ANIMAL TESTING

Coca-Cola's History of Lying About Rodeo


The Coca-Cola logo is prominently displayed on this bucking chute in at a Cheyenne, Wyoming rodeo in 2005. This bleeding horse was used in spite of a clear injury to its hoof. The blood spatters inside the chute also show that this wasn't the first injured animal used.
In a letter dated June 6, 2000, Coca-Cola's Shareholders Affairs Manager Mark Preisinger made the following promise:

"The Coca-Cola Company has a policy in force stating that our operations will not sponsor or promote events where there is a risk of physical harm to animals."

This is a pretty clear statement, but Coke's Mr. Preisinger goes on to state even more explicitly:

"In any event, I can assure you, based upon our recent review, that this policy has now been fully implemented. I also want to assure you that if you hear of any violations of this policy anywhere we do business, I would be anxious to know about it and will commit to rectifying the matter promptly."


How stupid does Coke think its consumers are? Ask yourself and Coke why the company continues to lie about its rodeo sponsorship.
The horses shocked at the 2008 Tucson Rodeo, sponsored by Coca-Cola, have been betrayed yet again. Learn more and watch the video here.

This statement was further supported in 2004 by then Consumer Information Manager Bernice Sayer, who reacted to Coke banners found in a Spanish bullring with the following:

"The banner belongs to our bottling partners Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd and the agreement is between them and the stadium rather than the organizers of bullfighting. However, the Coca-Cola Company has a policy in force stating that our operations would not associate itself where there is a risk of physical harm to animals, and therefore I have asked that the banner be removed during bullfighting events."

This all sounds great, but the truth is that Coke continues to support horrible animal abuse year after year, despite repeated requests from animal advocates for the company to follow its Animal Welfare Policy.

Coke has demonstrated, and continues to demonstrate, that it cares nothing about either animals, or its own written promises and policies. Please do not buy Coca-Cola products until the company stops supporting animal abuse. And then, please write and call Coke and let them know.

Coca-Cola's Involvement with Animal Cruelty


Coca-Cola denies sponsoring rodeo, but this photo tells the truth. The print at the bottom of the ad states: "Copyright 2007 The Coca-Cola Company." Photo from the 2007 Pendleton Round-Up Rodeo, where SHARK documented numerous violations of their "humane rules" and blatant abuse.

Coke has had a long, bloody history of sponsoring bullrings in Mexico, Spain and other bullfighting countries. When SHARK successfully campaigned to force Pepsi Cola to remove its advertisements from bullrings in the late 1990s, Coke promised it had already dumped bullfighting years before, even though its ads were still in the bullrings. Pepsi's ads are now gone.

Coke sponsors greyhound racing, an industry that annually kills thousands of "surplus" animals ranging from excess puppies to older racing dogs that can no longer make money for their exploiters. The greyhound industry also uses live animals such as rabbits as "lures." These animals are often allowed to be torn apart by the greyhounds as part of their "training."

Coke is a sponsor of the Iditarod, a dog sled race that has killed at least 133 dogs, and causes intense suffering and untold numbers of injuries to the dogs forced to race. When they are not racing, the dogs often live under inhumane conditions. Coke gives thousands and thousands of dollars every year to the brutal Iditarod, without blinking an eye at its own hypocrisy.

Coke continues to sponsor rodeos -- pouring money into the violent abuse, maiming and killing of countless animals, even after promising in writing that it would no longer do so. Coke ads are prominent in rodeos across North America, and even in Europe, helping to spread America's brutal "tradition" overseas.

videos

http://www.sharkonline.org/?P=0000000751

The World Speaks Out Against Coke
Coca-Cola has a long and varied history of betrayal, cruelty, and corruption. From sponsoring rodeo animal abuse to sponsoring ads to the Nazi party, from polluting our waterways to polluting our youth, to killing wildlife to allegations of killing Coke factory-worker dissidents, the poison Coke leaves in everyone's mouth can be seen in the videos below.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Killer Coke" commercial

"Dispatches" Part 1:

"Dispatches" Part 2:

"Dispatches" Part 3:

"Dispatches" Part 4:

"Dispatches" Part 5:


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The Cost of a Coke" Part 1

"The Cost of a Coke" Part 2

"The Cost of a Coke" Part 3


Please
Support SHARK!

SHARK is a US registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity, which means your donation is tax deductible!

SHARK
PO Box 28
Geneva, IL 60134
Tel: 630-557-0176


Send us an email: info@SHARKonline.org



Sign up for our Email Newsletter

View our
Newsletter
Archives










Educate YOUR Community!
Download our "Rodeo Reality" Handout

Download HSUS Pigeon Shoot Facts Handout




Our Methods



Who We Are, What We Do,
Where We Are Going

Trouble Viewing Videos?
If you have trouble opening any of the video clips, please Download QuickTime for Free

If your computer won't play some of the videos, please Download RealPlayer for Free



Other SHARK Campaigns:
AkronDeerTorture.com
Success!! BuckStarbucks.com
CaliforniaCorruption.com
Success!! CampbellCruelty.com
HorseKillers.com
MetroParksCorruption.com
Success!! BaylorBearAbuse.com
Rocket Netting
Bird Shoots
Mexican Rodeos
MyDeadFlicka.com




SHARK - PO Box 28 - Geneva IL 60134
Tel: 630-557-0176
Send E-Mail - Mail In a Donation
Powered by Ghost Writer CMS

Coca-Cola's Responses to Consumers over the Years

When your company sponsors animal abuse in direct violation of your very own corporate policies, you can bet it takes a whole lot of dancing to try and explain that away.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Coca-Cola denies sponsoring rodeo, but this photo tells the truth. Photo from the 2007 CFD Rodeo.

