Why are the adoptions only one per week? That seems like a very slow pace for a relatively large organization that’s well funded. So, we do have concerns about that. We’re also concerned about why can’t the public come in?” Discussions between the Council Members and the HSNY are ongoing.

TV news coverage about animal warehousing at the Humane Society of New York

Pix11, a TV news station in New York, aired a three minute story about the animal warehousing controversy at the Humane Society of New York

Animal rights activists learned that animals were being warehoused at the HSNY in July 2021 when a whistleblower wrote that adoptions had come to a virtual standstill 15 months earlier and that DeFeo, the Executive Director, was keeping the building closed to the public under false pretenses. After conducting an investigation which corroborated the allegations and revealed that the building was closed indefinitely due to violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), animal rights activists began calling on the HSNY to send its animals to shelters that are open to the public or to foster homes, where they could live with a family outside of a cage and where adopters could more easily meet them. During a phone call in August 2021 in which Donny Moss of TheirTurn asked DeFeo why she wasn’t sending the animals to foster homes while the building was closed to the public, DeFeo said that the HSNY is their foster home and that their cages are “apartments.”

Adoption cards on the animals cages at the Humane Society of New York show intake dates of 2018 and 2019

While reporting on the animal warehousing controversy at the Humane Society of New York, Pix11 News zoomed in on the adoption cards that show intake dates of 2018 and 2019 for two of the cats. Because the shelter has been closed to adopters for three years, advocates suspect that many of animals have been living in the shelter for at least that long

After being dismissed by DeFeo and ignored by the HSNY’s board members, animal rights activists began staging protests at the HSNY and the nearby home of one of its board members, Alexandra Rowley. During the approximately 20 protests that have taken place so far, dozens of area residents stopped to share their stories of being ignored or turned away after submitting adoption applications or calling to inquire about adoptions. Videos with these testimonials have gone viral on TikTok, garnering over 2.5 million views and attracting national attention to the plight of the animals.

Photo of TikTok videos of protests at the Humane Society of New York

Videos of the protests at the Humane Society of New York have gone viral on TikTok, garnering more than 2.5 million views

From April 2020 to March 2023, DeFeo claimed that the HSNY was closed to the public “due to COVID-19,” an excuse that, according to whistleblowers, she intended to use indefinitely in order to avoid acknowledging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that would have to be fixed in order to reopen the building to the public. Activists believe their campaign, which raised public awareness about the plight of animals living in a shelter closed indefinitely to adopters, ultimately left DeFeo with no choice but to move forward with the renovations, which are underway now.

Photo of construction at the Humane Society of New York

In an effort to silence protesters outside of the building, the Humane Society of NY has put up signs asking for quiet despite the fact that they are subjecting the animals inside to loud interior and exterior construction projects instead of sending them to foster homes

Throughout the course of the campaign, members of public have asked the advocates why the HSNY has kept the cats and dogs instead of placing them in shelters that are open to the public or to foster homes. According to Donny Moss of TheirTurn, an organizer in the campaign, the problem lies with the Executive Director. “Sandra DeFeo has always held the view that cages are ‘apartments’ and that the shelter is a ‘home,’ but that warped perspective mattered less before 2020 because guardrails were in place to protect the animals – an adoption center that was open to adopters; an Adoption Director who was sending animals home and a board president who worked at the shelter four days per week. When the guardrails came down, the animals were at the mercy of someone who believes that a cage in a shelter is home.”

Photo of protest at the Humane Society of New York

During bi-weekly protests at the Humane Society of New York, animal rights activists call on the Manhattan shelter to send the cats and dogs in their care to foster homes where they won’t have to live in a cage or be subjected to construction noise

In addition to operating an adoption center, the HSNY runs a low cost vet clinic that is subsidized by private donors. Like the adoption center, the vet clinic, which is located on the ground floor of the same building, has been closed to the public for the past three years. Despite pleas from the advocates, the six veterinarians who work in the clinic have refused to address the warehousing of animals. During the first two protests at the HSNY, the advocates asked the vets to use their influence to relocate the animals to foster homes, but they refused to engage them. The vets — Drs. Lauren Postler, Shingo Soeda, Ellen Hirshberg, Yaron Schmid, Ralph Gutierrez and Liz Higgins —  avert their eyes and ignore the advocates as they exit the building.

Photo of Dr. Ralph Gutierrez, Dr. Ellen Hirshberg, Dr. Shingo Soeda, Dr. Lauren Postler, Dr. Yaron Scmid and Dr. Liz Higgins

Advocates assert that the veterinarians who work in the Humane Society of New York’s clinic are complicit in the warehousing of animals in the organization’s adoption center. (From left to right: Drs. Ralph Gutierrez, Ellen Hirshberg, Shingo Soeda, Lauren Postler, Yaron Schmid, Liz Higgins)

Among the other senior HSNY staff members who have ignored the advocates are the Associate Director, Anne Marie Karash, and the Director of Animal Behavior and Training, Bill Berloni. When Pix11 News reported on the animal warehousing scandal, Karash acknowledged that some of the animals have been living in the adoption center for years. She justified the long-term captivity by stating that the animals have medical conditions and that they’re selective about the people to whom they adopt. Bonnie Tischler, the HSNY’s Adoption Director who retired in early 2020 after serving in that role for 22 years, is not convinced:

People will adopt and foster animals with special needs and animals who are elderly, so there’s no reason those animals should be there for so many years. Every animal, if given the opportunity, can be adopted. That said, the longer these animals are held in cages, the more issues they have due to the stress of the long-term confinement. Also, being selective about the adopters is commendable, but there’s a big difference between ‘being selective’ and ignoring adoption applications altogether, which is what the HSNY has done for the past three years.”

