There is little in life I hate more than being scooped by the hipper-than-thou scenesters over at the peta2 blog, or “blizzy,” as they call it. But, it happened here in a big way, and I’m man enough to admit it. They reported on the PB&J Campaign, oh, like a month ago, but it’s so cool I wanted to give it a shout out here too.

I love the PB&J Campaign’s mission statement. So simple and to the point: "The PB&J Campaign is working to combat environmental destruction and improve animal welfare by reducing the amount of animal products people eat. The PB&J Campaign approaches positive change one meal at a time by illuminating the differences one single dining decision can make."

Get With the Program/Creative Commons

What's the best reason of all to make a PB&J instead of, oh, say, a chicken breast? As their Web site states: "Saving water, fighting global warming, and preserving habitat are all great reasons to have a PB&J for lunch, but, if you like animals, there's the added benefit of not killing them. It takes about 16 PB&J sandwiches to save a chicken's life, for example."

To read more, check out their Web site here.

Well, despite the occasional offhand remark I may have made about lawyers over the past few months, it turns out our legal counsel really are quite spectacular! And this victory feels particularly good, since it shows that no matter how influential or rich or well-connected the corporation or—as in this case—entire industry that we go up against, we will not be intimidated, and we will not give up our mission of ending animal abuse and torture anywhere we find it, and we will win! This week, Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), a trade group representing the Australian wool industry, abandoned the lawsuit they have been pushing for more than two years against PETA's boycott of Australian wool. AWI has pumped millions of dollars into this lawsuit, and this development is a big victory both for free speech and for animals. Here's what PETA President Ingrid Newkirk had to say:

"Our message is that when animal abusers sue PETA, it's at their own peril. AWI has wasted millions of dollars of woolgrowers' money, only to find that PETA's call for a boycott of Australian wool is going at full throttle as long as lambs have chunks of their rumps cut off with shears and sheep are herded onto export death ships."

In addition to withdrawing the lawsuit, AWI has had to agree to fast-track the development of genetic alternatives to the cruel mutilation that is one major cause of our boycott. This isn't enough in itself for us to end our demonstrations against Australian wool, but it's good news for the sheep, and it's an encouraging sign that the industry itself is starting to listen to the outrage of consumers over its cruel practices. To learn the full story and to help with our campaign, please click here. And for more on why we launched this boycott in the first place, check out the video below.

Our media maid got a call yesterday from ING, you know, the bench people. They called to ask us—ever so nicely—to remove their logo and the ad we made with Ingrid Newkirk sitting on a bench with a cat looking up at her in the style of their iconic “Life’s Easier on the Bench” ads from the web. We’re all a bit sad to take it down, as we still get a lot of positive remarks about it, but alas, down it shall come.

Ingrid’s response when she heard we had to take her ING ad down . . .

When I asked Ingrid if this turn of events would sway her from her staunch support of the ING/Renault Formula 1 team, she was adamant that “it most certainly will not” and admonished me for even thinking such a thing. She said the “very polite lad” from ING was complimentary of our work, and that the company will actually consider sponsoring our doghouse and SNIP programs. With beloved dogs in many car commercials these days, and a duck working out investments for another company, that would fit perfectly.

Ingrid in training . . .

And of course it doesn’t hurt that among the drivers she roots for are Renault/ING’s Giancarlo Fisichella (who she once let take her taxi in the rain) and Heikki Kovalainen, who recorded the difficult pronunciation of his name for her website, and that she still fantasizes about running off to Magny-Cours to change tires for a living once this whole animal rights thing is taken care of.

OK, I had to admit that I had my doubts when I heard the first rumblings about a giant “fish quilt” we were making to raise awareness about the fact that fish are intelligent, intriguing animals who feel pain just as all other animals do and that they don’t deserve to be violently killed for food, painfully hooked for “sport,” or cruelly confined in aquariums. But now that I see the finished product, I have to admit that it’s pretty cool.

Lucy of Cuba, Missouri’s square.