Coca-Cola's Responses
After documenting Coke as a major sponsor at many of the abusive rodeos SHARK investigated in the summer of 2007, we sent the company another letter:

November 30, 2007

Mr. Mark Preisinger
Manager, Shareholder Affairs
Coca-Cola
1 Coca-Cola Plaza
Atlanta, GA 30313-2499

Dear Mr. Preisinger,

It has been over seven years since you wrote a June 6, 2000 letter to Mr. Simon Billeness, then Senior Analyst for Trillium Asset Management Corporation in which you stated:

"The Coca-Cola Company has a policy in force stating that our operations will not sponsor or promote events where there is a risk of physical harm to animals."

The issue at hand was Coke's signs and banners posted by certain Spanish and Mexican bottlers in bullrings. You explained that there was a process of removing the signs and banners that required some time, but then you went on to state:

"In any event, I can assure you, based upon our recent review, that this policy has now been fully implemented. I also want to assure you that if you hear of any violations of this policy anywhere we do business, I would be anxious to know about it and will commit to rectifying the matter promptly."

Your statement was supported in 2004 by then Consumer Information Manager Bernice Sayer, who reacted to Coke banners found in a Spanish bullring with the following:

"The banner belongs to our bottling partners Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd and the agreement is between them and the stadium rather than the organizers of bullfighting. However, the Coca-Cola Company has a policy in force stating that our operations would not associate itself where there is a risk of physical harm to animals, and therefore I have asked that the banner be removed during bullfighting events."

Over seven years have passed since you wrote the letter to Simon Billeness, and for those seven years SHARK has frequently informed Coke about the fact that the policy has not been fully implemented with regard to Coke sponsored rodeos, which maim and kill untold numbers of animals every year. We have called your office numerous times, and are always shuttled off to public relations people who are powerless to do anything.

The fallback of the public relations department is to rely on the discredited claim that Coke has no control over its bottlers. This is false. I am now formally requesting that you, as an official representative of Coca-Cola, please follow through on your commitment. To refresh your memory, Coca-Cola's Animal Welfare Policy states:

The Coca-Cola Company does not endorse or condone any practice of cruelty to animals, and the Company does not sponsor or promote events where there is a risk of physical harm to animals.

Mr. Preisinger, the very nature of ethics is that they are a restraint on damaging behavior. This is a burden willingly borne by those who wish to live above the law of the jungle. A company that enacts "ethics" that are mere public relations ploys is lower than a company that claims no ethics at all. Coke has already taken itself out of the middle tier in that it has enacted an animal welfare policy. The question now is whether Coke is in the top tier of ethical companies, or the lowest tier of unethical companies.

At this point I don't know how the Coca-Cola Company can claim to be anything but profoundly unethical, but I would like to work with you to resolve that. However, your refusal to deal with this is making that process difficult to impossible. I look forward to hearing from you on this important issue by Tuesday, December 3, 2007.

Sincerely,
Steve Hindi
President, SHARK

Cc: E. Neville Isdell, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Muhtar Kent, President and Chief Operating Officer
J. Alexander M. (Sandy) Douglas Jr., Senior VP and President-North America Coca-Cola
Gary P. Fayard, EVP and Chief Financial Officer
Irial Finan, EVP and President Bottling Investments and Supply Chain
Geoffrey J. Kelly, SVP and General Counsel
Thomas G. Mattia, SVP and Director, Worldwide Public Affairs and Communications
Mary E. Minnick, EVP and President Marketing, Strategy, and Innovation
Marc Mathieu, VP-Corporate Marketing
Tim Goudie, Manager Sports & Entertainment
Barry Diller, Chairman of the Board
Sam Nunn,Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Peter V. Ueberroth
Donald F. McHenry
Herbert A. Allen
Ronald W. Allen
Cathleen P. Black
James D. Robinson III
James B. Williams
Donald R. Keough

Enclosures:
Simon Letter
Bernice Sayers Letter
Animal Welfare Policy
Here is the response SHARK received to the above letter, notably not from Mr. Preisinger, whom we addressed. Instead he chose to hide, just like the rodeo folks, and pass the buck to Coke's public relations department. Here's the original.

December 4, 2007

Dear Mr. Hindi,

In response to your recent letter to Mark Preisinger, Vice President, Public Policy and Stakeholder Engagement, please note that The Coca-Cola Company maintains a long- standing policy regarding animal welfare and the ethical and humane treatment of animals.

Our Company does not sponsor rodeos or bullfighting events. However, rodeos are subject to federal, state and local laws and are closely monitored to ensure adherence to numerous guidelines and restrictions regarding proper treatment of animals. The majority of rodeos are sanctioned by a governing body, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), which has a strict code of rules including 60 regulations that safeguard animal welfare. Violators are subject to fines and disqualification from events.

We recognize the right of independent bottlers to sponsor local events and community initiatives, including the many state fairs and local festivals that celebrate the history and heritage of the Western United States. Because some of these fairs and festivals may include rodeo events, we will reiterate to the bottlers our Company's policy and ask that they ensure that the events they sponsor are compliant with the PRCA guidelines for responsible treatment of animals. And, as we have done in the past, we will alert them to your concerns.

We also have shared your concerns with the PRCA and have asked them to respond to you directly.

Kind regards,

Kari Bjorhus
Director, Public Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company
SHARK responded to the above falsehoods regurgitated by Coke's PR Department thusly:

December 10, 2007

Dear Ms. Bjorhus:

Thank you for your letter of December 4, 2007. While the Coca-Cola Company claims to have a policy regarding animal welfare and the ethical and humane treatment of animals, the only longstanding characteristic of said policy is Coke's refusal to honor it with regard to rodeos that maim and kill untold numbers of animals annually.

