Urge Revocation of Dickerson Park Zoo's Accreditation

With your support, PETA will pressure the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to pull its accreditation from zoos that engage in outright cruelty to animals. We recently discovered that the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Mo., has sold or "donated" a giraffe, a kudu, five kangaroos, and two deer to Buddy Jordan—a notorious animal dealer who sells animals to exotic-animal auctions and breeders, unaccredited zoos, and even hunting ranches.

Babies born at the zoo should not end up as trophies on a hunter's wall. By taking action today, you can help us pressure zoos everywhere to provide a safe environment for the animals entrusted to their care. Please take a moment to do the following:

Sign the petition to the AZA and demand that it immediately yank the accreditation of the Dickerson Park Zoo for transferring animals to wildlife dealers and ranchers.

Shelter or Prison?

For more than a decade, PETA has routinely fielded serious complaints from volunteers, employees, and visitors alleging cruelty and terrible neglect at All Creatures Great and Small (ACGS)—a "no-kill" shelter in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

Illness runs rampant among the estimated 400 dogs and 300 cats who are warehoused in an inadequate facility at ACGS. Animals sustain injuries daily—the majority of which are ignored, no matter how severe and painful they are.

PETA's undercover investigation—spanning seven months—revealed blatant, ongoing violations of state animal protection laws, state and local health and environmental laws, state laws applicable to the solicitation of charitable contributions, and state laws applicable to the administration of state payroll and income taxes. In April 2007, representatives of PETA and the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) met with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture (NCDA) and presented extensive documentation of systemic animal abuse and neglect at ACGS.

Undercover Investigation »

Mars Candy Kills Animals

Got a sweet tooth? Think twice before picking up a Mars candy bar! You should know that candymaker Mars, Inc.—creator of M&M's, Snickers, Twix, Dove, Three Musketeers, Starburst, Skittles, and other candies—funds deadly animal tests, even though there are more reliable human studies and not one of the tests is required by law.

Mars is currently funding a deadly experiment on rats to determine the effects of chocolate ingredients on their blood vessels. Experimenters force-feed the rats by shoving plastic tubes down their throats and then cut open the rats' legs to expose an artery, which is clamped shut to block blood flow. After the experiment, the animals are killed. Mars has also funded cruel experiments in which mice were fed a candy ingredient and forced to swim in a pool of a water mixed with white paint. The mice had to find a hidden platform to avoid drowning, only to be killed and dissected later on. In yet another experiment supported by Mars, rats were fed cocoa and anesthetized with carbon dioxide so that their blood could be collected by injecting a needle directly into their hearts, which can lead to internal bleeding and other deadly complications.

Click here to find out more about Mars' cruel experiments.

Mars' top competitor, Hershey's, has pledged not to fund or conduct experiments on animals. Other major food corporations—including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Ocean Spray, Welch's, and POM Wonderful—have also publicly ended animal tests after hearing from PETA.

Click here to read PETA's letters to Mars CEO Paul Michaels.

Tell Mars to Drop Deadly Animal Tests!