Who on earth thinks of the idea?
A child activity, pony painting, which has turned popular recently in the UK, got slammed harshly by animal rights campaigners, saying the event is disturbing and disrespectful and unjust.
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Children were told to treat the animals' body as the canvas where they can write their names, paint them different, or draw pictures they like with chalk-based materials.
More than 22,000 activists signed a petition launched by Sophie Tomlinson, from Altrincham, Greater Manchester, and describe the event as the "disturbing trend". Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said parents should remind that ponies and horses "aren't party props".
However, the service providers insist the practice is harmless and leaves no lasting mark on the animals.
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Callister, who posted a few photos of the event, said, "It teaches us to objectify and use. It teaches us that if human animals are being made to feel happy, we can disregard the non-human animals. It's disgusting, disrespectful and unjust."
Sophie wrote after the post, "Pony painting parties are a disturbing trend popping up all over the UK. Imagine being tied up amidst shrieking laughter, unpredictable touching and having strangers smear your hair in paint. Would you trade places?
"This is happening all over the country to horses right now and we need to take a stand. How would you feel about strangers smearing paint on your pet?"
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Many netizens expressed their rage in the comments, thinking this is an animal abusing behaviours and saying parents took the biggest responsibility to teach their children to love the animal and nature.
A spokesman of the pony party companies, Buckinghamshire-based Diddy Pony Parties, mentioned in the petition, said, "Diddy Pony Parties is aware of the petition. The petitioner has never made contact with DPP and has never experienced what we do."
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"DPP places pony welfare as its highest priority and all activities are supervised by knowledgeable and caring equine professionals.
"All materials used in our parties are certified safe for use on animals and specifically equines. The matter is now in the hands of our legal advisers."
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California braced Thursday for another powerful storm system that could cause more flooding and mudslides a day after heavy rain and gusty winds were blamed for at least two deaths.
Forecasters said the region could see its wettest Christmas in years, increasing the risk of debris flows in areas scorched by wildfires in January. Those burn scar zones have been stripped of vegetation by fire and are less able to absorb water.
On Wednesday, a falling tree killed a San Diego man, local news outlets reported. Farther north, a Sacramento sheriff’s deputy died in what appeared to be a weather-related crash.
San Bernardino County firefighters said they rescued people trapped in cars when mud and debris rushed down a road leading into Wrightwood, a resort town in the San Gabriel Mountains about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles. It was not immediately clear how many were rescued.
Firefighters also went door to door to check homes, and the area was under a shelter-in-place order, officials said. An evacuation order was issued for Lytle Creek, also in the San Gabriel Mountains.
Travis Guenther and his family were trapped in Lytle Creek after roaring waters washed out the only bridge in or out of their neighborhood. More than a dozen neighbors took shelter at a community center or found hotel rooms.
“Everybody that left to go to work this morning is stuck,” he said. “Half the families are here, and half the families are on the other side of the creek.”
Guenther said he had plenty of supplies and was coordinating with other in the community of about 280 people. Two nurses who live on his street offered to help anyone who may need medical attention.
Janice Quick, president of the Wrightwood Chamber of Commerce and a resident of the mountain town for 45 years, said a wildfire in 2024 left much of the terrain without tree coverage.
The storm also stranded Dillan Brown, his wife and 14-month-old daughter at a rented cabin in Wrightwood with almost no food and only enough diapers for about another day. Roads leading off the mountain and to a grocery store were blocked by rocks and debris, Brown said.
A resident posted a call for help in a Facebook group. In less than an hour, neighbors showed up with more than enough supplies to ride out the storm, including bread, vegetables, milk, diapers and wipes.
“I think we’re a little sad and upset that we’re not going to be home with our families,” Brown said, but the “kindness shown is definitely an overwhelming feeling.”
Residents around burn scar zones from the Airport Fire in Orange County were also ordered to evacuate.
Areas along the coast including Malibu were under a flood watch until Friday afternoon, and wind and flood advisories were issued for much of the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Several roads including a part of Interstate 5 near the Burbank Airport closed due to flooding.
The storms were the result of multiple atmospheric rivers carrying massive plumes of moisture from the tropics during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.
Southern California typically gets half an inch to 1 inch (1.3 to 2.5 centimeters) of rain this time of year, but this week many areas could see between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) with even more in the mountains, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford said.
Heavy snow and gusts created “near white-out conditions” in parts of the Sierra Nevada and made mountain pass travel treacherous. Officials said there was a “considerable” avalanche risk around Lake Tahoe, and a winter storm warning was in effect until Friday morning.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in six counties to allow state assistance in storm response.
The state deployed emergency resources and first responders to several coastal and Southern California counties, and the California National Guard was on standby.
The California Highway Patrol reported a seemingly weather-related crash south of Sacramento in which a Sacramento sheriff's deputy died. James Caravallo, who was with the agency for 19 years, was apparently traveling at an unsafe speed, lost control on a wet road and crashed into a power pole, CHP Officer Michael Harper said via email.
Associated Press writers Sophie Austin in Sacramento, Jessica Hill in Las Vegas and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed.
Miguel Lopez sweeps water from Marlene's Beachcomber on the Santa Monica pier Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
A tourist from China battles the rain on the Santa Monica pier Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
Part of California State Route 138 washes away from flooding Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, outside of Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
A resident sweeps water and mud in her house after flooding Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
A car sits buried in mud after flooding Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Wrightwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
