<P> PETA also goes undercover into circuses . In 2006, it filmed trainers at Carson & Barnes Circus--including Tim Frisco, the animal - care director--striking elephants while shouting at them . The Washington Post writes that the video shows Frisco shouting, "Make' em scream!". A company spokesperson dismissed PETA's concerns as "Utopian philosophical ideology" but said the circus would no longer use electric prods . </P> <P> PETA investigated angora rabbit farms in China in 2013 . As CBS News reported of the resulting video footage, "In the video, the rabbits' high - pitched screams can be heard as farmers rip out their wool until the animal is bald . The rabbits are then thrown back into their cage and appear to be stunned and in shock ." PETA claimed that 90 percent of the world's angora comes from China, and retailers that carry angora did not initially comment to CBS . Over the next two years, though, because of the investigation, more than 70 retailers, including H&M, Topshop, and Inditex (the world's largest retailer), discontinued their use of angora . Inditex donated its angora products, valued at $878,000, to Syrian refugees . </P> <P> Between 2012 and 2014, PETA investigated sheep shearing sheds used by the wool industry in Australia and the U.S., uncovering "evidence of widespread animal abuse ." In Australia, the group "sent three undercover investigators to 19 different sheep shearing sheds run by nine different contractors in three states ." As NBC News reported, "PETA charges that in Australia, workers for seven contractors kicked, stomped or stood on animals' heads necks and hind limbs, while workers for eight contractors punched or struck sheep with clippers . One worker allegedly beat a lamb over the head with a hammer . Workers for five contractors allegedly threw sheep and or slammed their heads and bodies against floors ." PETA also sent an investigator to "25 ranches in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Nebraska" and subsequently "asked local authorities in two Colorado counties to file criminal charges against a specific shearer because of alleged acts of abuse witnessed at two ranches ." Moffat County Sheriff Tim Jantz called the video evidence "highly concerning" and launched an investigation . </P> <P> In 2014, PETA conducted an undercover investigation of the horse - racing industry, filming seven hours of footage that, as The New York Times reported, "showed mistreatment of the horses to be widespread and cavalier ." Noted trainer Steve Asmussen and his top assistant trainer, Scott Blasi, were accused "of subjecting their horses to cruel and injurious treatments, administering drugs to them for nontherapeutic purposes, and having one of their jockeys use an electrical device to shock horses into running faster ." The newspaper noted that this investigation "was PETA's first significant step into advocacy in the horse racing world ." In November 2015, as a result of PETA's investigation, Asmussen was fined $10,000 by the New York State Gaming Commission . Robert Williams, executive director of the commission, said, "We recognize PETA for playing a role in bringing about changes necessary to make thoroughbred racing safer and fairer for all ." By contrast, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which also received PETA's allegations, found that Asmussen did not violate any of its rules . Asmussen remains under investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor for allegedly violating the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 . </P>

Who are peta and what do they do