Successes This Week

National Aquarium to Release Dolphins to Sanctuary. 
Dolphin Aude Steiner
Target: Robert E. Carter, Chair of the National Aquarium Institute Board of Directors
Goal: Thank aquarium for deciding to release all its dolphins to a seaside sanctuary.
The National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland has recently announced that it will be sending all eight of its bottlenose dolphins to a seaside sanctuary. This is great news for the six females and two males currently at the aquarium. This is partly thanks to public intervention, including protests and petitions like this one on ForceChange.
Dolphins are highly intelligent, curious, and social animals. The aquarium announced that “times have changed, and our understanding of the needs of the animals in our care has changed. A lot of very valid research has been done in the last 20 years to open our eyes to the cognitive and social behavior of dolphins.”
It is great to see an institute that clearly cares more about the well being of its animals than profit. The aquarium is changing with the times and hopefully more aquariums and sea parks will follow in its footsteps.
Dear Mr. Carter,
Recently, the National Aquarium announced that it will be retiring all eight of its bottlenose dolphins to a seaside sanctuary. This is great news. Thank you for understanding that these dolphins need more than a pool. At the sanctuary, they will be able to feel the tides, interact with wild dolphins and swim in the sea. As you know, dolphins are highly intelligent and social animals. This change will be great for their physical and mental health.
Thank you again for putting the well being of the animals as your priority rather than profit. It is inspiring to see and I hope more aquariums and sea parks follow in your footsteps.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Aude Steiner
New Law Will Spare Many Thousands of Animals the Agony of Cruel Chemical Tests. At long last: Chemical testing reform legislation passes both chambers of Congress and is expected to be signed into law by the president soon!

Tens of thousands of animals will be saved with the passage in Congress of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. This legislation will modernize chemical toxicity testing requirements and reform a broken system that relies largely on painful, ineffective tests on animals. The legislation now moves on to the president’s desk!
Cute rat
For more than three decades, PETA has been at the forefront of convincing the public, regulators, and scientists that testing industrial chemicals on animals is cruel and does not protect public health or the environment.  A revolution in how chemicals are tested has been taking place over the last two decades thanks in large part to the central role PETA’s scientists have played.  This legislation reflects the new science.

By modernizing chemical testing, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act will help protect both animals and humans.

Millions of mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and other animals are poisoned and killed every year in tests that attempt to measure the hazards of industrial chemicals. Animals are forced to swallow or inhale a test substance or have a chemical smeared into their eyes or onto their skin. Some of these tests date back to the 1920s.

Even if a test substance harms animals, it can still be marketed, and conversely, if it is shown to be safe in animals, there is no guarantee that it will be safe in humans.

The Toxic Substances Control Act was enacted 40 years ago to regulate chemicals that are used in everyday products, but since then, only a handful of dangerous substances have been banned. The new law requires that non-animal testing methods be developed, prioritized, and used before toxicity tests on animals are considered.

You helped make this progress possible by responding to our action alerts, calling your Congressional representatives, and donating to PETA to fund the development of non-animal testing methods that can now be implemented!

Note: PETA supports animal rights and opposes all forms of animal exploitation, and it informs and educates the public on those issues. It does not directly or indirectly participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office or any political party.

Egg Industry to Phase Out Mass Killings of Male Chicks.
Chicks Benjamin Rondel
Target: Chad Gregory, President and CEO, United Egg Producers
Goal: Applaud plan to end the torturous culling of hundreds of millions of male chicks per year.
In a massive victory for animal rights, United Egg Producers has pledged to stop the culling of male chicks by 2020. The egg production cooperative provides 95 percent of all eggs sold in American stores. This move, due in part to pressure from animal welfare groups and activists at ForceChange, will prevent the cruel and unnecessary deaths of hundreds of millions of animals every year.
Male chicks born in egg factories are considered useless, as they cannot produce eggs and were not bred to produce meat. Male chicks are therefore culled after sexing. They are sometimes thrown into a machine to be ground up alive, and are sometimes just thrown in bags or bins to suffocate under the weight of thousands more chicks.
While United Egg Producers is aiming for the complete elimination of this cruel practice by 2020, the organization says it could be sooner if alternatives to culling can be implemented quickly. These alternatives include in-ovo sexing, a process in which male eggs can be eliminated before they are hatched. Scientists are also working on a way to turn male eggs a different color so that they can be sexed even sooner.
Though many cruelties common in the egg industry will persist, this bold move will set a precedent for the world to follow. Countless animals will be saved from immense suffering before their deaths. Sign the petition below to applaud United Egg Producers’ decision to end the culling of male chicks, and ask the company to work quickly to implement the necessary changes.
Dear Mr. Gregory,
United Egg Producers has recently announced a plan to phase out the culling of live male chicks by 2020. This plan will see alternative methods, such as in-ovo sexing, used instead. The plan will save hundreds of millions of chicks from being ground up alive, gassed, or suffocated simply because they are deemed useless.
This practice is barbaric and must be stopped as son as possible. By stopping the culling of male chicks, United Egg Producers will be ushering in a new era for the global egg farming industry. We, the undersigned, applaud this ambitious and groundbreaking new plan, and ask that you work to implement it as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Benjamin Rondel