In just the few short weeks since my last e-mail to you, the dedicated staff of PETA’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) has responded to more than 1,000 calls and e-mails from around the country about animals who were often in desperate need of our help.

Here are just a few stories from our case files. They represent only a fraction of the number of dogs, turtles, cats, birds, and other animals who’ve benefited from ERT’s hard work in recent weeks. While cases like these may not always make the evening news, each is a terrific example of the effort that the vital team puts into its work every single day.

The team jumped into action upon learning of a stray pig named Nora who was wandering without a home in Florida. Thanks to the intense effort of our team and help from an animal-friendly deputy sheriff, Nora was soon trapped and brought to a sanctuary, where she will now live a playful and care-free life with other rescued animals.

A compassionate mechanic in New York recently contacted us about a scared beaver who was stranded in his shop’s parking lot. We worked to get the confused beaver checked out for injuries and soon got him released into water nearby. The beaver wasted no time in swimming and flipping around, as happy as could be!

Emergency Response Team caseworkers moved quickly to help find a man captured on camera beating a dog in a New York City elevator. Our offer of a reward for information leading to his arrest circulated in local media, and after just four days, the New York Police Department made an arrest.

We were contacted by a compassionate person in Florida who discovered this injured ibis, who had been shot in the face with a BB gun and was in urgent need of medical attention. Our team soon arranged for him to be transported to a nearby wildlife-rehabilitation facility, where he has made a full recovery, and area police are now following up on our call to investigate his shooting.

 And finally this month, I have some great news to report in a case that our ERT caseworkers have been working on since last summer, when they received a tip that animals were languishing in filthy and desperate conditions at Cajun Country Ranch Rescue, an animal-hoarding operation in Oklahoma. Our team quickly began working with local law enforcement and respected animal groups in the area and helped bring about the seizure of 93 animals and both animal- and child-abuse charges against the couple who ran this hellhole for animals. We recently learned that the couple pleaded guilty to cruelty-to-animals charges and received a five-year ban on owning animals as well as a potential for life imprisonment because of the child-abuse charges if they are ever caught in violation again.

The single most important thing that you can do if you ever spot an injured or abused animal is to take action immediately. Whether that means stopping to get medical attention for a wounded cat spotted during your daily commute to work, speaking to a reputable local wildlife rehabilitator after finding a bird or other wild animal in need, or calling local authorities if you suspect an animal is being abused, it’s always critical to help the very moment you see an animal in need.

 Thank you for your compassion and support! 

Sincerely,

 Daphna Nachminovitch

Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations

 PETA’s mobile spay-and-neuter clinics have given their vital services to more than 950 dogs and cats in the last month alone. To learn more about how you can help combat the animal-overpopulation crisis in your own community, please visit PETA.org.

PETA’s cruelty caseworkers are on call for animals 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Your donation today will help PETA save animals from neglect and abuse when they need us most.