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Remember, the Fourth of July comes only once a year, but you can make your own fireworks every day with veggie Viagra! Enjoy your holiday!

Posted by Karin Bennett

When I lived in the Louisville area, there were several things I thought the city could've used—like more vegan restaurants or a more extensive public transportation system. But you know what Louisville—home to the headquarters of KFC—really needs? The city is sorely in need of our chicken statue, designed by award-winning children's book author and cartoonist for The New Yorker Harry Bliss.

We're asking Louisville's Department of Public Works to allow us to install the statue in downtown Louisville for three months, starting July 15. We hope that it will draw attention to the millions of chickens who are killed each year for KFC—chickens who live out their short lives in ammonia-ridden sheds locked in cages in which there's not even room to take a single step in any direction. At the slaughterhouse, their throats are cut while they are still conscious, and they are often scalded alive.

We submitted our permit request this morning—hopefully Louisville's downtown area will have an artsy new addition in just a couple of weeks!

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Summer is finally in full swing, and for those of us in D.C., that means frequent stops at Sticky Fingers bakery. All vegan goodies, from cupcakes to chili cheese dogs, and that summer fave—soft-serve ice cream! No, to answer the obvious question, life does not get any better. So, it is as I enjoy some sugary ice cream goodness that I settle into rifling through the Internet for fun, animal-related items to share with you.

• I feel guilty for laughing so hard at this.
• Not even kidding, it's a boxing feline!
• Vegan food delivered to my doorstep? Yes, please!
• Where'd the kitty go? Too cute!
• "Check returned due to insufficient ethics." Go NARN!
• Vegan cage fighter Mac Danzig will now kick ass in your living room!
• Check out momma bird's ingenuity.
• Who doesn't love a good chimp chuckle?

All fun and happy stuff for this edition. See you next time.

Posted by Missy Lane

If you dig 60s pop art as much as I do, you're really going think this is boss. Forty-five years after being on display for just one day during the New York World's Fair in 1964, artist Robert Indiana's iconic EAT sign is blinking back into action. Part of a larger exhibition of Indiana's work, the oversized objet d'art will be up and illuminated all month at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine.

While the sculpture is pretty groovy as it is, we think that adding the word "VEGETARIAN" to it would make it full-on far out. That's why we wrote to Mr. Indiana and asked him to add our favorite "V" word to the piece for just one day. Imagine, if you will:

Andy Warhol's portrait of a can of Campbell's Tomato Soup (which is vegan, by the way), might be "mmm, mmm, good," but this PETA-ized pop art is a mmm, mmm, masterpiece! What could be a better way to shine the light on a diet that's better for the Earth and all its inhabitants?

After all, it's time for the dawning of the age of asparagus.

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

Click for a larger version

To check out the archives of past strips, click here.

Halifax native Sarah McLachlan, who is in Ottawa today to perform a concert in celebration of Canada Day, has wasted no time in letting her native land know how upset she is about the government's refusal to stop the annual seal slaughter. In an interview today with Canada's CTV News—during which she wore PETA's "Hug Me, Don't Club Me" tee—Sarah said, "The commercial sealing industry in Canada is perverse and sick. … They club these seals as early as 12 days old, and half the time they hook them and they drag them across the ice. … It's archaic, and it's horrible, and I want it to stop."

Check out all the other great things that she had to say:

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Canada is celebrating its birthday today, and people around the globe just don't think it's fair. The country that kills hundreds of thousands of seals each year, most of whom haven't even seen their first birthday, gets to throw a big shindig? No way, hoser.

To let Canada know that the rest of the world will not be celebrating in honor of anything Canadian until the seal slaughter ends, people gathered today at Canadian consulates and embassies for demonstrations. They even protested at parades. Check it out:

If Canada is your "home and native land," take a minute and sign our Facebook petition, tweet at Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and send an e-mail to the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee. Let your fellow Canadians know that the seal slaughter must end.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

This is the story of 16 freezing, emaciated dogs on a property in a rural town in Kentucky. The dogs were so thin that their ribs were visible and you could count each vertebra in their spines. Two dogs were tied to empty barrels, another spent all day every day tethered to a dilapidated doghouse, and still more spent all winter shivering under a porch, desperate to escape the bitter cold and likely suffering from hypothermia.

These two shorthaired dogs' only shelter? The barrels they were tied to.

