If you’re even kind of into fashion, then you know that Nicole Miller is a pretty big deal. So, we were beyond excited to see this story about Miller’s recent announcement that she is going totally fur-free.

FashionEncyclopedia/Creative Commons

The grassroots group NYC Animal Rights had their sites set on Miller for protests during the upcoming fashion week, but it looks like they are shifting their focus to Michael Kors instead. Good luck NYC Animal Rights!

Did you happen to see The Tonight Show on Tuesday night? Leno unveiled his new set, which includes—drum roll please—a spiffy new set of pleather couches. Yes, pleather. Leno even made the comment that no animals were used to make them.

Maybe 2007’s Sexiest Vegetarian contest winner Kevin Eubanks had a little something to do with the switch to synthetic sofas . . .

As lawyers go, Ringling Bros. has some pretty fancy, expensive ones, but despite their best efforts last week, they couldn't keep the circus from being dragged into the courtroom once again, this time on charges of (surprise, surprise) elephant abuse. Judge Emmet Sullivan announced Thursday that a last ditch attempt by Ringling's attorneys to hold up the proceedings was a "waste of a considerable amount of [the court's] time and resources," and that the case, which was brought by a consortium of animal protection groups and a former Ringling Employee, will go forward. The circus stands accused of violating the Endangered Species Act by "abusively training and disciplining elephants with sharp implements such as bullhooks, by intensively confining and chaining the multi-ton animals for prolonged periods, and by forcibly separating baby elephants from their mothers." Given that the ol' Endangered Species Act doesn't look too kindly on those training practices, it sounds like Ringling's going to be in a world of trouble. 'Cuz that's pretty much all they do.

Editions/Creative Commons

Hans Ruesch, author of the bestselling book against animal experiments Slaughter of the Innocent, has died at the age of 94. Born in Italy, Ruesch shared a love of auto racing with PETA’s president: Between 1932 and 1937 he won 27 Grand Prix races. In 1937 he wrote the novel Gladiators, which was inspired by the popular race car driver Rudolf Caracciola. The book was made into a movie. He then wrote Land of the Long Shadows about the Innuit, which sold millions of copies and was also made into a major movie starring Anthony Quinn and Peter O´Toole. At 60, he started his fight against the pharmaceutical industry’s experiments on monkeys and other animals, calling it scientific fraud. He wrote Slaughter of the Innocent, Naked Empress, and The Pharma Story. He had to fight long legal battles with the pharmaceutical industry before he could publish his first book in Switzerland, where he lived. Many people joined PETA in the early '80s after reading Slaughter of the Innocent, now out of print.

As part of a Marketing ploy to tap into the feminist "post-punk chic" demographic (OK, I just made that demographic up, but it sounds like it could be a real thing), handbag designers Hogan recently launched a line of leather bags named after badass rock chicks. Given that Joan Jett, Kathleen Hannah, and Pink, (to name a few) have all worked with PETA in the past on our anti-animal-skins campaigns, this was kind of landmine territory for Hogan, and the whole thing went downhill fast when they decided to name a pony-skin bag "The Chrissie" after The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde-who is a lifelong animal rights activist and has staged protests around the world against the cruelty of the leather industry:

"I never thought I'd be moved to consider filing a lawsuit, but as soon as I heard my name was being used to promote bags made of dead-animal skin, I started exploring my legal options with my friends at PETA. At first, I thought this must be a joke, it's so outrageous and thoughtless."

I love you, Chrissie Hynde.

You can read the full story here.

Hope you enjoy this week’s installment of DeFlocked!

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

Ummm, OMFG. Think Wynona Ryder in Beetlejuice meets that scary 35 year old Hot Topic employee at the mall, and you’re on the right track to getting your head around our annual “I’m Too Sexy For Leather” contest.

Granted, I’m more of a Paul Frank flannel nightshirt kind of guy, but all joking aside, there’s no denying that all of these pics are super hot in their own way. . . Even for sticks in the mud like me who aren’t all that into dreadlocked dudes riding vintage bikes while wearing pleather pants and straightjackets.