In regards to your letter, I will ignore the diversion to supposed laws that protect rodeo animals, because this has nothing to do with Coke's policy that is being violated. I will also ignore your claim that the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) enforces its humane rules, other than to point out that this claim was thoroughly discredited well over a decade ago. In any case, this again in no way would replace Coke's policy, since even a well-run rodeo still subjects animals to the risk of physical harm.

SHARK has over three dozen videos on the Internet that disprove your claim. For your convenience, I have included links to some of theses videos as evidence that your claim of PRCA humane enforcement is absolutely false.

Horses Shocked by Rodeo Stock Contractor Ike Sankey at 2007 Pendleton Round-Up Rodeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwJdQZU9_oU

Other videos showing rodeo horses being shocked to make them perform are listed below.

One of rodeo's many lies is that rodeo horses are "Born to Buck". The following three videos show that the tame, domesticated horses in rodeos don't buck until they are shocked with 5,000 - 6,000 volts of electricity and/or harassed into bucking.

"Born to Buck?" -- The Big Rodeo Lie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fw7-ju1gZs

"Born to Buck?" Part 2: The Big Rodeo Lie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kiaZY0c8pc

"Born to Buck?" Part 3: Horse Injury and Abuse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jdk3m0dvAo

The real truth about bulls in rodeos, and you will be surprised:

Rodeo Bulls: Killers or Gentle Giants?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOOiu2UdHeM

Showing rodeo's most brutal event that results in the most injuries and deaths of animals:

Steer Busting Finals Busted Big-Time by SHARK, Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKiNC-FjXec

Exposing the lie that rodeos provide medical care to the animals they injure:

Steer Busting Finals Busted Big-Time by SHARK, Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHxlIpn63mY

Let me cut to the chase of this issue. The fact is that the Coca-Cola Company has a policy that it is knowingly violating that states:

The Coca-Cola Company does not endorse or condone any practice of cruelty to animals, and the Company does not sponsor or promote events where there is a risk of physical harm to animals.

Given this policy, it doesn't even matter if the PRCA enforces humane rules, which it doesn't. The only question is whether animals are injured at rodeos. As the videos aforementioned clearly document, animals are indeed injured and killed at rodeos.

SHARK's CokeCruelty.com web site has both pictures and videos of animals injured and killed at rodeos in violation of your policy. SHARK has been investigating rodeos for over 14 years, and we have thousands of pictures and hours of video footage showing animals being consistently injured and killed.

As for the issue of independent bottlers, please do not pretend that these bottlers do not have to follow Coke policies. Every entity in the corporate world has to follow the procedures and policies set by their corporate headquarters. Your claim about independent bottlers has further been thoroughly discredited with respect to bullfighting and cockfighting. If, in the alternative, Coke is suggesting that independent bottlers in bullfighting and cockfighting countries no longer have to observe a ban on advertising in those venues, please advise. In that case, this will broaden the nature of SHARK's campaign significantly.

In closing, I am requesting a meeting no later than February 2008 between representatives of at least fifteen domestic and international humane organizations to discuss this issue at Coca-Cola headquarters. SHARK is also amenable to holding the meeting at your Chicago location. We could certainly have more than fifteen representatives involved, but that seems to be a manageable number. There are over 160 humane organizations worldwide, the list of which can be viewed on CokeCruelty.com, that are opposed to the treatment of animals in rodeos. If Coca-Cola also wants to invite a representative of the PRCA to address the claim of animal well being at rodeos, then we are open to your wish to do so.

Sincerely,
Steve Hindi
President, SHARK
Below are the most recent statements in the long list of ever-evolving propaganda regarding animal abuse from the Coca-Cola Company. SHARK's comments are in RED.

2007: Coca-Cola's form statement to inquiries regarding its sponsorship of rodeos. Please see SHARK's responses to this same dumbfounding drivel in our rebuttals below.
Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company. We take issues raised by the public very seriously and are committed to listening and understanding any concerns that people have about our Company and our sponsorships. Our Company maintains a long-standing policy regarding the ethical and humane treatment of animals. Additionally, The Coca-Cola Company does not sponsor rodeos or bullfighting events.

Rodeos are subject to federal, state and local laws and are closely monitored to ensure adherence to numerous guidelines and restrictions regarding proper treatment of animals. The majority of rodeos are sanctioned by a governing body, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), which has a strict code of rules including 60 regulations that safeguard animal welfare. Violators are subject to fines and disqualification from events.

If you are interested in more information regarding the welfare of the animals featured in rodeo events, visit the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association website at, www.prorodeo.com. The PRCA has created one of the most comprehensive animal welfare programs in the United States - incorporating rules, enforcement procedures, veterinarians and extensive educational programs with the goal of insuring the highest quality of care and treatment for rodeo livestock.

We recognize the right of independent bottlers to sponsor local events and community initiatives, including the many state fairs and local festivals that celebrate the history and heritage of the Western United States. Because some of these fairs and festivals may include rodeo events, we have communicated to our bottlers the importance of ensuring that the events they sponsor are compliant with the PRCA guidelines for responsible treatment of animals.

We appreciate the opportunity to respond and have relayed your concerns to our bottlers. If you have questions or comments in the future, feel free to contact us again.

Sincerely,

Industry and Consumer Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company
Here's a response from a consumer when he received the above reply from Coke:

Hold up, cowboy. Coke is a sponsor for Cheyenne Frontier Days, the Pendleton Roundup and the Houston Rodeo. Have you seen what happens to animals at these events?

Before Coca-Cola starts spurting information about the "strict" guidelines that PRCA has for how the animals are treated, please take just a few minutes to watch what happens to those animals following those guidelines. If Coca-Cola believes that roping the neck of a calf who is running for his or her life at full speed, whipping the calf into the air and slamming that animal against the ground is ethical or humane, then Coca-Cola has no ethics.

Additionally, rodeos are not closely monitored and federal, state and local laws are sorely lacking of any protections - in fact, they are full of exemptions - for these tortured animals. Have you actually read the laws or are you just giving us PRCA's fodder?

