NEWSANIMALS

If you're a football fan, you're gearing up to root for the Giants or Patriots this weekend. But if you're one of the 119,000 people who have signed GREY2K USA's petition on Change.org, then you're rooting for the greyhounds. Not the ones that will be "racing" against Mr. Quiggly, the French bulldog in the Skechers commercial, but the ones behind-the-scenes of the ad. The ones who suffer in cramped cages at the track and who face serious injury during races where the ad was filmed .

From Boston to Los Angeles, Skechers stores were confronted this past weekend by dog lovers asking consumers to boycott the company unless it drops its Super Bowl ad filmed at the notorious Tucson Greyhound Park. The controversy has dominated the pre-game advertising buzz.

Now, with only 5 days left, GREY2K USA is asking its supporters to keep up the momentum. From GREY2K USA, here are 5 things you can do:

Only a handful of airlines still engage in the transportation of primates destined for research labs as cargo. Now imagine this scenario: A major airline partakes in this practice, but after becoming aware of the cruel future that awaits their cargo, the airline decides to change their policy and opt out of carrying research-bound primates.

Sounds good, right? Well, hold your victory dance, the story doesn’t end there. The airline then is told that they cannot stop transporting primates until a hearing takes place that will decide if they can change their own policy.

This is the reality that Air Canada is facing.

While Christmas shopping at a Green Earth store in Windsor, Ontario, last month, Dan MacDonald noticed products called Frog-O-Spheres — plastic tanks containing live frogs. Some of the frogs were pressed up against the plastic, while others floated lifelessly. MacDonald watched in disbelief as some kids and their father shook one of the aquariums. “Is this thing real?” the dad asked a store clerk as the frog’s limp body rolled around the tank.

“The disrespect to this animal on every level was unbelievable,” MacDonald said. “I was outraged a place called Green Earth could demonstrate such a blatant and pathetic exploitation of a living thing.”

MacDonald knew something had to be done, so he started a campaign on Change.org calling for Green Earth stores to stop selling the Frog-O-Spheres. “I've been an animal activist for many years, so I took it upon myself, because I was so touched and disturbed by what I saw,” he said.

The following is a guest blog from Jessica Schlueter who coordinates the Intermix campaign along with her friend Amy Rebecca.

Intermix considers itself to be on the cutting edge of the fashion industry. According to its Facebook page, it focuses on "the best mix of emerging and established designers and the most sought after trends." Because of this, it has embraced and profited from the heartbreaking resurgence of fur, which has regained popularity in the past couple years. Because many fashionistas revere Intermix as a source of inspiration, every piece of fur sold by this company not only creates demand for more animals to be brutally killed for their pelts, but also enforces the growing notion that fur is not only acceptable, but something to be coveted.

My partner Amy Rebecca (founder of Fur Free LA) and I want to put a stop to this. Since the launch of our Intermix: Please Go Fur Free! petition in October, we have hosted and coordinated numerous national protests, launched an online photo campaign, encouraged people to email, tweet, and call Intermix (as well as individuals and companies that support or work with them), and have yet to hear a single reply from Intermix's people. The company's refusal to engage us or cooperate with us in any way can only mean one thing: Intermix knows it has no defense.

Jamie Buehrle is married to All-Star pitcher Mark Buehrle. Mark recently signed with the Miami Marlins.

Mark and I have always been avid animal lovers. When Mark was playing for the White Sox, we hosted “Sox for Strays,” a public-service announcement campaign that featured adoptable animals once a month during the baseball season. Before our 18-month-old American Staffordshire terrier, Slater, came into our lives we already had three Viszlas: Diesel, Drake, and Duke.

When it became a reality for us that Mark was no longer going to be playing for the White Sox, so many things started going through our minds. Instead of worrying about what team he would be playing for, what schools our kids would go to, and how to transition our lives to a new city, our biggest concern was ensuring our new city would allow Slater. Doesn’t that seem ridiculous?

In the spirit of the season, U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett played Santa Claus and granted a preliminary injunction ordering the return of Snickers, a service dog to his owner, Jim Sak. Sak, a retired Chicago Police Officer,  suffered a stroke three years ago.  Snickers, a sturdy pit bull mix was trained  to assist him.  All was well until Sak and Peggy Leifer moved to Aurelia, Iowa so Leifer could care for her elderly mother. From there, the townspeople circulated a petition requesting the city enforce its breed discriminatory ordinance targeting "pit bulls" and banish Snickers.

Sak and Liefer tried to sway the city council arguing that Snickers is a certified service dog with no history of aggressive behavior. The council didn't agree and voted 3-2 to enforce their breed discriminatory ordinance. Kristine Elizabeth, a change.org member, was also outraged and started a petition targeting city officials. Over 1,250 member have signed the petition to date.

Mercy For Animals revealed the findings of its latest undercover investigation today. The expose offers a rare look into a Butterball turkey facility in Shannon, North Carolina.

According to Dr. Temple Grandin, the world's leading expert on farmed animal welfare, the investigation documents "abuse and cruelty" to turkeys, and Mercy For Animals has video footage which seems to support such a bold claim. Workers were caught kicking and stomping on turkeys, dragging them by their wings and necks, and throwing birds onto the ground or into transport trucks in view of company management. You can learn more at ButterballAbuse.com.

This is a guest post by Karen Van Atta Luce, petition creator and volunteer with the Wild Burro Protection League.

Not too long ago, burros were considered important heritage animals. These gentle animals literally built the Southwest, hauling supplies and serving as loyal companions. They embody the cultural crossroads of Native Americans, Mexicans and settlers in the region.

For hundreds of years, wild burros have been part of the ecosystem, supporting other wildlife by enriching the desert in places like Big Bend Ranch State Park.

If you go even further back in time, the bible says that Mary rode a burro into Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, and Jesus rode a burro into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

This is a guest blog post written by Pam Sordyl, founder of Puppy Mill Awareness Meetup of Southeast Michigan, a volunteer group working to end the mass production of dogs in puppy mills.

While a puppy under the tree might seem festive this time of year, the industry that stocks stores like Petland is full of Scrooges.

Pet store puppies are mass-produced by commercial breeders (a.k.a. "puppy mills") who keep hundreds of dogs in cramped, unsanitary conditions, breeding the females over and over. Due to poor veterinary care and little to no socialization, that pet store puppy with the bow around its neck likely has a bunch of health and behavioral problems to unwrap after the holidays.

This cruelty isn't what people want for pets. More than 130,000 people have signed the petition on Change.org asking Petland — the largest puppy-selling pet store chain in the U.S. — to stop supporting puppy mills and choose to offer pet adoptions instead.