Each square was handmade for the quilt by PETA members and supporters across the country. Some people also submitted stories about why they no longer support cruelty to fish, including the following:

• A Girl Scout troop from Austin, Texas, submitted several patches. The troop members were inspired by a discussion with a former commercial fisher, who had since gone vegetarian, about the damage that fishing does to animals and the environment.
• A quilter from Winnipeg, Manitoba, shared a story about how she and her grandfather stopped fishing because of the cruelty involved. They found other ways to spend quality time together instead.
• Several quilters made patches that bear the PETA slogan that Finding Nemo made famous: "Fish Are Friends, Not Food!"

From Amanda in St. Catharine’s, Ontario, Canada.

The giant fish quilt is now on a nationwide tour a la the aids quilt, so keep your eye out for it. Click here to see the full quilt. Here’s a shot from its opening display in Manhattan last week.

Check out Jeff Corriveau’s unique take on the story about Bulgaria’s last three dancing bears being released to a sanctuary in this week’s DeFlocked comic.

Click for a larger version

Slate/Creative Commons

Did you happen to see this Boston Globe story about Mitt Romney? The reporter opened the piece with a Romney family story about Mitt strapping the family’s Irish Setter, Seamus, to the roof of his station wagon for a twelve hour drive from Boston to Ontario. When the terrified dog lost control of his bowels and his waste covered the roof and back window of the car, Romney apparently calmly pulled over and simply sprayed the car—and the dog—down with a hose and hopped back on the highway.

Unfortunately, there is no punch line; I am not kidding. The reporter thought this was a fine example of Romney’s “emotion-free crisis management” style, but who knows. Here's what PETA’s president, Ingrid Newkirk said to an enquiring press:

“First, as a charity we can’t and don’t endorse or oppose any candidate for public office, but I can say (and not just as a person who grew up with an Irish Setter!) that any individual who does something like that may have what scientists term the absence of the mirror neuron, i.e., a pin-pointable absence in the brain of the characteristic which allows the individual to feel basic compassion. The implications are frightening. Anyone who suspects that they are not able to feel empathy for others needs to be aware of the existence of this condition. What is also worrying is that Mr. Romney seems to hold the very old fashioned idea that he needs to actively show he is heartless, hence the hunting claims he has made. Not subsistence hunting, but pride in killing defenseless animals for sport, for fun, for show. In the case of the dog on the roof of the car, if this is true, quite remarkably it obviously wasn't for show as only his own children were watching, a lesson in cruelty that was also wrong for them to witness. There was also the obviousness of the situation. Thinking of the wind, the weather, the speed, the vulnerability, the isolation on the roof, it is commonsense that any dog who’s under extreme stress might show that stress by losing control of his bowels: that alone should have been sufficient indication that the dog was, basically, being tortured. If you wouldn’t strap your child to the roof of your car, you have no business doing that to the family dog! I don't know who would find that acceptable. Mr. Romney needs to tell the world he realizes this was not humane. People do stupid things and one day realize it, so better late than never."

Thanks to Ana Marie Cox, founder of Wonkette, now Time.com’s Washington Editor, for noticing the story on Boston.com and jumping on it.

I’m pretty excited about this one, as it’s the first time PETA is dipping its toe into Second Life. On July 12, we’re teaming up with cruelty-free designer Stella McCartney to co-host an event on a specially created island in the virtual world. Visitors to the island—which is inspired by the English countryside, with stables, picnic tables, and a Linda McCartney veggie burger stand—will be able to show support for PETA in virtual terms. All visitors will receive a bunch of cool anti-fur gear for their Second Life character to wear; you can donate money in Linden dollars, the community's currency, which PETA will be able to exchange for real U.S. dollars, and you’ll be able to dress your character in a sweet T-shirt with the slogan "I'd rather be pixilated than wear fur."