Coca-Cola either supports cruelty to animals or does not. Rodeos are inherently cruel.

As of now, I will NOT be supporting Coca-Cola and am urging everyone I know to boycott you as well. I am disgusted by your outrageously irresponsible PR spin response to this very serious matter.

December 2006

Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company. We always take issues raised by the public very seriously and are committed to listening to special interest groups, understanding, and if at all possible, addressing those concerns.
It is not only possible for Coke to address the concerns of caring people, it is part of their official policy which is wonderfully encapsulated in a June 6, 2000 letter from Coke Shareholders Affairs Manager Mark Preisinger, wherein he made the following promise:

"The Coca-Cola Company has a policy in force stating that our operations will not sponsor or promote events where there is a risk of physical harm to animals."

That seems simple enough, doesn't it? Unless, of course, you are a wholly unethical corporation, which Coca-Cola obviously is.
The Coca-Cola Company has not sponsored a rodeo or rodeo circuit for more than five years. Some independent bottlers in the U.S. and Canada choose to sponsor local rodeos in their respective markets. Those decisions, like all bottler sponsorships, are made at the local level by the individual bottling company, based on consumer and community interest.
This is Coca-Cola's back door method of getting around its policy -- "Blame it on the Local Bottlers." However, if you Google "Coca-Cola Rodeo Sponsor," you'll find dozens of rodeo web sites that claim Coca-Cola, not a bottler, as a rodeo sponsor. At the rodeos it is the Coke name, logo and web site that is advertised, not some bottler. Coke is lying, and that has a rotten taste to it.

Furthermore, Coke prohibited its Spanish and Mexican bottlers from sponsoring bullfighting events, but again only after trying to initially blame bottlers after SHARK publicly exposed Cokes' involvement in this cruel and indefensible bloodletting. In fact, the same basic sequence of events occurred over a decade ago when Coke was found to be sponsoring cockfighting events in Mexico. The company first tried to blame it on the bottlers, and then under heavy pressure, Coke ended the sponsorship. Coca-Cola could have its "bottlers" halt support to rodeo, just as the company halted support to bullfighting and cockfighting.
We appreciate the opportunity to respond and have relayed your concerns to the appropriate management here at the corporate headquarters.

Sincerely,
Chicquilla
Industry and Consumer Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company
It is high time for the relaying of "concerns" and the lying to stop, and for Coke to do the right thing. If a company will not follow its own policies and principles, and then tries to blame its own corruption on its underlings, why would anyone want to trust that company's products?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

April 27, 2006

Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company. We're grateful to be made aware of your concerns.

Concern for the ethical treatment of animals is a cause the The Coca-Cola Company fully supports. The The Coca-Cola Company does not believe, however, that by sponsoring or promoting rodeo events the Company is thereby endorsing or condoning an inherently cruel practice.
If Coca-Cola fully supported the cause of ethical treatment of animals, it would not consider any relationship with rodeos. Which of rodeo's spectacles does Coke NOT consider to be inherently abusive? Steer Busting - the most deadly event in rodeo? The Wild Horse Race - which terrorizes and kills young horses? Calf Roping - in which three to four month old calves are clothes-lined, body-slammed, have their legs tied and are dragged by the neck? Chuck Wagon Races that cause horse heart attacks and horrific pile-ups of dead and dying horses? Shocking bulls and horses with thousands of volts of painful electricity to make them appear wild? Animals are regularly injured and even killed in rodeos because of the brutal treatment they receive.
The Coca-Cola Company and its Bottlers currently sponsor multipurpose entertainment venues that feature our signage and where rodeo contests do occur. The Coca-Cola Company and its Bottlers may in the future choose to sponsor or promote rodeo events.
This is most unfortunate for Coke, because rodeos are becoming more well known not only for their cruelty and brutality, but also for the bogus "humane rules" that are in fact nothing more than a public relations ploy for the association and its sponsors, such as the Coca-Cola Company. Coke, do you remember how you broke with bullfighting only after we caught you lying about having done it already? You knew you couldn't get away with it any more. Back then SHARK gave kudos to Coke for doing the right thing. We did it again when Coke broke with rodeos the first time also. Then your company turned and went back on your word. Coca-Cola needs to find an ethical backbone. Make a commitment to stop supporting animal abuse and stand by it!
The Coca-Cola Company respects the concerns expressed by animal welfare groups, including concern for the proper treatment of animals at rodeos.
What a joke. Coke sponsors some of the most brutal and deadly rodeos in the country. Rodeos such as the Cheyenne Frontier Days have been exposed repeatedly for humane violations and its dead and injured animal victims. Coke has shown it respects only money - nothing more. Not ethics, not morality, not compassion, not integrity - just money.
In order to stay fully informed of those concerns, The Coca-Cola Company has and will maintain an open dialogue with animal welfare groups regarding the proper treatment of animals.
This is absolutely false. SHARK is the lead organization against rodeos world-wide, and there is no "dialogue" between Coca-Cola and SHARK, nor any other animal welfare organization that we are aware of. We invite Coca-Cola to educate us as to which animal welfare organizations Coca-Cola maintains a dialogue with. It will take us all of ten minutes to expose any misinformation as a lie.
The Coca-Cola Company has a long history of responsible corporate citizenship. Good corporate citizenship is a belief we not only take seriously, but put into practice everywhere we do business.
SHARK is more than happy to give Coca-Cola every opportunity to demonstrate responsible corporate citizenship. Why hasn't Coke demanded that the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) make a full and ongoing public disclosure of all animal injury and death reports for all of its rodeos, as well as all disciplinary reports with regard to all PRCA members? This information is something that any true sport would already make available, but that has never been the case with the PRCA. We trust the Coca-Cola Company will agree that failing to do that, neither the PRCA nor any other rodeo association should be worthy of any association with the Coca-Cola Company or any subsidiary or independent bottler.