In case you thought we were just kidding when we wrote to Al Gore urging him to go vegetarian to help stop global warming, maybe this ad will clarify our position for you.

The evidence is in, and though it may be a little inconvenient for Mr. Gore to hear, the facts don’t lie. This U.N. report shows that animals raised for food generate more greenhouse gases than all cars and trucks combined, and goes on to say that meat is "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global," including land degradation, air pollution, water shortage and pollution, loss of biodiversity, and of course climate change. And according to a recent University of Chicago study, switching to a vegan diet is more effective in countering global warming than switching from a standard American car to a Prius. We even went so far as to offer to cook him faux “fried chicken” as an intro to vegetarian meals, since, no matter how many of those cool little energy saving light bulbs you put in, the reality is that there just isn’t such a thing as a meat-eating environmentalist.

This story about the whole issue ran in The New York Times today, but Gore declined to comment. Mr. Gore, you’ve done so much good by putting yourself out there as the face of the anti-global warming movement, and you’re so right on so much of it, but come on, it really is high time to put some substance behind it by leading by example and doing the single most effective thing you can do to address the issue: simply going vegetarian.

If you’re into food at all then you’ve probably heard of Mark Bittman, author of the New York Times’ “Minimalist” column. But even if you don’t know Bittman by name, I’m sure you’ve heard of his book, How to Cook Everything. It’s been wildly successful because of its relaxed, accessible and realistic approach to everyday cooking. Well, that’s all well and good but it ain’t a vegetarian cookbook, you say. Well, Bittman is just about to release a new book, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, and it looks pretty darn good to me.

HamiltonSpectator/Creative Commons

Here’s an interview from Publishers Weekly that explains why Bittman decided to write a vegetarian cookbook.

TheTibetSite/Creative Commons

I have to admit that I’m not fully informed on the whole “Free Tibet” movement. I mean, I know the high points and all, but this story makes me have mad respect for the people in Tibet who are standing up for what they believe in. Apparently, the Chinese government is trying to force Tibetans to wear fur, since they gave it up in droves after the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, spoke out against it in January. At a speech in India, the Dalai Lama said, “I am ashamed and don't feel like living when I see all those pictures of people decorating themselves with skins and furs,” which inspired people all over Tibet to get rid of the traditional fur garments they owned. One guy who made his living selling fur was so moved that he burned his own store to the ground, vowing never to sell fur again. Truly amazing.

If you didn’t happen to catch Year of the Dog in theatres, don’t fret, it’s coming out on DVD today. Written and directed by Mike White—of School of Rock, The Good Girl and Nacho Libre fame—and starring Molly Shannon, Peter Sarsgaard, John C. Reilly, Regina King and Laura Dern, this is a sure thing date night rental. I’ve already added it to my Netflix list, so hopefully it comes soon, though I’ll probably wind up watching it with Joel and Princess Cuteyface. And in the meantime, I’ll just have to fill the time making these amazingly cute e-cards from our feature on the movie here.

This week, Vick’s dogs became the “property” of federal authorities, which means that they are no longer legally required to be held as they have since April, awaiting what is widely accepted as the only safe and humane fate for dogs bred, raised and trained to kill each other and other animals: a painless release from this world. Some people are saying “we must save the Vick dogs!” That sounds good, but let’s think for a minute. These dogs are not only hot fighting stock but a hot “star” commodity and will always be in danger of being stolen. For four months now, they have gone stir crazy in cages at animal control agencies around Virginia. Because they can’t be trusted to be around each other or any other animals, they are isolated, kept in solitary confinement, 24/7. Although this has likely been the only time in their sad lives when humans have shown them any kindness, life in a cage is no life. Some people have gone as far as to suggest that the dogs should have their teeth removed so that they can stay alive. Warehousing and mutilating these dogs is not the answer; it’s cruelty. Keeping them solitary and caged for the rest of their lives, no matter if in a “sanctuary” pen or in a pen in a yard, won’t be much different from how they spent their non-fighting time on Vick’s property. In this case, we must not only think about what makes us feel good. We have to think carefully about these dogs, the other animals, too, and perhaps children, who could well be at risk if “the Vick dogs” are released. Let’s also think about the tens of thousands of homeless dogs languishing in animal shelters at this very moment who desperately need our attention—the thousands upon thousands of dogs who can actually be walked or run in a dog park without fear of a mauling or worse; who are social and happy-go-lucky and won’t have to be kept isolated for life due to the unpredictable behavior that results from abuse.