And check this out; there are real-world prizes to be won as well. We’re holding a competition on the island from July 12 - July 19 for a new PETA slogan based around the iconic tag line, "I'd rather go naked than wear fur." Prizes include two tickets to McCartney's spring 2008 show in Paris, one of the designer's Appaloosa bags and her entire Care skin care line.

For those of you already on Second Life, I’d be glad to email you when the island goes live. Just send me an email so I have your address.

Even though I work here, I didn't quite realize the full extent of the glory in store for the winner of PETA's World's Sexiest Vegetarian title. But Kevin Eubanks—this year's “Sexy Veg” co-winner with the stunning Carrie Underwood—learned exactly how prestigious his new title was last night, when Jay Leno and two dancing vegetables presented him with a lovely sash and tiara on The Tonight Show. And in case you're wondering—no, it does not get better than that.

Here's what Kevin told us when we informed him of his victory: "I'd like to thank everyone who voted for me. I hope this encourages people to eat better and to remember that animals are our friends and a key to a better environment. Not to mention, it's just cool!"

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Generally, I would rather write about the paint drying outside our office than add another chapter to the increasingly tedious melodrama that is Britney Spears' biography, but when she does something stupid and irresponsible that involves animals (which is pretty much every time I check nowadays), I feel like I have to report on it. The latest on our Britney—pictured here with a stupid hat and a family of dead rabbits draped over her shoulders—is that she was spotted at a PETCO in Hollywood buying a caged parakeet to go with her prized collection of neglected children.

I totally understand that it must suck to be 25 years old and have the best years of your life well behind you, and I do realize she probably gets lonely at home between her stints in rehab, but somehow I just don’t think Britney Spears should be responsible for the care of another living thing. Seems to me she’s got enough on her plate just getting herself out of bed in the morning . . .

Britneyspearswatch/Creative Commons

OK ladies and gentlemen, congratulations are in order. The votes are in and following an impressive week-long rally by Jay Leno, Tonight Show band leader Kevin Eubanks has been voted PETA’s World’s Sexiest Vegetarian man for 2007, while American Idol superstar Carrie Underwood has been voted World's Sexiest Vegetarian woman.

Well over 100,000 ballots were cast, and the other finalists include Milo Ventimiglia, Joaquin Phoenix, Kristen Bell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jared Leto, TV Guide columnist Michael Ausiello and Maggie Q.

I’m sure Leno couldn't be happier about Eubanks' win. He mentioned the contest several times during the past week and said that he stopped by to vote for Eubanks, noting that he wanted Kevin to win to bring honor to the Tonight Show stage. And Tonight Show viewers logged on in large numbers, pushing Eubanks ahead of his competitors. I’m not saying Eubanks wouldn’t be up there in the rankings without it, but Leno’s repeated stump speeches had to have given him an edge. Leno even brought out some rather revealing shots from Kevin’s past to get viewers excited . . .

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Carrie Underwood, who is celebrating her second win as World's Sexiest Vegetarian—she also won in PETA's 2005 poll—is a lifelong animal lover. "I quit eating beef when I was about 13," she has said. "I do it because I really love animals and it just makes me sad. … I don't like to watch commercials where they have meat. It weirds me out."

Previous winners, in case you’re keeping score, include Prince, Natalie Portman, Shania Twain, Chris Martin, Andre 3000, Tobey Maguire, Josh Hartnett, Alicia Silverstone, and Lauren Bush.

Congrats Carrie and Kevin, from all of us at PETA. And Jay, how about a segment with both winners on the show?

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This week, one of my favorite sports events of the year is taking place: Wimbledon, the grand-daddy of professional tennis tournaments. I love it for several reasons: it takes place in England (I am British after all), they play on grass, which is the absolute height of civility if you ask me, and this year marks the first year that the prize money for women and men is equal, which is pretty cool. The main reason I’m so into Wimbledon this year, however, is that they are offering a live webcast, so I can keep up with the action (read: watch Amelie Mauresmo) while I slave away over this blog.