The woman who owned the dogs would leave them for weeks at a time, not only deprived of a loving touch but also without food or water. Yet when complaints were filed with local authorities, the calls were ignored. Nearby residents tried to make sure that the dogs had food and water, but with winter in full force, the water would freeze and—because the dogs were desperate to maintain as much weight as they could to combat the cold—the food would disappear more quickly than the neighbors could supply it.

The starving dogs were climbing over debris (and each other) to eat food left by caring neighbors.

By the time we were notified, one of the females in this miserable situation had just given birth to a litter of puppies. She was so emaciated that nursing the newborns could have been fatal for her. Because the season's first snow had already fallen, the puppies had little chance of surviving.

We worked quickly to get the sheriff's department to investigate, but in the short time it took them to take action, two of the puppies had already frozen to death under the porch. The surviving animals were immediately seized and taken to the local animal shelter. The owner was arrested and charged with animal cruelty.

You might be wondering why we're talking about this heartbreaking case at the beginning of summer. That's because we're entering another deadly season for neglected backyard dogs. Those who somehow survive winter's ice and freezing temperatures will soon face blazing heat and sweltering humidity—if they don't already. Instead of hypothermia, many will suffer heatstroke, flea and tick infestations, and heartworms. Their need for the basics—protection from the elements, food, fresh water, and attention—is year-round.

Chained dogs depend on us to look behind privacy fences and glance under abandoned cars in the junkyard. And please don't tune out their barking. It's their way of crying for help.

Never assume that someone else is already on the case. I can let you know from firsthand experience that not everyone is willing to take action. Several years ago, while living in Chicago, I discovered two dogs who were locked in an abandoned building. Longtime residents quickly gathered around me, voicing their pity for the dogs. Yet when I asked if any of them had called authorities about the dogs, they shrugged and turned away. If I hadn't called to report the case, the dogs may not have been rescued and would likely have starved to death.

All of this is meant as a reminder: Please do more than feel sad or sorry about neglected animals. Take action—you could very well be their only hope.

Posted by Karin Bennett

benedictionblogson / CC

A lot of people don't need a national holiday to celebrate the long, hot days of summer. Take some sunshine, add a handful of friends, and throw in some grilled veggie burgers, et voilà!—instant party. But because July 4 falls on a Saturday this year, boozy barbecues everywhere might be a bit sloppier for revelers who realize that they can waste a woozy Sunday on the couch.

Our "Post-Party Pack" is the remedy for the frazzled nerves that can result from over-indulging. Filled with PETA's organic, shade-grown coffee, Tings from Robert's American Gourmet, coupons for Amy's Kitchen Roasted Vegetable Pizza, and other dee-lish vegan snacks, it's sure to help clear a foggy head and quiet a grumbling belly.

How do you win? To score one, simply share your favorite vegan barbecue–friendly food or drink concoction in the comments section below. The three most tantalizing comments will take home the prize.

The contest ends on July 15, 2009, and we'll choose three comments as the winners on July 17, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Check back every Wednesday for new prizes. Good luck!

Posted by Karin Bennett

Fans are mourning the sudden passing of the "King of Pop," who spent decades under a media microscope.

Here are some Jacko facts that fans may not know:

• The number-one song "Ben," about a rat friend, was originally meant to be sung by Donny Osmond. (Thanks to The Michael Jackson Fan Club for that.)
• My personal fave bit about the gloved one is that his "Earth Song" includes an obvious bash against the bloody seal slaughter at minute 3:27.

In Michael's honor, take a minute to speak out against the seal slaughter.

Posted by Karin Bennett

San Francisco's gay pride parade—touted as the world's largest—got a healthy infusion of vegetarian pride on Sunday. Working with local group Bay Area Vegetarians, PETA showed up in full force—accompanied by more than 100 men and women who were eager to educate the public about the benefits of a vegetarian diet.

© Steve Sprang
Our float's Lettuce Ladies, Broccoli Boys, costumed animals, and sexy "strippers" caught everyone's eye.

© Steve Sprang
Chris P. Carrot made a star appearance and rallied San Franciscans to ditch meat.

© Steve Sprang
We can't argue with that.

© Steve Sprang
What's sexier than one vegetarian girl? Two!

Obviously, everyone who participated in the parade had tons of fun—but the icing on the (vegan) cake is that more than 500,000 people attended the event and learned that by cutting meat out of their diets, they could be healthier, reduce their carbon footprint, and save over 100 animals' lives per year.