Every day that these dogs remain in kennels at animal shelters is a day of increased euthanasia rates for the potentially adoptable animals that the shelters must put to death for lack of space. There is only so much space, and resources are limited. May I humbly suggest that instead of raising hell and raising money to try to “rehabilitate” these dogs, and instead of flying to Virginia to “save the Vick dogs,” we do less “heroic” but even more important things to save dogs’ lives. When it comes to euthanasia, every day’s real world choice is of which not if—making the choice to demand that fighting dogs be “saved” is a soothing fantasy, more about public relations and, in some obvious cases, about fundraising, than about truly helping the most dogs in the most productive ways. If you have been tempted to join the call to “save the Vick dogs,” please think about sponsoring a spay surgery instead. That simple wonderful act will prevent the births of countless homeless dogs who will never have to be “saved” because they will never be homeless, thanks to you. Or call your local open-admission shelter and find out how else you can get involved. It makes more sense and helps more dogs.

Now we can say what we couldn’t mention before. PETA has been talking to Michael Vick’s personal representatives, legal team, and more insiders for weeks. We asked for two things over all others: We wanted Michael Vick to tell impressionable young people not to follow in his footsteps, and we wanted him to openly condemn dog fighting. Today, in his statement, he answered both those requests, calling dogfighting “terrible” and telling kids to pay attention and not go down the same road he did. Mr. Vick also said he has found Jesus. Christian or not, we can agree that if Mr. Vick now asks himself “WWJD?” he will not be led back to dogfighting.

To urge the NFL to speak out against dogfighting as well, please click here.

And you can read the comments that PETA President Ingrid Newkirk made last week on the importance of Vick speaking out against dogfighting here.

My friend and colleague Jason Bayless has been on tour with Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus for three long months now, and I figured it was about time we had a look back at his tireless efforts to make sure that anyone who goes to a Ringling event in any state gets the elephants' side of the story too. Check out the slideshow of the tour that he sent me today:

Brittania/Creative Commons

There has been a lot of back and forth over the Vick case, but Jamie Foxx’s take on it is probably the most absurd I’ve heard yet. Foxx defended Vick in this story, because he thinks dogfighting is “a cultural thing.” Wow, one would think that someone talented enough to win an Oscar, and smart enough to parlay that into a $10 million per movie payday afterwards would know that this ain’t the time to run to the rescue of poor Mr. Vick, who is about to go down hard for straight up cruelty. Who will be next on Foxx’s list of downtrodden misunderstood abusers to defend, Pol Pot?

Anyway, here’s what PETA Prez Ingrid Newkirk had to say about Foxx’s comments, “Black leaders like Russell Simmons and Dennis Courtland Hayes, head of the NAACP would agree, as does PETA, that it is cheap and dirty and wrong to call this a cultural thing -- unless Foxx believes that cruelty is a black thing when it isn't. It may be his thing, but it is not a black thing. PETA encourages people to watch our anti-dogfighting PSA with world heavyweight boxer Lamon Brewster at PETATV.com.”

Yo, I just had to give you this little update to the Veg-Friendly Ballparks entry from a couple of weeks ago. Check out this MSN story, a version of which was just in USA Today. Boo yah.

My friend Ian, a rabid baseball fan, is seriously contemplating a "scouting" trip to sample the food at the top stadiums. What can I say? The man is dedicated.