So now that you know that I love Wimbledon—and Amelie Mauresmo—more than is healthy for any man, I guess you know what I’ll be doing this weekend. And one of the high points for me is always the fact that John McEnroe is the commentator. The guy had an amazing career as a player and now brings perfect balance and a nice edge to his coverage of the genteel sport of tennis. It’s just plain fun to listen to the man.

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And in case you haven’t seen it, McEnroe starred in this amazing spay/neuter PSA for us. I think he’s perfect in it.

So yeah, don’t call me on Sunday afternoon. I’ll be watching my girl Amelie kick ass and listening to McEnroe talk about it.

As the Michael Moore juggernaut continues unabated, I thought it might be nice to take a quick breather and check out some of the amazing work that PETA India has been doing this week, which, because it's not quite so sensational, probably won't be getting the attention it deserves. Animal Rahat is a program that works closely with PETA India to bring relief to working bullocks, donkeys, ponies, and horses in India by giving them the rest, drinking water, and veterinary care that they so desperately need.

The sad situation for most working animals in India is that the people who use them simply can't afford to ever give them a day off, let alone veterinary care, and the reports and pictures that we get from India about these animals' lives and deaths are heartbreaking.

Which is why it's always so great to get photos like these, from the team at Animal Rahat, who spent last weekend fixing water troughs in a local square near their facilities.

If you'd like to sponsor a working donkey, buffalo, bullock, or pony in India through Animal Rahat, you can learn more here.

Michael Moore on the animal rights movement: “This shit makes me want to kick my dog”

Phew. I spent a lot of time this weekend reviewing the hundreds of comments on Friday's Michael Moore blog, and they're still coming in! It's pretty clear that this letter brought out some strong reactions in people—both positive and negative—and that's always good. I figured it might be a good idea to elaborate on a few issues that have come up as a result of our publicizing Ingrid's letter.

First of all, if you know Michael Moore, you know he can take it. Seriously. The guy is not going to cry himself to sleep because we offered him some diet advice. For anyone who has seen a Michael Moore documentary or read one of his books, you'll know that he doesn't pull punches when it comes to issues he's passionate about, or miss an opportunity to take a potshot at those he disagrees with. Compared with the letters Michael Moore writes (see, for instance, this letter he wrote to the president), Ingrid's letter was incredibly polite.

Secondly, I should probably provide a little context to our own relationship with Michael Moore—which goes back a long way. We've written to him several times over the years, starting back in the days of Roger & Me with ever-so-polite appeals to embrace animal rights. We don't hold it against him, but the only response we ever got from him was when his people showed up outside the PETA building with a donkey, two goats, two sheep, a rabbit, a chicken, three dogs, a fish in a bowl(!), a guinea pig, two gerbils, and a rat in a cage "wearing" offensive signs, like “You are wasting your lives.” He arranged to haul these animals out on a hot day to taunt hard-working people just to get a cheap laugh for his show. In addition to that little stunt, whose real victims didn’t even have the luxury of understanding what was happening to them, Michael Moore has made comments throughout his career glorifying meat-eating and hunting, and mocking people who care about animals. Now, neither I nor any of my colleagues take those comments personally—we dish it out, and we can take it. But, like I said, so can Michael Moore.

Michael Moore has never responded with anything but sneering to PETA's requests that he address animal protection issues in one of his documentaries, but we're not giving up hope. And, even if he ignores this particular attempt to reach him in his own style—playful and provocative at the same time—we hope that some of the people who hear about this story will get the message: A vegetarian diet is the compassionate choice, it's the healthy choice, and it's the right choice—for us and for animals. I'm glad that this letter has given us the opportunity to say that again.

P.S. Judging from some of the comments I read yesterday, I should probably also point out for a few people that “elephant in the room” is an expression that means “an important issue that people are avoiding.” Not, like, an actual pachyderm in someone’s living space. Like this one.

DebbieTomassi/Creative Commons

We’ve been getting a lot of questions on this since the European Parliament voted on it this week, so I thought I’d clear the air a bit.