But instead of demanding disclosure and reassurances from the industry that Coke gives hundreds of thousands of dollars to support, this company asks the rodeo to defend its reprehensible sponsorship to the public because Coke can't do it. Read an example of this in a letter to the Honorable Maneka Gandhi, Member of the Indian Parliament, from the PRCA's Houston Rodeo.
Please be assured that we will share your comments with the appropriate management here at the corporate headquarters. We're sure they will also appreciate receiving your remarks.

Sincerely,

Lesley
Industry and Consumer Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company

Let us give you some remarks to take to the decision makers. The true meaning of Coca-Cola surely must be, "Lying Corporate Jerks who long ago traded their hearts in for calculators." Coke, you knew what the right thing was to do, and when you thought it would serve your interest you did it. Then, when you thought you could make an extra nickel by doing the wrong thing, you did that. You stand for nothing whatsoever but making every last penny that you can, regardless of the damage, injury or whatever. All so you can sell your various varieties of poison. As people learn the truth about rodeo animal abuse and corruption, you may rest assured that we shall forever link Coke and rodeos, if for no other reason to show other corporates what happens when their behavior is completely devoid of ethics, principles or humanity.

Please do forward any of SHARK's comments, along with your own thoughts, to the appropriate decision makers within the Coca-Cola Company.

Sample Letter to the Coca-Cola Company
Below is a sample letter written courtesy the Kinship Circle. Please feel free to use the information below, but do include your own original thoughts when contacting Coke. Many identical letters will dilute the impact.

Dear Mr. Neville, Board of Directors, and The Coca-Cola Company:

I am disappointed to learn The Coca-Cola Company has retracted its vow to drop rodeo sponsorship. In fact, Coca-Cola's logo adorned the bucking chute at a 2005 Cheyenne, Wyoming rodeo where a bloody horse was forced to perform despite an obvious hoof injury. Photos of more spattered blood in the chute indicate this horse was not the only wounded animal on display. With advertisements in rodeos throughout North America, Coca-Cola seems content to endorse animal abuse.

Interestingly, a June 6, 2000 letter from Mark Preisinger, Coke Shareholders Affairs Manager, proclaimed: "The Coca-Cola Company has a policy in force stating that our operations will not sponsor or promote events where there is a risk of physical harm to animals... I also want to assure you that if you hear of any violations of this policy anywhere we do business, I would be anxious to know about it and will commit to rectifying the matter promptly."

I respectfully submit the fact that all animals used in rodeos are at "risk of physical harm."

"Without torture, there can be no rodeo," claims Peggy W. Larson, DVM, MS, JD, a former bareback bronco rider who says horses and bulls buck wildly only because they are in pain from rigid flank straps and spurring. Rodeo handlers bully animals with electric prods, straps, spurs and tail twisting. On-site veterinarians cannot intervene once a deliberately agitated animal is released into the ring.

Their eyes bulge in terror. They wheeze and tremble. Some suffer for days before they are hauled to the slaughterhouse. While the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PCRA) and International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA) allege compliance with animal welfare regulations, graphic documentation tells a different story.

One cruelty investigator who records calf-roping "rehearsals" observes, "Without the noise of the crowd and announcer you can actually hear the calves' bodies slamming on the ground, and their choking and coughing after being clotheslined." In holding chutes, calves have their tails twisted and wrenched over steel bars. As they flee into the ring at speeds up to 27 miles per hour, the "cowboy" neck-chokes and smashes them into the ground. He typically body-slams them again for theatrical effect.

For bucking events, the horses' intestines and groins are cinched so tightly they lurch in response to the pain. Animals who won't buck are shocked with electric prods. Many careen into fences, posts or chutes.

In steer roping contests, a rider lassos a running, 700-pound steer and jerks the animal's head and neck in a 180-degree loop, pitching him into the dirt. The steer is tripped, tossed and lugged for 30 feet or more so the roper can subdue him and bind his legs for a score.

Animal welfare groups worldwide denounce rodeo's trail of busted bones, cracked skulls and severed spines. Please keep me informed of any decision to cease rodeo sponsorship, so I may let family, friends and colleagues know Coca-Cola does not support verified animal cruelty.

Sincerely,

The bloody marks inside this bucking chute at the Cheyenne Frontier Days shows that already injured horses are used, and to make it worse, this one has just been shocked with more than 5,000 volts of electricity from the Hot-Shot in the hand of the man on the right. Proving once again, rodeos' claims about their "humane rules" are pure propaganda. Coca-Cola should be ashamed to sponsor rodeo!

Your Name

Organizations Worldwide That are Opposed to Rodeo Animal Abuse
We, the following humane organizations, are opposed to the cruelty and abuse of animals in rodeos.