Once again, Ian with his favorite Tides player, Mike Cervanak, and fellow PETA employee Erin. Ian likes to eat veggie dogs at Tides games.

Ingrid sent me this list of quotes from Rabbis that she received from the Jewish Vegetarians of North America the other day. It's really a fascinating read, whether you happen to be Jewish or not.

"It should not be believed that all beings exist for the sake of the existence of man. On the contrary, all the other beings too have been intended for their own sakes and not for the sake of anything else...There is no difference between the pain of humans and the pain of other animals." Rabbi Moses Maimonides (1135-1204), Guide for the Perplexed

"In the killing of animals, there is cruelty."
Rabbi Joseph Albo, Sefer Ha-Ikarim, Vol. III, Ch. 15

"To make animals suffer is forbidden by the Torah."
Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Haifa, Israel

"The dietary laws are intended to teach us compassion and lead us gently [back] to vegetarianism."
Rabbi Shlomo Raskin

“If This is Kosher . . .” a video narrated by Jonathan Safran Foer

"Being compassionate toward animal life is not just a matter of being responsible for animal life, which we have very clearly laid down in the Torah, expounded by our sages, but is a matter of imbuing ourselves with the right kind of values. If we are insensitive towards animal life, then we desensitize ourselves as human beings.
And therefore a truly sensitive human being, compassionate towards other human beings, should be compassionate towards animals."
Rabbi David Rosen, former Chief Rabbi of Ireland

"The environmental destruction caused by the animal-agriculture industry, by the amount of dung produced, by the amount of sewage that gets poured into our waterways and our systems, there's no doubt that it's damaging our world and it's ... in violation of the Jewish mandate to protect and observe and care for the Earth. ... We are ignoring things that are essential and that are critical to the character of Judaism, in order to meet our selfish desires and wants."
Rabbi Adam Frank

"This is the way of pious and elevated people... they will not waste even a mustard seed, and they are distressed at every ruination and spoilage they see, and if they are able to save, they will save anything from destruction with all of their power..."
Rabbi Aaron HaLevi of Barcelona, 13th century, Sefer HaChinuch 529

"Aside from the cruelty, rage and fury in killing animals, and the fact that it teaches human beings the bad trait of shedding blood for naught; eating the flesh even of select animals will yet give rise to a mean and insensitive soul."
Rabbi Joseph Albo, c. 1380-1444

Don Isaac Abarbanel (1437-1508), commentary on Exodus 16:4 "It [eating meat] is an overall moral shortcoming of [hu]mankind, in that it does not promote good and lofty sentiments"
Rav Abraham Isaac ha-Cohen Kook (1865-1935), 1st Chief Rabbi of Pre-State Israel, Hazon ha-Tzimhonut ve-ha---> Shalom me-Behinah Toranit

"I am a vegetarian precisely because I am a believing Jew who strives to live in accordance with the ethical teachings of my heritage....I believe that if you follow the most sublime and noble values in our tradition, in this day and age, then there is an imperative to live a vegetarian lifestyle. ... It is a halachic imperative. Compassion for animals is a halachic imperative. And being responsible also for your environment and for your globe, which also have ramifications coming out of the whole question of the meat industry and meat consumption, are all fundamental Jewish questions. So I, simply put, am a vegetarian because I am a religious Jew."
Rabbi David Rosen, former Chief Rabbi of Ireland

"I find that the way I eat is in keeping with my Jewish practice...I don't think Judaism tells you 'you have to be a vegetarian', but there is a whole variety of clues in the literature that tell us it is a good thing."
Rabbi David Small

"He who kills an ox is as if he slew a person." Isaiah 66:3

"One who destroys a single life is considered to have destroyed an entire world, and one who saves a single life is considered to have saved an entire world."
--> Talmud, Sanhedrin 4:5

"The fate of men and the fate of animals, they have one and the same fate. As one dies, so does the other, and they all have the same spirit."
Ecclesiastes 3:19