I realize that it’s going to come as a huge shock to some but PETA is completely opposed to the ban. Obviously, the cruelty involved in the slaughter of dogs and cats is beyond hideous and has to be stopped, but we feel like this “ban” is really nothing more than a feel-good measure that is likely to harm more animals than it would help.

First off, the entire point of the proposed legislation, as it states very clearly, is to protect the fur industry. The language in the proposed legislation couldn’t be more clear on this fact: The bill is intended to and would in fact “facilitate the placing on the market of fur and fur products from species other than cats and dogs and prevent disturbance on the international market for fur and fur products in general.”

Even more insane to me is the fact that the proposed legislation would do absolutely nothing to actually stop the trade in dog and cat fur in Europe, since it would exempt fur from dogs and cats who have been killed for any other purpose, including meat. Millions of dogs and cats are killed for their meat and fur in China, where we did an investigation and found horrendous cruelty.

Our concerns really boil down to the fact that the ban will help the fur trade by giving consumers a false sense of security that it is safe to buy fur because they’ll believe it isn’t from dogs and cats. In the United States and other countries, similar bans on dog and cat fur simply haven’t worked; dog and cat fur is still sold, but it is relabelled as fur from other species. A ban like this won’t work any better than self-regulation, which, in the fur trade, means no regulation. The ban’s only practical effect will be to promote the acceptance of fur from other species of animals, including canine and feline species such as coyotes and lynx, who are just as abused as dogs and cats in the fur trade.

Essentially, this legislation will just grease the wheels of the fur industry so it can kill millions of animals for their skins while assuring consumers that none of them is like their family pets. And of course, it’s just as messed up to skin minks or foxes alive and wear their fur as it is to skin dogs or cats alive for their fur.

I hope this helps make our position a bit more clear. Where do you stand? Comments much appreciated.

I don’t know about you, but I always get a little bristly when my “almost” vegetarian friends tell me that they “only eat fish.” Of course, I totally believe that nobody is perfect, myself included, and that every small step people take to help animals is important. I just don’t understand how fish got so removed from the compassion radar that some people actually call themselves vegetarians while scarfing down tuna melts?

Richard Seaman/Creative Commons
They may not be as cute and cuddly as dogs and cats, but they feel pain and value their lives just as much.

Anyway, my point here is that everything I read about fish intelligence and sentience just blows me away. And this story from the UK put a smile on my face. It’s just kind of nice to see the plight of our piscine friends finally being taken seriously . . .

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… apart from the fact that most of them are reprehensible hedonists who care more about living the high life than living a good life—though they probably knew that already. Turns out that foie gras is a carrier for a rare but exceptionally nasty little disease called amyloidosis, which is akin to Mad Cow disease—another little gift from the meat industry to its buying public. You can read more about the discovery here, though as far as I'm concerned, the only reasons that anyone could possibly need to boycott this particular “delicacy” are right here:

In other foie gras news, my good friend Noah, who works for a group called Central Texas Animal Defense, has been very busy this month helping restaurants in his hometown of Austin get the foie gras off their menus for good. You can read about his efforts here.

Check out the gaggle of nearly naked PETA members who converged on the Spanish Embassy in Washington D.C. yesterday in a warm up for PETA UK’s sixth annual Running of the Nudes in Pamplona, Spain, to protest the cruelty of the Running of the Bulls. OK, so I guess this demo is more like the Running of the Almost Nudes since they were all rocking underwear, but still . . .

Of course in the real Running of the Nudes, most of those participants roll buck naked, save for running shoes and the red scarves that are traditionally worn during the bull run. And lots of body hair. Come on, it is in Europe after all.

Here’s the video from last year’s event.

Attention: Only watch this video if you are over 18 and if seeing naked people protesting cruelty to animals is legal where you live (the lawyers made me say that).

Click here if you want to get in on this year’s run in July.