A-1 Poor Fund Foundation/Cochin, India
Action Against Poisoning/The Hague, Netherlands www.actionagainstpoisoning.com
Activists Against Factory Farming/Pine Ridge, AR
Adopt an Animal Canada/Toronto www.adoptananimal.ca
Advocates for Animals/Edinburgh, UK www.advocatesforanimals.org
Against Animal Cruelty Tasmania/Hobard, Tasmania www.gbr.wwf.org.au
Aid for Animals/Metairie, LA www.aidforanimals.com
All Species Kinship/Battle Creek, Michigan
Alliance Against Animal Abuse/Albuquerque, NM/www.pet-abuse.com
American Humane Association/Arlington, VA www.americanhumane.org
American Sanctuary Association/Las Vegas, NV
Anima- foreningen for alle dyrs rettigheder/Denmark www.pelsinfo.dk
Animal Active/Melbourne, Australia www.animalactive.org
Animal Advocates of the Inland North West/Liberty Lake, WA www.animaladvocatesnw.org
Animal Advocates Society of British Columbia www.animaladvocates.com
Animal Alliance of Canada/Toronto, Canada www.animalalliance.ca
Animal Angels/Jacksboro, TX www.anmlangls.org
Animal Concern/UK Dumbarton, Scotland www.animalconcern.com
Animal Defense League, Los Angeles www.animaldefense.com
Animal Legal Defense Fund/Petaluma, CA www.aldf.org
Animal Legislative Action Network/Los Angeles, CA www.animalpolitics.com
Animal Place/Vacaville, CA www.animalplace.org
Animal Liberation Front/www.animalliberationfront.com
Animal Liberation NSW/Sydney, Australia www.animal-lib.org.au
Animal Liberation (SA), Inc./Adelaide, Australia www.animalliberation.org.au
Animal Protection Agency/Brighton, UK www.apa.org.uk
Animal Rescue Foundation/Fossil, OR
Animal Rights Advocates of Upstate New York/Rochester, NY www.ARAUNY.org
Animal Rights Direct Action Coalition/San Francisco, CA
Animal Rights Fund/Bangalore, India
Animal Rights Online/Miami, FL www.geocities.com/RainForest/1395
Animal Rights Resource Centre/Australia www.arrc.org.au
Animals Australia/Victoria, Australia www.animalsaustralia.org
The Animals Voice/www.animalsvoice.com
Animal 2000-Menschen fur Tierrechte Bayern e.V./Germany www.animal2000.de
Anti-Vivisection Union/East Victoria Park, Western Australia www.arrc.org.au
Arche 2000 Welt-Tierhilfe e.V./Germany www.animalnews.de
Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights/Davis, CA www.avar.org
ARC news/UK www.arcnews.org.uk
Ark II – The Animal Rights Kollective/Toronto, CA www.ark-ii.com
Ark Wild Inc./Miami, FL www.arkwild.org
Auckland Animal Action/New Zealand www.enzyme.org.nz/aucklandanimalaction
Austin Zoo/Austin, TX www.austinzoo.com
Ballarat Organisation for Animal Rights/Australia www.goldlinksweb.com/boar
Beauty Without Cruelty (S.A.)/South Africa
Big Cat Rescue/Tampa, FL www.BigCatRescue.org
Bite Back Vegan Society
Brooklyn Law School Animal Legal Defense Fund
The California Animal Defense & Anti-Vivisection League, Inc./Gardena, CA
California Lobby for Animal Welfare
The Captive Animals’ Protection Society/Preston, UK www.captiveanimals.org
Catskill animal Sanctuary/Saugerties, NY www.casanctuary.org
Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary/Caledonia, MS www.cedrhill.org
Christian Vegetarian Association/Cleveland, OH www.christianveg.com
Citizens for Planetary Health/Swain, NY www.linkny.com
Comite Anti Stierenvechten (Anit Bullfighting Committee)/Utrecht, Netherlands www.stieren.net
Compassionate Action Institute/New York, NY www.pleasebekind.com
Compassionate Crusaders Trust/India www.animalcrusaders.org
Cornwall’s Voice for Animals/UK www.justnicephotos.homestead.com/CVFA.html
The Council Animal Advocacy/Canada www.thecouncilclaw.ca
Country Critters Rescue Corral/Sedro-Woolley, WA www.countrycritters.org
Danish Friends of Animals/Copenhagen, Denmark www.dfas.dk/english
Djurrat.org/Jonkoping, Sweden www.djurratt.org
Dog Patch/Colville, WA www.dogpat.org
East Bay Animal Advocates/Martinez, CA www.eastbayanimaladvocates.org
Een Dier Een Vriend/Netherlands http://www.edev.nl
Engineers and Scientists for Animal Rights/Silicon Valley, CA www.esar-online.com
Equine Advocates/Chatham, NY www.equineadvocates.com/
Farm Sanctuary/Watkins Glen, NY www.farmsanctuary.org
FarPlace Animal Rescue/UK www.farplace.co.uk
Farm Animal Welfare Network/Holmfirth, UK
Fauna Foundation/Chambly, Quebec, Canada www.faunafoundation.org
Fight Against Animal Cruelty in Europe/UK www.faace.co.uk
Foundation for Interdisciplinary Research & Education Promoting Animal Welfare/Albany, NY www.firepaw.org
Freedom for Animals/Canada www.freeanimals.org
The Fund for Animals/New York, NY www.fund.org
Global Action in the Interest of Animals/Belgium www.gaia.be
Guelph Equine Area Rescue Stables/Ontario, Canada www.gearstables.com
Haven Books International
Help for the Helpless Animals/Dallas, TX www.volunteermatch.org/orgs/org10923.html
Highveld Horse Care Unit/South Africa
Horse Haven/Rathdrum, ID www.horsehavenrescue.org
H.O.R.S.E. Rescue and Sanctuary/New York, NY www.hrsny.org
The Humane Society of Canada/Toronto www.humanesociety.com
The Humane Society of Louisiana/New Orleans, LA www.humanela.org
The Humane Society of the United States/Washington, D.C. www.hsus.org
