Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey returns to San Francisco this weekend. And PETA will be here, too to claim the circus hog-ties, yanks, and electroshocks baby elephants as part of their training. The animal rights group will picket the Cow Palace Thursday.

PETA has been hounding Ringling for years with baby elephant torture allegations. Ringling owner Feld Entertainment has responded, saying the circus is committed to "ensuring the absolute best for its animals."

During its Thursday picket, PETA protesters will carry photographs showing baby elephants in chains, and being prodded by trainers. The animals are cruelly torn from their mothers, then chained for what is sometimes months to break their spirits and turn them into malleable performers, PETA alleges.

We've contacted the company requesting comment on the electro-shock and chaining accusations, and will report when we hear back.

Here's a link to a PETA gallery of tortured elephant calf photos, purportedly taken at Ringling Bros. training facilities.

WASHINGTON, D.C., Sep. 01 /CSRwire/ - Two leading sustainable business organizations representing 5,000 small businesses today sent a letter calling on President Obama to reject the controversial Keystone XL pipeline and, instead, invest in clean energy technologies.  

The pipeline would deliver oil from the tar sands in Canada to the Gulf of Mexico across the United States.

In their letter, Green America’s Green Business Network and The Green Chamber of Commercesaid the pipeline would further United States addiction to oil and risk disastrous new oil spills in rivers and the Ogallala aquifer. Global warming and oil spills have been seen to have an extremely detrimental effect on the economy, which affects the well-being of their businesses.

In addition to these risks, production of the 700,000 barrels of heavy crude that would travel from the tar sands every day creates a tremendous amount of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Both the potential for environmentally harmful oils spills and increase in GHG emissions would be harmful to the environment, in addition to the harm to business in the United States.

The text of the letter to President Obama follows:

“We write to you on behalf of thousands of small businesses in the United States that are deeply concerned about the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. The well-being of our businesses and the economy in the United States are tied to the health of our environment. The Keystone XL pipeline will have an immensely negative impact on the environment. It would bring 700,000 barrels of heavy crude from Canadian tar sands to the US every day, furthering the US addiction to oil, and risking new oil spills in rivers and the Ogallala aquifer. The production of oil from tar sands would generate enormous greenhouse gas emissions, and create greater impacts from global warming.

The impacts of global warming -- from droughts, to floods, to extreme weather -- are bad for business in the United States. As we saw in the Gulf, oil spills also have a devastating impact on the economy. The failure to shift America away from its dependence on oil to cleaner fuels will further imperil our economy and reduce the number of green jobs we need for sustainable economic growth.

Your administration has taken bold and necessary steps to increase the green energy economy in the US. Now, we urge you to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, and further invest in clean energy technologies. It is the right decision for the US, and it is the right decision for business.”

April 22, 2011

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is seeking a court order to force Merck & Co. Inc. to include a resolution from the animal rights group in materials for the pharmaceutical company’s annual shareholder meeting.

PETA holds 101 shares of Merck, according to a complaint (PDF) seeking injunctive relief filed yesterday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The group is accusing the company of wrongfully denying its request to include a resolution in the proxy materials that calls on Merck to disclose use of animal testing in in-house and contracted research.

Leveraging stock ownership to pursue advocacy goals, known as shareholder activism or advocacy, is nothing new for PETA, which owns shares in 35 corporations, according to in-house attorney Susan Hall.

However, while companies often resist PETA’s attempts to use its shareholder status, she said, this lawsuit marks the first time PETA is taking a corporation to court over the denial of a request to include a resolution in shareholder proxy materials.

Merck’s annual shareholder meeting is scheduled for May 24. PETA is asking the court to force Merck to include its resolution in the proxy materials for the meeting, or else compel Merck to hold a special meeting to present PETA’s resolution to other shareholders.

According to PETA’s complaint, Merck contested PETA’s request on the grounds that they had failed to prove shareholder status. Merck merged with Schering-Plough Corp. on Nov. 3, 2009, and, according to the complaint, had told PETA that they needed to prove ownership in Schering-Plough to be eligible.