Michael Moore, for those of you not familiar with him, is a fat, bearded dude who makes political documentaries and occasionally angers conservatives. His latest work is a film called SiCKO—which exposes the inadequacies of health care in the U.S. and played to rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival. It's going into wide release on June 29. Well, PETA's president, Ingrid Newkirk, has a few words of advice for him: As she points out in the letter she sent him this week, the best way to fight the U.S. health care bureaucracy is to take some personal responsibility and make positive changes that will lead to a healthy lifestyle—and there’s no better way to do that than by adopting a vegetarian diet. As Ingrid puts it,

“Although we think that your film could actually help reform America’s sorely inadequate health care system, there’s an elephant in the room, and it is you. With all due respect, no one can help but notice that a weighty health issue is affecting you personally. We’d like to help you fix that. Going vegetarian is an easy and life-saving step that people of all economic backgrounds can take in order to become less reliant on the government’s shoddy healthcare system, and it’s something that you and all Americans can benefit from personally.”

PETA is challenging Michael Moore to reduce his risk of fat-related illnesses by taking PETA's 30-day Veg Pledge. The idea is that if people didn't make themselves unhealthy in the first place by eating meat products that are known to cause heart disease, high blood pressure, and strokes, the situation would easier for everyone. As Ingrid puts it, "Yes, America’s health care system needs to be fixed, but personal responsibility is a big part of why people look and feel as ill as they do." Here's hoping Michael Moore puts his money where his mouth is.

You can read Ingrid's letter to Michael Moore here. I'll let you know how he responds.

Jason Bayless, our Lead Circus Monitor (i.e., the dude whose nerve-wracking job it is to follow Ringling Bros. around everywhere and document their abuse of animals), is about to embark on tour with the circus next week, so we fitted him out with a nice new set of wheels that will let circusgoers know exactly what he's there for. Jason's just going to have to rely on his natural charm if he wants to make friends with any of the Ringling employees during the six-month tour—the van itself isn't exactly designed to ease the longstanding tension between PETA and the circus …

As Scandinavian countries go, Finland is actually pretty awesome. They've got some kickass modernist architecture, the world's finest sauna technology, and—if you're into bands that play Metallica covers on the cello (which, honestly, who isn’t?)—an unbeatable music scene. Unfortunately, Finland also kills more foxes for their fur than almost any other nation, and we'd really, really like for them to go ahead and just stop doing that. Enter the wonderful Pamela Anderson, who's going to be visiting the country for the annual Rauma festival this year (Pam's ancestry is Finnish), and who took the opportunity to raise the issue with Finland's president, Tarja Halonen. You can read Pam's letter here, and I'll keep you posted on Tarja's response. Thank you, Pamela, for everything that you do. Don't forget to bring me back a souvenir.

As promised, here’s this week’s DeFlocked comic by Jeff Corriveau. I love it.

Click for a larger version

Check out last week’s comic here, and click here to learn all about the world of DeFlocked.

Yeah, that's right. We got a giant bird costume.

For a little bit of context, you should check out our undercover investigation of two PetSmart locations which revealed appalling conditions for the animals sold by the stores. There's also a handy little factsheet here, which explains (for anyone who hasn't figured it out by themselves) why big birds don't belong in small cages. This picture's from a demonstration outside yesterday's PetSmart shareholder meeting in Chicago.

Indymedia/Creative Commons

Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon dismissed a bunch of claims against PETA in a lawsuit brought by some fur-pushers called Gregg and Linda Schumacher on behalf of their business in Portland.

In a fantastic victory for animals, Schumacher Furs suffered quite a blow last year when the downtown Portland store decided to close after years of protests by concerned Portland residents. But, much as I'd love to take credit for the great protests, PETA really didn't have an awful lot to do with them—a fact which had our lawyers more baffled than concerned when ol' Gregg and Linda filed suit against us for more than $2 million in damages. Fortunately for everyone (and as Mr. and Mrs. Schumacher learned the hard way this week), being really sad and grumpy because y