Photo of Anne Marie Karash, the Associate Director of the Humane Society of New York

During an interview with Pix11 News, Anne Marie Karash, the Associate Director of the Humane Society of New York, attempted to use medical conditions and a highly selective adoption process to justify the long term captivity of animals at the shelter.

Bill Berloni, the animal trainer and behaviorist, owns a company called Berloni’s Theatrical Animals that leases animals to Broadway shows, movies, TV shows and commercials. According to former HSNY employees, he finds the animals in shelters or buys them from breeders, depending on the needs of his clients. When the musical Gypsy ended its run on Broadway, Berloni told colleagues at the HSNY that he brought the lamb who he procured for the production to a slaughterhouse after telling the show’s star, Bernadette Peters, that he retired her to a sanctuary.

During the pandemic, when Broadway had no use for his animals, Berloni’s friend created a GoFundMe campaign that raised $91,332 for his company. By calling the campaign a fundraiser for the “Theatrical Animals Fund,” at least some of the donors must have assumed they were donating to an animal rescue charity, not a for-profit animal enterprise.

Bill Berloni of the Humane Society of New York

Bill Berloni, who owns a company that leases animals to Broadway shows, movies, TV shows and commercials, has not addressed the public’s concerns about the warehousing of animals at the Humane Society of New York, where he is employed as the Director of Animal Training and Behavior

The HSNY states the animals’ participation in Broadway shows “changes their lives forever,” but advocates disagree: “Dogs don’t aspire to be props in Broadway shows,” said Edita Birnkrant, the Executive Director of NYCLASS, a NYC-based animal rights organization. “They want to live in a home, go for walks, play ball and curl up on the sofa with their family.”

The Humane Society of New York turns away prospective adopters

Prospective adopters who ring the bell at the the Humane Society of New York are asked to leave when they inquire about meeting the animals available for adoption

In the Pix11 News interview, Karash, the Associate Director, said that 27 cats and 13 dogs remain in the shelter. Like Council Members Menin and Gennaro, the advocates are calling on DeFeo to send the remaining animals to foster homes, where they could live uncaged and with a family, until the HSNY completes the renovations and resumes adoptions in earnest.


Anti-Trophy Hunting Activists Protest Trump Brothers and Safari Club International

February 28, 2023 by 5 comments


The News

On February 25th, approximately 30 animal rights activists in New York City staged a disruption in the lobby of Trump Tower as part of the Worldwide Rally Against Trophy Hunting (WRATH), an annual multi-city demonstration produced by CompassionWorks International. Organizers of the NYC rally chose Trump Tower because Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have participated in many well-publicized trophy hunts and have posted photos with their victims.

Activists also staged rallies in Denver, Chicago, Birmingham (U.K.) and Nashville, where Safari Club International’s annual hunting convention took place. WRATH, which is timed to coincide with the annual convention, aims to “raise awareness about the ego-driven and senseless murder of countless wild animals by trophy hunters.”

Photos of Worldwide Rally Against Trophy Hunting event in New York City

During the Worldwide Rally Against Trophy Hunting, animal rights activists in NYC staged a die-in in Trump Tower in memory of the animals who Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump slaughtered on their trophy hunting expeditions. After the lobby disruption, the activists continued the rally on busy Fifth Avenue.

In NYC, organizers rented a mobile billboard that projected images of trophy hunters, including the Trumps, and played a wrap song called Hunter! Listen up by Entyce. The song is featured in TheirTurn’s video about the NYC rally.

Photo of anti-trophy hunting mobile billboard

As part of the Worldwide Rally Against Trophy Hunting (WRATH), a mobile billboard driving through Midtown Manhattan displayed images of trophy hunters and their victims

After protesting and staging a die in inside of Trump Tower, the activists exited the building and conducted educational outreach with tourists in the bustling midtown neighborhood. While most of the pedestrians who acknowledged the rally were supportive, some Trump supporters and hunters taunted the activists.

Photo of hunter confronting activists during Worldwide Rally Against Trophy Hunting

In an apparent effort to taunt WRATH participants, a pedestrian repeatedly stated that hunting is fun and encouraged protesters to try it.

In 2015, anti-trophy hunting sentiment moved into the mainstream when Cecil, a beloved lion in Zimbabwe, was shot and killed by Walter Palmer, a big game hunter from Minnesota. The killing of Cecil, which was widely reported in mainstream media outlets, led U.S. Fish and Wildlife to add lions in Africa and India to the endangered species list, making it more difficult for Americans to partake in lion hunting.

Photo of Walter Palmer, the notorious trophy hunter who killed Cecil, a beloved lion in Zimbabwe

Walter Palmer, a trophy hunter from Minnesota, killed and beheaded Cecil, a beloved lion in Zimbabwe.


What Made You Go Vegan?

February 21, 2023 by 2 comments


The News

During the 2022 Animal Rights March in New York City, we asked 11 participants what made them go vegan. Here’s what they said:

While millions of people, including those featured in this video, go vegan for ethical reasons, others make the switch to a plant-based diet to improve their health or to protect the planet. Animal agriculture is not only one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters, but it is also a leading cause of deforestation, species extinction, ocean dead zones, antibiotic resistance and zoonotic disease outbreaks, such as avian flu and swine flu.

Photo of animal rights activists during the 2022 Animal Rights March in NYC

Animal rights activists from New York, the surrounding states and Canada participate in the 2022 Animal Rights March, which took place on August 27, 2022

If you are interested in learning more about making the switch to a plant-based diet, please order a free Vegan Starter Kit from PETA.

PETA’s vegan start kit helps people transition to a plant-based diet