Sources: PeTA, S.E.A.N. , 620wtmj, Topix, Madison.com, Youtube ,NBC news, Animal Alliance
Why do animal rights activists do the “bizarre” things they do- like street protests, yelling with bullhorns, vegan outreach, chaining themselves to various things, leafleting, calling out politicians and “researchers”, drenching themselves in fake blood, liberating animals from places that torture them, fighting for new and stronger laws, beating drums, sitting in cages, blocking entries, mass phone calls, gathering petition signatures, filing law suits against huge profiteers often at great risk, publicizing animal research records, going broke housing homeless animals, getting branded publically, sending mass emails, marching through researchers neighborhoods, etc?
BECAUSE WE HAVE NO CHOICE! Billions of animals are dumped, beaten, electrocuted, tortured, skinned and killed each year around the world. The numbers never go down, even though there are so many non-animal alternatives now that whole countries are banning the abuse. The sociopaths who abuse animals fear exposure for their horrific acts, and if profit is involved, the laws will support profiteers by decriminalizing even the most heinous forms of abuse on innocent animals while excepting money to do so. The general public wrongly trusts law makers, refusing look any further. Animals that perform for us in any venue are beaten to do so. Animals that are farmed and skinned so they we can feel prettier wearing their fur are in unimaginable agony. So what are activists supposed to do to open the public’s eyes to the truth that’s so horrific people can’t look or listen- even though this global animal holocaust is really happening?
We believe if the general public is shown what abusers work so hard to hide, they will be compelled to stop accepting and funding it. Useless taxpayer funded animal research, circus animal atrocities, fur farm live skinning. If this were incorrect, abusers would let people right in to their death camps instead of slandering peaceful activists with labels like “terrorists” to deflect the public’s attention away from their abuse of animals. The more attention the activist can generate, the more likely the world will look at the truth.
This is why all people of notoriety, stature, fame or wealth must answer the call to duty to be loud, sustained voices for the voiceless. Posing for a poster is not enough. It’s
obscene to have resources and know about the suffering, but do nothing to fight the torturing of innocent animals. Would Meryl Streep be unable to get work because she defends animals? Would she be made to spend 8 months in court fighting a peaceful trespassing charge? No, because they couldn’t run her out of money or get people to believe she’s a “terrorist.” This happens to peaceful, decent activists all the time. If celebrities would do constant, peaceful protests to show the truth, or sponsor bills all the way to law, it would effectively neutralize much of the profiteers’ resources to hurt animals.
ENTER 73 YEAR OLD JAMES CROMWELL
Oscar nominee James Cromwell was arrested Thursday February 7 2013while protesting experimentation on cats at the University of Wisconsin. Cromwell, best known for playing the loveable farmer Hoggett in Babe, burst into a University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents meeting holding up large poster of a cat, which appeared to have a metal clamp implanted in its head, and shouting.
Cromwell’s Protest Video
PETA and Cromwell expose the university’s experiments on cats aimed at helping the deaf are cruel and have not been successful. “As many as 30 cats a year at UW have had holes drilled in their skulls” Cromwell says in the video. “They are deafened, starved for days at a time and then decapitated. This is not science. This is torture. And it is criminal.”
He was taken into custody by police and has since been released. Cromwell was joined in the protest by PETA spokesman Jeremy Beckham. Cromwell was escorted out of the room in handcuffs.
Following the protest, the director of the UW–Madison Research Animal Resources Center, released the following statement: “Today’s events are just another attempt by outside activists to draw attention to a cause. He added that “exhaustive independent investigation by the USDA, which regulates the use of animals in research, concluded that PETA’s allegations are baseless.”
This pic shows what the USDA says is legal. Yes, this poor little guy named Double Trouble is wide awake in UW-Madison’s tourture lab.
On Friday, Cromwell released a statement:
“After my friends at PETA showed me the horrifying photographs of a gentle cat named Double Trouble, one of dozens of cats who was cut into, deafened, killed, and decapitated by the University of Wisconsin Madison in a cruel taxpayer funded experiment that’s still going on, I knew I had to join PETA’s campaign to end this abuse. Cats at UW have holes drilled into their skulls, metal coils implanted into their eyes, are deafened with toxic chemicals and starved to force them to cooperate in experiments that are obviously cruel and aren’t contributing anything to human health…Read More
Now that a celebrity has exposed UW cat vivisection, the issue is immediately broadcast world-wide, while we drench ourselves in fake blood or dress in animal costumes to try to get minimal local coverage for the same animals’ suffering. Celebreties: Answer the call of duty like Cromwell does!
THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN- MADISON
The University of Wisconsin has a long history of crimes against animals to answer for, a list of horrors which, quite shamefully, shows no sign of collecting dust any time soon. At one time UW was ranked as the worst animal laboratory in the country by PeTA. Such a distinction should come as no surprise given the millions perhaps even billions of student and taxpayer money that has paid
for over a half century of animal testing.