"I don't want my food choices to condone the suffering that occurs in the animal food industry. Judaism takes seriously the idea of personal responsibility. Communal change for the better and improved societal ethical behavior starts with the individual."
Rabbi Adam Frank

"The laws of kashrut come to teach us that a Jew's first preference should be a vegetarian meal."
Rabbi Pinchas Peli, Torah Today

"A higher form of being kosher is vegetarianism."
Rabbi Daniel Jezer

"We should make all our consumption as holy as possible...The more we live as if this were the messianic age the closer we are to it."
Rabbi Rami Shapiro

"What may have once made sense, now can no longer be justified....Let us realize today, in the vast majority of cases, 'kosher meat' is an oxymoron."
Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb

"By not eating meat, I am much more certain to never violate, even accidentally, the Biblical and rabbinic prohibitions concerning non-kosher meat. The traditional production of kosher meat never envisioned mass slaughterhouses or factory farms. It is questionable whether most meat or poultry produced in this country that is sold as kosher is actually in compliance with the traditional rules of kashrut as well as the prohibition against cruelty to animals."
Rabbi Jon-Jay Tilsen

"The simpler way [of maintaining kashrut], which is the better way in the eyes of the tradition, is to be vegetarian."
Rabbi Michael Cohen

"If you don't eat meat, you are certainly kosher... And I believe that is what we should tell our fellow rabbis."
Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Haifa, Israel

"The Nazis explicitly structured their industrial destruction of the Jews on the model of animal slaughter. This is not to compare the suffering of animals and humans, but shows that the way we treat animals is similar to the way the Nazis treated us."
Rabbi Hillel Norry

"Be kind and compassionate to all creatures that the Holy One, Blessed Be He, created in this world. Neither beat nor inflict pain on any animal, beast, bird or insect. Do not throw stones at a dog or a cat, nor should you kill flies or wasps."
Sefer Chasidim [Book of the Pious]

"One does not ask for forgiveness of sins while wearing articles made from the skins of slaughtered animals."
Shulchan Aruch [Code of Jewish Law]

"Perhaps the most powerful argument in favor of vegetarianism today more than ever before ... is the prohibition against 'chillul HaShem', the desecration of God's name. Surely it is precisely such a desecration when observant Jews eat animals produced under conditions of cruelty that flagrantly violate Jewish teachings and prohibitions..."
Rabbi David Rosen, former Chief Rabbi of Ireland

"It is not necessary for any human benefit to consume the flesh of animals. In fact it is harmful to human health, destructive of the environment, and wasteful of valuable resources that could be better used to feed the hungry and provide for the needy. All of these are Torah values."
Rabbi Hillel Norry

"I grew repulsed by the idea of killing and eating animals, so I stopped."
Rabbi Jon-Jay Tilsen

"The staples of life do not include meat."
Rabbi David Golinkin

"My decision to abstain from the consumption of animal products is an expression of my adherence to Jewish law."
Rabbi Adam Frank

"Even the Torah itself recognizes that eating meat is not an ideal thing for the human being. It's not the ideal diet for the human race."
Rabbi Simchah Roth

"There is simply no spiritual defense in either the Western or Eastern religious traditions for eating meat."
Rabbi Marc Gellman, "The First Hamburger"

"I relate vegetarianism to Judaism in several ways...the torture of animals and the suffering that they go through, to be raised on these large factory farms and then eaten is really forbidden by Judaism."
Adam Stein, rabbinical student

And in case you've never seen it, check out what PETA found when we went undercover in the largest "kosher" slaughterhouse in existence.

Great news! The NFL has finally suspended Michael Vick indefinitely. This is following his own admission of guilt when he entered his plea today. Now urge the NFL to add cruelty to animals—in all its forms—to its personal conduct policy. We need them to hear from as many people as possible!

You know, this just really makes me very happy. I'm happy because I know that this country doesn't like dogfighting, and dogfighters had better hear that message and get out of the business. Since the Vick case ripped the lid off dogfighting, law enforcement and PETA are getting tips and leads on other cases across the country. PETA is even offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in dogfighting, and we are already working with law enforcement in a number of different jurisdictions.