In Defense of Animals/Mill Valley, CA www.idausa.org
Independent Voice for Animals/Valley Head, AL
Initiative Anti-Corrida/Germany www.anti-corrida.de
The International Movement Against Bullfights/www.2kat.net.iwab
Jamshedpur Animal Welfare Society/Jamshedpur, India www.jawsindia.net
JazzPurr Society for Animal Protection/Windsor, Ontariao,Canada
Justice for Animals/South Africa www.justiceforanimals.co.za
Karuna Society for Animals and Nature/India
Kalamazoo Animal Liberation League/Kalamazoo, MI /www.kallnet.org
The Kinship Circle, St. Louis, Missouri www.kinshipcircle.org
Lamma Animal Protection/Hong Kong SAR, China/www.lap.org.hk
Last Chance for Animals/Los Angeles, CA www.lcanimal.org
Last Chance for Animals San Diego
League for Earth and Animal Protection/Sherman Oaks, CA www.LEAPnonprofit.org
Lehigh Valley Animal Rights Coalition/Allentown, PA www.enter.net/~pstacks/index.htm
Magnus Ronnerup/Sweden http://magnus.ronnerup.se/index.php
The Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition/Worcester, MA www.massachusettsanimalrights.com
Mercy for Animals/Columbus, OH www.mercyforanimals.org
Michigan Animal Rights Society/University of Michigan www.umich.edu/~humanity
Michigan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA)/ www.michspca.org
Mill Creek Farm
Mossburn Animal Centre/Lockerbie, Scotland www.mossburn.org
MovetoACT/Indianapolis, IN/www.movetoact.org
National Animal Sanctuary Alliance/UK www.farplace.co.uk
National Center for Animal Law/Lewis & Clark Law School/Portland, OR www.lclark.edu/org/ncal
National Council of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals/South Africa
Nature and Animal Care Foundation/UK
New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance/Englishtown, NJ/www.nj-ara.org
New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society/Christchurch, New Zealand www.nzavs.org.nz
NZ Vegetarian Society, Inc./Auckland, New Zealand www.ivu.org/nzvs/info/aim.htm
No Voice Unheard/Santa Cruz, CA www.novoiceunheard.org
Northeastern Oklahoma Animal Helpers/ www.noah-online.org
Northwest Animal Rights Network(NARN)/Seattle, WA/www.narn.org
Ocean Care/Wadenswil,Switzerland www.oceancare.org
Ocean Defense International/Ashland, OR www.oceandefense.org
Ooh MahNee, Inc./Hunker, PA www.oohmahneefarm.org/
Operation Toby, Inc./Australia www.operationtoby.com
Orange County People for Animals/Orange County, CA www.ocpausa.org
PACT (People and Animals in Community Together) Humane Society
People for Animal Rights/Syracuse, NY
People for Animals Calcutta/India www.animalcrusaders.org
People for Animals Haryana/India www.pfaharyana.in
People for Animals Ludhiana/India www.peopleforanimals.org
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals/Norfolk, VA www.peta.org
The Philippine Animal Welfare Society/Quezon City, Philippines www.pitstopit.com/paws3/history.htm
Pound Rescue/Okotoks, Alberta, CA www.poundrescue.com
Rational Animal/New York, NY www.rational-animal.org
Real Food/UK www.realfood.org.uk
The Responsible Animal Care Society/Canada
Responsible Policies for Animals, Inc. /Glenside, PA www.rpaforall.org
Saint Louis Animal Rights Team/St. Louis, MO
San Diego Animal Advocates/San Diego, CA
Sathya Sai Sanctuary/Castlebaldwin, County Sligo, Ireland http://homepage.eircom.net/~donkeys/
Save-A-Pet/Grayslake, IL www.save-a-pet-il.org
Seeds for Change Humane Education/LaJolla, CA www.seedsforchangehumaneeducation.org
Sled Dog Action Coalition/Miami, FL www.helpsleddogs.org
Society for Animal Freedom and Equality/Canada www.animalequality.com
Stichting Dierenhulp Venezuela/ Ugchelen, Netherlands www.dierenhulp.nl
Students Against Animal Suffering (U.C. San Diego)
Student Animal Rights Alliance/New York, NY www.defendanimals.org
Students and Others for Animal Respect/Simon Fraser University/Burnaby,BC, Canada www.sfu.ca/soar/
Students Protecting Animals (Western Michigan University)/Kalamazoo, MI
Syracuse Animal Rights Organization/Syracuse, NY www.syracuseanimalrights.com/
Terra Anima Trust/ The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India
Tierrechtstermine/Germany www.tierrechtstermine.de
Total Animal Liberation/New York, NY
UCLA Animal Welfare Association/Los Angeles, CA www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/awa
United Poultry Concerns/Machipongo,VA www.upc-online.org
Uniting for Justice/Grand Rapids, MI www.unitingforjustice.org
Viva! USA/Davis, CA www.vivausa.org
Veganswines/Frankfurt, Germany www.coolvegan.com
Vegetarian Advocates/Cleveland, OH
Vegetarians of Oklahoma: www.VegOK.org
VegNews Magazine/San Francisco, CA www.vegnews.com
Voice for Animals/Edmonton, Alberta, CA
Voice of Compassion for Animal Life/Tampa, FL www.forthevoiceless.org
Voiceless: The Fund for Animals/Australia www.voiceless.org.au
Voices for Animals/Stroudsburg, PA
Voices for Animals/Charlotteville, VA
West Midlands Animal Action/Redditch, UK www.geocities.com/wmids_animalaction
Wet Nose Animal Rescue Centre/South Africa www.wetnose.org.za
World Society for the Protection of Animals/Framingham, MA www.wspa-international.org

