Dressed in a bear costume and hauling a dummy of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Friends of Animals’ Edita Birnkrant fearlessly paraded into the state capitol building to disrupt business as usual. That’s because she, like many other animal advocates across the state, is outraged about the upcoming state-sponsored mass shooting of black bears. TheirTurn reported on location:

Some of the bears will be lured out of their habitat with food. During a press conference about the bear hunt on the steps of the statehouse, state Senator Raymond Lesniak, who introduced legislation to ban the hunt, said, “Baiting isn’t hunting; it’s target shooting.”

From left to right: NJ State Senator Raymond Lesniak, a dummy of NJ Governor Chris Christie in a bear-proof garbage can, Friends of Animals’ Edita Birnkrant

During the massacre, which starts on Monday, December 7th, hundreds of bears, including cubs and nursing mothers, will be hunted down and killed with guns and arrows.

NJ Governor Chris Christie receives a manual pat down at the NJ State House

Governor Christie claims that the annual hunt protects the public from bear attacks, but Senator Lesniak and the advocates who gathered at the capitol building argue that only bear-proof garbage cans coupled with public education will keep the bears out of residential areas. Dispensing licenses to kill, they say, doesn’t protect the public; it merely rewards Chris Christie’s pro-hunting campaign donors.

NJ Fish & Wildlife promotes killing, not protecting, its animal residents

For more information about the bear hunt and to take action on their behalf, please visit Friends of Animals and the Animal Protection League of NJ Action Center.

A Fish & Wildlife employee weighs a bear during a previous hunt (photo: AP)

Move over, Esther the Wonder Pig! For a moment, the spotlight is shining on a chicken who is changing hearts and minds around the world. Her name is Penelope, and, against all odds, she survived a massacre.

Penelope, who almost died from Marek’s disease, is thriving today thanks to her rescuers

In the animal agriculture industry, chickens are typically stuffed into crates on the “farms” where they are fattened and shipped directly to slaughterhouses, where their short and painful lives come to a screeching halt. Not Penelope. She had the added misfortune of being sent on a treacherous detour – a detour that turned out to save her life.

Tens of thousands of chickens are held captive in crates with no food or water before being swung and slaughtered in a sacrificial religious ritual

Penelope, along with tens of thousands of other “broiler” chickens, was sold to ultra-Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, New York, to be sacrificed in an annual religious ritual called Kaporos. During the ritual, participants grab the chickens by their fragile wings and swing them around their heads three times while saying a prayer to transfer their sins to the animal. After the ritual, a butcher in the street slaughters the chickens and dumps their dead – or still living – bodies into garbage bags.

Penelope’s rescuer wore a disguise to infiltrate the community where she would have sacrificed in a religious ritual

In his documentary short, filmmaker Duncan Skiles tells the magical story of how a brave woman, who stumbled upon the massacre, rescued a dying chicken, and, with the help of her compassionate husband, gave her a second chance.

Today, Penelope lives with her human flock in Brooklyn, just steps away from where she was saved. Like so many other rescued farm animals, Penelope has become an ambassador for all farm animals by showing people in the community that she is a unique and vibrant individual who wants to live.

After a short lifetime of deprivation and abuse, Penelope has learned how to trust humans

Follow Penelope’s journey at Penelope the Chicken on Facebook.

Please join the Facebook page The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos to lend your voice and support to the tens of thousands of chickens who are stuffed into crates, swung and slaughtered each year in the name of God.

After a lifetime of abuse, neglect and deprivation, Penelope receives TLC from a (human) member of her flock

On November 16th, two dozen activists staged a fourth protest at the home and office of Dr. Laurie Glimcher, urging her to issue a public statement demanding that the New York Blood Center (NYBC) reinstate funding for the chimps who the organization abandoned in Liberia after conducting experiments on them for 30 years and promising to provide them with lifelong care.

Dr. Glimcher, the Dean of Weill-Cornell Medicine, resigned from the Board of Directors of the NYBC as a result of the protests, but her decision to walk away from the scandal did nothing to help the 66 chimps who she and the other board members left to die.

Activists knock on the window at Cornell Medical School’s library to ensure that students know that their Dean, Laurie Glimcher, abandoned chimpanzees with no food or water.

During the 2.5 hour protest, activists spoke to Dr. Glimcher’s neighbors, colleagues and students about the scandal. One woman, who claimed to be employed by Cornell, attempted to stop the loud chanting by telling activists that the protest was turning away blood donors. Cornell’s medical school, however, does not have a blood donation center.

A hungry chimpanzee asks Laurie Glimcher’s doorman for food. Glimcher lives in a 6 bedroom, 7 bathroom condo on the posh Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Laurie Glimcher’s neighbors are growing increasingly frustrated by the loud chanting outside of their windows, but activists say the chants and protests will continue until Dr. Glimcher makes amends.

Activists are committed to holding Laurie Glimcher accountable until she takes action on behalf of the chimps abandoned on her watch.

The protest comes one week after over 100 activists staged a massive demonstration at NYBC’s 50th anniversary fundraising gala where the organization’s donors were forced to navigate their way around a moving picket at the entrance to the building.

Activists in NYC protest the NY Blood Center and Laurie Glimcher, who served on the board when the decision was made to leave 66 chimps to die

Please join the Facebook page: New York Blood Center: Do the Right Thing to participate in the online actions. If you live in New York City, please join the protests targeting NYBC board members at their homes and offices.

By leaving 66 chimps to die of starvation, Dr. Laurie Glimcher has failed to fulfill her promise to abide by the Hippocratic Oath.

On a weekend day that should have been busy at The Fur Source, a large fur retailer in NYC, at least a dozen shoppers quickly changed their mind after entering the store, telling protesters that their presence awakened them. “That lady gave me one of these [flyers] and, after reading it, I just couldn’t do it to the animals,” said one shopper who exited the store within two minutes of entering.

Several other shoppers who changed their minds upon entering the store gave activists a thumbs up on their way out.

Shopper leaves fur store after reading CAAF’s handout

Store employees, some of whom displayed placards on nearby street corners to lure in customers, were visibly distraught that the shoppers who they convinced to visit the store felt compelled to leave because of the ant-fur handout they received.

Store employees who lured in shoppers from street corners grew increasingly frustrated as potential customers changed their mind about entering the store

During the two hours that protesters lined the street in front of the Fur Source, not one shopper exited the store with a package or shopping bag.

Roberto Bonelli with CAAF and the Animals Batallion

The protest, organized by Caring Activists Against Fur (CAAF), was one of many staged each year at the Fur Source during the fall and winter months.

On November 21st, the Anti-Fur Society is hosting an cruelty-free conference followed by a fashion show hosted by fashion designer John Bartlett. For details, please visit the website for the Anti-Fur Society Conference.

Jane Velez-Mitchell of Jane UnChained spoke to the designer about the highly-anticipated event.

On November 22nd, CAAF is staging its annual an anti-fur march in the midtown Manhattan’s shopping district.

On November 29th, CAAF is staging a protest at the Fur Source.

On November 5th, over 100 activists from ten states, including California, Texas and Montana, staged a massive protest at the New York Blood Center’s 50th anniversary gala, demanding that the organization’s board of directors reinstate funding for the lab chimpanzees who they abandoned on islands in Liberia with no food or water.

During a rally before the protest, Jane Velez-Mitchell (Jane UnChained) and Bob Ingersoll (primatologist featured in documentary film Project Nim) delivered remarks about the scandal and inspired the crowd to continue to be a voice for the chimps until the blood center fulfills its promise to provide them with lifelong care.

NYBC donors did not anticipate encountering over 100 protesters as they entered the gala

As guests began to arrive, activists quickly exited the barricades and staged a moving picket at the entrance of Cipriani, the venue where NYBC’s gala was held. Hundreds of donors were forced to navigate their way around the protesters in order to enter the building.

NYBC donors were forced to navigate their way through the moving picket line to enter the gala

Activists distributing handouts at the periphery of the protest said that many gala attendees were unaware of the scandal and were outrage to learn that NYBC abandoned at least 66 chimps.

Please join the Facebook page: New York Blood Center: Do the Right Thing to participate in the online actions. If you live in New York City, please join the protests targeting New York Blood Center board members at their homes and offices.