Hall said that under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules, PETA needs to prove ownership of stock for one year prior to filing its request for inclusion in proxy materials in order to be eligible. Since the merger took place on Nov. 3, 2009 and PETA submitted its resolution on Nov. 17, 2010, Hall said Merck is in the wrong in requiring PETA to also prove ownership of Schering-Plough shares.

According to the complaint, PETA also maintains that it meets the eligibility threshold of holding at least $2,000 or 1 percent of Merck.

PETA had originally submitted its proposal on Oct. 28, but claims in their complaint that they formally withdrew it and refiled on Nov. 17 in order to comply with Merck’s other objection that PETA was making multiple proposals when they were limited to making one.

Merck did not have counsel listed as of Friday, and a company representative was not immediately available for comment.

Read the original article here.

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Green America, Global Exchange and the International Labor Rights Forum are launching a brand-jamming contest in order to bring attention to Hershey's failure to crack down on child labor and other abuses in its cocoa supply chain.

Contestants may submit entries under three categories: Slogan/tagline, print advertisement, or video. These advertisements and slogans will be mock versions of Hershey's promotions, with prizes going to the most creative submissions.  For more information about how to participate in the Hershey brand-jamming contest, go to http://www.raisethebarhershey.org/take-action-hershey-brandjam-contest/.

All entries must be submitted by April 10, 2011, after which a public vote will be taken to help determine the winner. The grand prize winner will be awarded $1000 and best-in-category winners also will receive prizes, including Fair Trade Certified chocolate.  The awards will be announced on April 28, 2011, the day of Hershey's Annual General Meeting for shareholders.

Green America Fair Trade Coordinator Elizabeth O'Connell said:   "We've already had tens of thousands of U.S. consumers participate directly in various campaigns to highlight Hershey's troubling reliance on forced and child labor in West Africa.  Now, we want to get consumers directly involved in spoofing the ads of Hershey to put more heat on the company."  

Global Exchange Fair Trade Director Adrienne Fitch Frankel said: "It remains our hope that Hershey will put an end to these unconscionable labor abuses.  That day is likely to come about more quickly as even more Americans tell Hershey to clean up its chocolate mess."

ILRF Campaigns Director Tim Newman said: "Hershey lags behind the rest of the industry in failing to have any independent, third party certification for its cocoa.  More and more consumers are calling on Hershey to raise the bar and begin sourcing Fair Trade Certified cocoa."

All submissions will be eligible to be used as part of the "Raise the Bar, Hershey!" Campaign.

The "Raise the Bar, Hershey!" Campaign is spearheading actions to encourage Hershey to switch to Fair Trade Certified cocoa, which is grown under standards that prohibit the use of child and forced labor and trafficking. The cocoa industry has been plagued for years by this type of exploitation. Currently, Hershey lags behind its competitors in sourcing cocoa that has been certified by independent, third parties to meet international labor rights standards.  Fair Trade also guarantees farmers a stable, minimum price, empowering them to start to escape the cycle of poverty in conventional trade.

GREEN AMERICA is the nation's leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America (formerly Co-op America) provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today's social and environmental problems. www.GreenAmerica.org.

GLOBAL EXCHANGE is a membership-based international human rights organization dedicated to promoting social, economic and environmental justice around the world. www.GlobalExchange.org

THE INTERNATIONAL LABOR RIGHTS FORUM is an advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide. www.LaborRights.org

SOURCE Green America, Washington, D.C.

BRUNSWICK, Maine — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is recognizing Bowdoin College for the vegetarian and vegan offerings in its dining halls.

PETA says it is giving Bowdoin's dining services a "compassionate campus" award for its "Meatless Monday" event in February, when the Brunswick College dished up only meatless meals to more than 1,000 students.

Dan Shannon is the director of PETA2, the student wing of PETA that is giving out the award. He says demand for vegan and vegetarian food is growing on the nation's college campuses and that more than 20 major universities regularly hold "Meatless Monday" events in their cafeterias.

PETA, which is based in Norfolk, Va., is the world's largest animal rights organization.

Read the original article here.