JULY 24 2012

Help Stop Ferret Abuse in Army Lab

In recent years, PETA has had significant success at convincing the few universities and hospitals around the country that are lagging behind their more progressive counterparts to modernize their curricula by replacing intubation training laboratories in which cats and ferrets have hard plastic tubes repeatedly shoved down their delicate windpipes with modern simulators that are humane and better prepare medical professionals to save lives. Even major military facilities like the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and the Naval Medical Center San Diego have made the change after hearing from PETA.

Yet despite pleas from PETA and medical experts, the Madigan Army Medical Center continues to torment ferrets in this archaic training even though it stated in 2007 that the practice "will be phased out due to the development of adequate simulation training models" and the fact that military regulations actually require that animal laboratories be replaced with simulators when available.

There is no excuse for Madigan to keep harming ferrets when 21st century non-animal training methods are already in use at nearly every other facility in the country.

We need your help. Please click here to send an e-mail to Madigan officials urging them to keep their 2007 promise by immediately replacing the cruel use of animals for intubation training with modern simulators.

Thank you for all that you are doing to help animals!

Sincerely,









Justin Goodman, M.A.
Associate Director
Laboratory Investigations Department
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

SEPTEMBER THE 12TH 2012

Meet Double Trouble, a Cat Killed by UW-Madison
Inboxx

Double Trouble was a gentle tabby cat who was mutilated and eventually killed after months of pain, suffering, and neglect by experimenters at UW-Madison.

Double Trouble was not unlike the cat you might share your home with, who snuggles with you at night, loves to give kisses, and enjoys sunshine, attention, and love. UW treated Double Trouble like nothing but a test tube, drilling holes into her skull, screwing a metal post to her head, and applying toxic chemicals to her ears in order to deafen her. She developed infections and became depressed, and half her face was paralyzed. Eventually, experimenters labeled Double Trouble's experiment a failure, and they killed and decapitated her.


DON'T LET ANOTHER CAT SUFFER LIKE DOUBLE TROUBLE:
TAKE ACTION NOW!

Sincerely,



Rachelle Owen
Manager of Youth Campaigns
peta2
RachelleO@peta2.com
Add peta2 on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.









Click to update your e-mail preferences or to unsubscribe.
This e-mail was sent by PETA, 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510 USA.

*Messaging and data rates may apply. Text STOP to unsubscribe, or text HELP for help. Full texting terms are available at peta2.com.

Please do not respond to this e-mail. Instead, click here to contact peta2.

Reply Forward

Click here to Reply or Forward


13% full
Using 1.4 GB of your 10 GB ©2012 Google - Terms & Privacy Last account activity: 17 minutes ago
Detailspeta2
Add to circles



Show details

13% fullUsing 1.4 GB of your 10 GB ©2012 Google - Terms & Privacy Last account activity: 17 minutes agoDetailsYou have one new message.

september 12 , 2012

WATCH VIDEO :and sign petition :

https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=4318&autologin=true?utm_campaign=0912%20UW%20Cat%20Vivisection%20Action%20Alert&utm_source=peta2%20E-Mail&utm_medium=Alert

Issues Videos Games Contests Donate Store Blog Boards Campaigns Street Team Heroes Lifestyle Take Action About
Take Action
3.1KNIH: Stop Letting UW-Madison Kill Cats!

This is Double Trouble:




According to internal documents obtained by PETA, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) this gentle tabby cat had holes drilled into her skull, steel coils implanted in her eyes, and electrodes implanted in her brain, and she was intentionally deafened by having a toxic chemical applied to her inner ear.



Once, Double Trouble even woke up while experimenters were cutting into her head.

After several surgeries, she developed infections, became depressed, and started to twitch, and half her face became paralyzed. But experimenters kept abusing her for months, and when they decided that the project had failed, they killed and decapitated Double Trouble. See more photos of Double Trouble here.

It's not just Double Trouble who has been mutilated by UW. Other cats used in these UW experiments have even had their ears cut off. Experimenters justify the use of 30 cats like Double Trouble per year in this cruel project, not to save human lives but so that they can "keep up a productive publication record that ensures our constant funding." The federal government continues to support this irrelevant and deadly project and has provided UW with more than $3 million in grant money to abuse cats even though researchers at other institutions around the world are already using modern methods with human volunteers to investigate how the brain locates and processes sound.

Tell the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to STOP funding the mutilation and killing of cats like Double Trouble at UW-Madison.


Welcome back, Auréie. Logout

Message
* Subject
Dear [Decision Maker],


* (Edit Letter Below) I was shocked to learn that the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders has given more than $3 million for a series of cruel experiments on cats at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW). In the studies, cats have steel coils implanted in their eyes, holes drilled into their skulls, and electrodes implanted in their brains. Sometimes, cats used in these UW experiments have had their ears cut off or are intentionally deafened by having a toxic chemical applied to their inner ear. The cats are then deprived of food for several days in order to coerce them to look in the direction of sounds during experimental sessions in which their heads are immobilized by a bolt screwed into their skulls.

Internal UW documents and photographs obtained by PETA show that one cat subjected to this experiment, an orange tabby cat named Double Trouble, woke up while experimenters were cutting into her head. Following a series of invasive surgeries, she developed infections, became lethargic and depressed, started to twitch, and suffered paralysis in half her face. After UW deemed the experiment a failure, the experimenters killed and decapitated Double Trouble so that they could examine her brain.

Equally shocking is that UW experimenters justified the use of the 30 cats for this crude experiment in their protocol not by saying that it would enhance human health but by stating that it was necessary for them to "keep up a productive publication record that ensures our constant funding." I find it troubling that millions of tax dollars are being spent to abuse and kill animals and further the personal careers of a few animal experimenters, rather than being invested in research that would benefit the American people.

Today, many laboratories are conducting modern and relevant sound localization studies using human volunteers. I urge your agency to end its financial support of this cruel and sloppy experiment at UW and divert funding toward humane and applicable human-based research.

Sincerely,
Auréie Iparraguirre


Heads up! By submitting this form, you are agreeing to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your personal info in accordance with our privacy policy as well as to receiving e-mails from us.
Contact
*Required fields
* First Name
* Last Name
* Your E-Mail



Connect With UsSearch
Affiliates
PETA.org
peta2.de
PETADishoom
Helpful Links
Donate
Shop
Sign Up for peta2 E-News
About
Our Story
Contact Us
Jobs & Internships
FAQs
Accessibility Report Website Abuse Disclaimer Privacy Policy
Site Terms of Use Texting Terms Contests Terms
© 2012 PETA. Read our full policy. PETA is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation.