Vegan Tattoo Artist Sarah Gaugler And PETA Teamed Up For A Ear Tattoo Pop Up Shop: “Attendees ‘Hear’ Rescued Envigo Beagles’ Pain”
By Sidra Lackey
Just recently, PETA (the largest animal rights organization in the world) and tattoo veteran Sarah Gaugler (of Snow Tattoo, a vegan and luxury studio in New York), often dubbed “the first modern female tattoo artist in the Philippines” — held a pop up tattoo shop. The event highlighted, “the experimentation industry tattoos ID letters on the insides of dogs’ delicate ears to mark them as test subjects to use and kill later,” PETA stated in a press release.
“For dogs, whose hearing is four times as sensitive as our own, the torture at Envigo started when they were held down and forced to endure the noise, pain, and terror of being tattooed,” PETA President Ingrid Newkirk reported. Envigo is a research organization and laboratory animal sourcer that, “provides the broadest range of research models and related services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, government, academia and other life science organizations,” according to their website. But PETA investigated them in 2021 and found beagle puppies were being grossly mistreated, bred and sold for experimentation.
Samson, one of 4,000 beagles rescued from Envigo was a focus at the pop up tattoo shop as his paw prints were used as a tattoo design by Gaugler. Attendees were encouraged to get tattooed specifically around or on their ear. PETA said in a post on their Instagram about the ear tattoos of attendees, “Because the artwork is done on or near their ears, they’ll also get to feel and hear a fraction of what those beagles endured while being tattooed for experimentation.” Gaugler also tattooed custom designs onto attendees with the phrase, “end animal experiments.” PETA’s president said PETA hoped Samson’s story, “will inspire everyone to insist on a switch to superior, non-animal research.”
At the animal right’s / tattoo event, PETA shared details about the Research Modernization Deal—developed by PETA scientists, “which provides a strategy for replacing animals with modern, high-tech research methods—and will film participants’ before-and-after reactions to their new ink.” On a lighter note, attendees got their paws on a new T-shirt designed by Gaugler. The shirt featured the words, “thank you for listening” with a picture of Samson.
To find out more about PETA’s Research Modernization Deal and to sign a petition supporting the cause, click: here