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According to the NY Times, a 4-month undercover investigation by PETA showed that racehorse trainers “subject their horses to cruel and injurious treatments, administer drugs to them for nontherapeutic purposes, use electrical devices to shock horses into running faster and force injured and/or suffering horses to race and train.” As a result of PETA’s investigation, horse racing authorities in New York, Kentucky and New Mexico opened investigations into allegations of abuse by Steve Asmussen, a prominent horse trainer, and his assistant Scott Blasi, both of whom were the subject of PETA’s undercover work. Mr. Asmussen has been removed as a finalists for the Racing Hall of Fame.

Horses who are unlucky enough to “work” in the racing industry spend their short lives being drugged, injured and abused behind the scenes. And, when they can no longer make money for their owners, they are slaughtered for their meat. Like all animals used for entertainment and profit, these horses are treated like commodities, not companions. Please boycott horse and dog race tracks, circuses, aquariums, zoos, rodeos, bullfights and urban horse-drawn carriage concessions. For more information about horse-racing and to find out how you can help, please visit PETA’s horse-racing page.

Over 100 of the 3,450 animals at the Surabaya Zoo in Indonesia have died due to negligence since last summer. Critics around the world are calling for the zoo’s closure. According to the NY Times, “the pelican enclosure had not become so cramped that the birds started destroying their own eggs,” and a tiger who couldn’t eat due to a tongue injury languished for months before dying from pneumonia.

Pelican show at Surabaya Zoo. NY Times photo

While the NY Times reports on the debate about whether or not to close this particular zoo, it neglects to raise the larger ethical question about existence of zoos anywhere. What right do we have to strip wild animals of their freedom and lock them up in cages and enclosures for our entertainment? Here is a more comprehensive explanation about the inherent cruelty of zoos and the fallacy of the “conservation” arguments used to justify their existence.