Check out even more pictures of the parade here.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

pettalk / CC

Back in December, we spread some holiday cheer with news that a greyhound racetrack in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, had closed. Today we are celebrating Independence Day for all greyhounds used in racing in New Hampshire, because the last two dog tracks in the state have stopped racing greyhounds!

Greyhounds in the Granite State will now be spared routine racetrack horrors, which include long hours in cramped kennels, broken legs, heatstroke, and heart attacks, and being abandoned, starved, shot, or sold to laboratories when their racing days are through. Break out the bubbly and join us as we toast this victory.

One state down, nine to go …

Posted by Karin Bennett

The number with the worst rap may be 666, but 555 turned out to be the real "Number of the Beast" for one mother who was arrested last week on charges of neglect when authorities found out that 555 pounds was how much her obese 14-year-old son weighed.

Jerri Gray of Travelers Rest, South Carolina (near Greenville), says that juggling jobs meant she often relied on fast food to feed her tubby teen. She learned the hard way that a diet of bacon cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets is a recipe for a health disaster—one that has put her son's health in serious danger.

To ensure that Greenville residents get that message loud and clear, we plan to erect our billboard reading, "Feeding Kids Meat Is Child Abuse." Also, Ms. Gray will be receiving a copy of Meatless Meals for Working People, a cookbook of quick and simple vegan fare, courtesy of PETA.

Posted by Karin Bennett

With the annual Canadian seal slaughter just over (although our battle has really just begun), I was ready for a little R&R when I left PETA headquarters in Norfolk for my vacation in Martha's Vineyard last week.

I have a friend who owns a house at the popular getaway, and as we set up chairs on Lucy Vincent beach in Chilmark, I didn't think that my vacation could get any better. The sand was cool beneath my feet and the ocean waves were filling the air with a salty mist. Then, out in the distance, we saw her. A seal!

At first, we could just see her head as she swam in the waves, but then she headed toward shore and pulled herself up onto the beach for a nice rest. I sat and observed her from a distance—her eyes were so big and luminous. I thought about how lucky she was not to live in Canada where thousands of seals like her have been bludgeoned to death over the past several months. Here in Martha's Vineyard, she could enjoy her time on the beach just as my friends and I were, without having to fear for her life.

So many seals are not as fortunate as this one. Please take action now and voice your outrage at Canada's continued support of the clubbing of seals just like her.

Posted by Tracy Reiman

gossipcheck / CC

Since Michael Jackson's passing on Thursday, there have been hundreds of news stories ranging from how he influenced just about every musician performing today to how he's responsible for the Academy's recent decision to allow 10 nominations for “Best Picture” (no, really!). It got us thinking: What if Michael's music could be used to help animals?

We've written to Michael Jackson's estate asking for the rights to the singer's first solo hit, "Ben," which was written for the 1972 film of the same name. This beautiful song is about the friendship between a lonely boy and a rat named Ben, and we're hoping to use it to raise awareness about the plight of rats and other animals tormented in laboratory experiments.

Mice and rats make up the vast majority of animals used in experiments, but because they are excluded from the federal Animal Welfare Act, they are denied even minimal legal protection. Part of the message of "Ben" is that rats are frequently misunderstood. (For example—did you know that rats and mice are fastidiously clean, intelligent, and highly sociable animals—they even giggle!) In the song, Jackson sings:

Ben, most people would turn you away
I don't listen to a word they say
They don't see you as I do
I wish they would try to.

We hope we'll be able to use this song to inspire people to understand rats a little better and to join our campaign to stop cruel and archaic animal experiments on them.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

247wallst / CC

PETA is always determined and serious in our efforts to raise awareness about—and to stop—animal suffering. Sometimes, our methods are loud, boisterous, and even a little silly, but they are never naïve. That said, we admit that we're floored by the discrepancy in media coverage surrounding two recent events.

After President Obama killed a fly with one swat, media all over the world swarmed PETA for a response. But when landmark cruelty convictions against pig abusers were issued as a result of our undercover investigation, there was barely a buzz.

We know that countless people turn away from upsetting details about how pigs are beaten and sexually abused by pig farmers, raccoons and foxes gnaw their paws off to escape steel-jaw traps set by furriers, and immobilized rabbits writhe when wrinkle creams are smeared into their eyes. And so do many media outlets, lest they anger advertisers and lose money.

So, headlines everywhere mock PETA for suggesting that people consider employing kind methods of dealing with tiny unwanted visitors. Meanwhile, the pigs get zilch. Please help us change that by writing letters to editors to draw attention to this historic victory against animal abusers and spreading the word to your friends and family.

Posted by Karin Bennett

animalvegetablemiracle / CC

Late last year, some factory-farm employees got their pink slips from Aviagen Turkeys, Inc. in response to PETA's undercover investigation, which documented that workers were breaking turkeys' necks, stomping on their heads, and shoving feces and feed into turkeys' mouths.

Then, in February, a grand jury handed down 19 indictments, including 11 felony charges, against three former Aviagen workers, marking the first time in U.S. history that factory-farm employees have faced felony cruelty-to-animals charges for abusing birds.

Fast forward: Two of the three ex-employees, Scott Alvin White and Edward Eric Gwinn, recently pleaded guilty to cruelty charges. On June 8, White was sentenced to serve one year in jail—the maximum period permitted by law! Today, Gwinn was sentenced to serve six months' home confinement—the maximum period permitted by law—on each count, concurrently, and is banned from living with, owning, and working with animals for five years. The case against the third ex-employee, Walter Lee Hambrick, is pending.

Can't get enough? In September, a grand jury in neighboring Monroe County, West Virginia, may well issue further felony indictments against White and Hambrick.

These historic victories by no means even the score for the turkeys who were punched and thrown or the many other birds who suffered when they were forced to watch as other turkeys were abused at Aviagen. After watching our undercover video, animal behavior expert Dr. Lesley J. Rogers stated, "It is now known that when social animals, like turkeys, see and hear other members of their species under stress or suffering physical injury, their levels of stress become elevated. Hence, the behavioural stress is widespread in the birds in the vicinity of those that have been injured and/or handled roughly."

Still, these convictions will remind workers on other factory farms that if they don't clean up their acts, PETA investigators (and the whistleblowers who tip us off) will have their eyes on them.

Posted by Karin Bennett

Many vegan Wisconsinites cringe at the sight of "Green Bay Cheeseheads"—not to mention their state's standard license plate, which reads, "America's Dairyland," and features an image of a quaint farm.

Caring drivers in Wisconsin deserve a compassionate alternative to "pro-provolone" plates, so PETA wrote a letter to Governor Jim Doyle pointing out that people who are concerned about cruelty on dairy farms should be offered a license plate that reads, "Wisconsin: America's Cow Hell," and comes complete with a realistic image of distressed, sick cows crammed together on a filthy factory farm.

While we wait to hear back from the governor, the Madison-based animal rights organization Alliance for Animals has already produced an "America's Cow Hell" sticker for Wisconsin drivers to place over the existing "America's Dairyland" on their license plates. Visit Alliance for Animals' Web site to order yours today.

Posted by Karin Bennett

militaryplaques / CC

This is hot off the press, folks. We just heard from an Army medic today that several goats who had been used in a trauma training exercise at Fort Lewis were allegedly discarded in sealed plastic bags even though they were still breathing.

The goats had been subjected to all sorts of horrific exercises, including having holes cut in their chests to relieve an induced massive buildup of pressure in their lungs, having their throats punctured, and having their ribs cracked open to expose their beating hearts, all before being injected with a chemical to induce cardiac arrest. Apparently, their vital signs weren't checked before they were chucked into trash bags like rotten produce.

PETA has been arguing for months that such trauma training exercises are in violation of Department of Defense (DOD) rules that bar the use of animals for training exercises if humane alternatives exist (which they do, in abundance). But even if the DOD isn't ready to cede that point, surely it can agree that suffocating animals in plastic bags is inexcusable.

Our whistleblower tells us that dozens more goats are slated to be used in trauma training exercises in the coming days and weeks, so we're wasting no time in demanding that the exercises be stopped immediately. Read our letter to Fort Lewis and then see our action alert on this topic here.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

No, it wasn't a resurgence of hookers, but PETA's "bloody," "dying" babes were out to solicit New York City tourists—for compassion for the bulls who will be taunted and tormented by drunk morons during the upcoming Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. After the bulls are sent stampeding in terror through the streets of Pamplona, they will be dragged into the bullring to be mutilated and killed for the "entertainment" of cheering crowds.

Local and international media crowded around our "bloody bulls."

Causing this kind of commotion in Times Square is no small feat.

Bright lights, big city, huge turnout! Well done!

Similar demonstrations have been held in Paris, London, and other cities around the world. You can check out some NSFW action shots from similar demos here.

Pamplona's "festivities" kick off July 7, which is just around the corner.

Posted by Karin Bennett