2022 Top 10 for Animals and People

The Gregory J. Reiter Memorial Fund is dedicated to making the world a better place for animals — while emphasizing programs that also benefit people.
 
Top 10 highlights of organizations and programs to which the Greg Fund contributed in 2022 are:

1 – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)’s Cruelty Investigations Department conducted an undercover investigation and worked with Virginia and U.S. legislators and officials to close research breeding facility Envigo and release thousands of surviving dogs for adoption. More in Profit, pain and puppies: Inside the rescue of nearly 4,000 beagles (Washington Post, Oct 17).

2 – PETA’s Equine Matters team revealed the drugging, whipping, and electroshocking that has led to fatal outcomes for horses and their jockeys at over 100 “bush tracks” from California to Virginia. More in A Horse Track with No Rules (Washington Post, Aug 5-6) and my Letter to the Editor This is no Sport (Washington Post, Aug 10).

3 – The Exam Room™ plant-based podcast with Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine nutrition experts celebrated 10 million downloads in 150 countries. This year, the Greg Fund sponsored weekly Q&A episodes with Physicians Committee founder and president Dr. Neal Barnard — including Eating to Age Well and Foods that Lower Cholesterol Naturally.

4 – PETA and the Campaign to End Horse Racing Subsidies worked with New York State legislators to defeat a bill for $450 million in state-backed bonds for Belmont Park reconstruction. More at EndHorseRacingSubsidies.com on the Campaign’s work to redirect taxpayer funds from state-sponsored animal cruelty to education and social services.

5 – Beginning just days after Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, PETA Germany has put PETA’s Global Compassion Fund to work — coordinating with a multinational network to bring more than 1,800 dogs, cats and equines to safety in neighboring countries; and supplying over 1,000 tons of food to animals still in Ukraine.  More at PETA Germany Helps Ukraine Animals.

6 – PETA presented its 7^th annual Gregory J. Reiter Animal Rescue Award to Helga Tacreiter, founder of The Cow Sanctuary in New Jersey, who has spent the last 35 years rescuing and providing lifetime care for over 150 farmed animals — cows as well as pigs, goats, chickens, geese, and other species.

7 – PETA’s Community Animal Project filed a successful lawsuit in North Carolina, winning full custody of five dogs after their owner was charged with seven counts of animal cruelty. The dogs’ story brought widespread attention to the need for better animal protection legislation. More in this quarterly report.

8 – The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine new Universal Meals program helps institutions and individuals prepare delicious dishes that meet every diner’s needs — addressing environmental and humane concerns, allergies and other health concerns, and religious traditions.

9 – PETA‘s Science Consortium — which works around the world to replace tests on animals with modern, humane, and scientifically sound testing approaches — was honored when its president received the 2022 Society of Toxicology Enhancement of Animal Welfare Award.

10 – Woodstock Farm Sanctuary (High Falls, NY) launched the Fair Coalition with 24 partner sanctuaries and advocacy organizations, to highlight animal exploitation at state and county fairs and to end the cruelest practices. The Coalition has informed more than 2 million people to date.