Of course, UW has tortured and murdered countless animals over the years the following atrocities are just a few of the better-known examples of abuse. Most of the details of these experiments remain unknown.
Beginning in the 1950s, UW’ Harry Harlow was responsible for torturing perhaps thousands of primates in so-called psychological research. Methods involved impregnating monkeys via rape racks and then isolating the infant immediately after birth for several weeks, thereby inducing extreme fear and anxiety. Researchers would then give the mother back her offspring and observe how she mauled the baby.
Again in the 1970s, the same Harlow began inducing depression in rhesus macaque monkeys by placing them in small vertical chambers, or pits of despair. He usually used infant monkeys for this purpose, isolating them for weeks until they stopped moving altogether and assumed a hunched position in a corner. Most animals did not recover and remained psychotic until their death. (must see the link!)
In 2004, 3 monkeys were cooked to death at UW. Three marmoset monkeys were left in their cage when it was sent through a sanitizing cage-washer. They were scalded to death by sprays of chemical wash. Joseph Kemnitz, the center’s director, confirmed that the three animals were killed after being left in a cage as it was being sanitized at the research center in mid-July. “It was a terrible accident,” Kemnitz said. “Probably the animals died of the heat exposure. It was probably a very quick death.
In 2005, true to its reputation, UW has continued to utilize animals in its research. UW once again faced criticism for testing Taser stun guns on pigs. Eric Sandgren, director of UW Research Animals Resource Center, ignored the criticism and allowed the testing to occur. The results: Tasering pigs produces no useful information about similar effects on humans.
In 2008 Inspections by the U.S. Department of Agriculture have revealed other abuses. Primates were reported to have been subjected to the push-pull method, whereby drugs are directly injected into the primate’s brain as it is locked in a restraining chair. The experiment lasts hours or even days. One animal expired as the researchers took a lunch break.
Also in 2008, a new wave of negative reports hit UW. Among other complaints, the USDA was concerned that many animals were not given painkillers during experimentation. Mr. Sangren, ever the apologist for animal cruelty, responded, “The USDA tells us what we could be doing better. It doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve broken the law.” It is this type of pathetic response to a breach in UW’s own protocol that UW has rightfully earned the reputation that it has.
In 2009, UW-Madison researchers violated state law when 26 sheep died in experiments on decompression sickness. There were no charges because Dane County DA Blanchard found that UW-Madison was violating a state statute that forbids anyone to “kill an animal by means of decompression,” but that it didn’t violate criminal law because the sheep weren’t killed “intentionally or negligently.” In the studies, sheep are placed in a hyperbaric chamber and then subjected to increased atmospheric pressure, followed by decreased pressure, to simulate a quick ascent.
“So what’s the point of having the laws that do these things if the district attorney isn’t going to prosecute?” asked Rick Bogle of Alliance for Animals. “We’re talking about animals dying in excruciating pain.”
2012 / ongoing, UW researchers dodged federal penalties for decapitating a cat named Double Trouble, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals triggered outrage in the animal-welfare community after publishing on its website photos of the dead cat used in a hearing experiment, which it obtained using the Wisconsin Public Records Law. Records revealed cruel and useless experiments, in which Double Trouble—like other cats used in UW’s sound localization studies—had holes drilled into her head, a steel post screwed to her skull, electrodes implanted in her brain, and coils implanted in her eyes. After UW staff deemed their experiment a failure, Double Trouble was killed and decapitated. UW experimenters justified using up to 30 cats per year in this experiment so that they could “keep up a productive publication record that ensures our constant funding.”
“These are curiosity experiments and aren’t applied research and produce no findings,” said Justin Goodman, director of PETA’s laboratory investigations department.
Researchers at other universities use human volunteers to study how the brain processes sound.
Documents and never-before-seen photos from the University of Wisconsin’s lab detailing abusive experiments on an orange tabby cat named Double Trouble





























Fantastic article Lisa, ive often wondered why they call animal liberators and all protesters “Terrorist” now i know its to make us look crazy and to discredit us and also to deflect from the real problems! I was so very happy to see that someone as famous as James Cromwell is using his fame as a platform to get an important message out there too many people with this same power that just stay silent and do nothing and as far as im concerned doing nothing and allowing the cruelties to continue is the same as saying its OK or maybe even worse! We all can make a difference with our voices famous or not if enoough of us spoke out and banded together this would all end!
Excellent article. Will link to this post on our facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/The AnimalSpirits
Thank you for the HUGE investment of time and emotion you put into raising public awareness for the need to take action to protect and lend voice to sentient, living beings who cannot speak for themselves.
Empty All Cages !!!
~Gerean Pflug for The Animal Spirits