In a plea agreement entered today, Michael Vick, who was indicted last month for his role in a professional dogfighting operation, admitted that he had provided "most of the 'Bad Newz Kennels' operation and gambling proceeds" and admitted playing a role in the deaths of at least 6-8 dogs earlier this spring (some of these dogs were strangled or drowned). You can read CNN's story about the plea agreement and comments from the public here.

It's up to a judge now to decide Vick's sentence and fine. I was appalled to learn that the maximum jail sentence for Vick's offense is only 5 years.

If you're like me, and you want to do something now, let the powers that be know right now that you won't tolerate this kind of cruelty, contact the NFL and urge them to add cruelty to animals—in all its forms—to its "Personal Conduct Policy." This case has shown that NFL fans are just as disgusted by cruelty to animals as by any of the other antisocial behaviors outlined in the policy. Click here to contact the NFL now, and be sure to pick up a "Dogfighters are Cowardly Scum" t-shirt from Café Press.

Dogville, a local hot dog vendor, started selling veggie sausages last week. Of course, they've already been a big hit at the office, but from the looks of this video from HamptonRoads.tv it's not just PETA employees who are digging on the new offerings!

Check out the video which features two of my favorite things: PETA’s sexy Lettuce Ladies and large amounts of veggie kielbasa.

For those of you who live in Norfolk, the Dogville cart is located downtown on Granby St, in front of the World Trade Center. They stock all three of the Tofurky sausages—beer brats, kielbasa, and Italian sausage—and both their chili and all of the dogs are available for delivery.

For those of you who don’t live in Norfolk, apply already!

Sometimes in this line of work it's the small things that really hit home the strongest. Of course it's great to win major campaigns, but it's also great to see progress happening because people are starting to question archaic cruel practices on their own. Case in point: State-run Spanish television has quietly yanked live coverage of bullfighting from its programming, ending a decades-old tradition of showcasing the "national pastime" out of concern that cruel spectacle is just too violent for children.

Should they have taken it a step further and banned the bloodsport from national TV altogether? Of course. And do I wish they'd recognize that it's more than a little odd to even have a "national pastime" that is too violent for children to even witness on TV? Yep. But the reality is that progress usually comes in itsy bitsy baby steps, and this is most definitely a step in the right direction. It sends a clear message to the citizens of Spain and to the rest of the world that there is something very wrong with bullfighting. Of course, some people will whine about it, since some people just can’t deal with change of any kind, and there's not doubt that it will take many more years to rid the world of this hideous bloodsport, but it will happen, and this move by Spanish TV moves us that much closer.

If they're looking for something to replace the bullfights with, maybe some footage of the annual Running of the Nudes in Pamplona would do the trick.

Actually, maybe not, as the lawyers are screaming at me to warn you that if you're under 18 and you watch the video on RunningOfTheNudes.com, very bad things will happen to you.

There are a few stories making the rounds about two Chinese brands of dog treats being sold at Wal-Mart that have allegedly led to some severe problems for dogs eating them.

Wal-Mart quietly stopped selling Chicken Jerky Strips from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co. and Chicken Jerky from Shanghai Bestro Trading in July, after customers said the products sickened their pets. But as of now, there has been no official recall. If you happen to have either of these products at home, you can return them to Wal-Mart for a refund.

Just wanted to give everyone a quick heads up, and remind you that all of our pet food info is here.

Remember the movie Bonfire of the Vanities from, like, twenty years ago? Well, I don't either and this post has nothing to do with it. What this post is about is a new demonstration one of our Skins campaigners Melissa is out on the road doing. She takes some leather pants, a fur coat and a wool hat (all donated of course) and sets them up on a rack and then burns them on the sidewalk in a funeral pyre to focus attention on the fact that these products were once living beings who valued their lives. Pretty wild eh?

Here are a couple of shots from Melissa's first demo, in Pittsburgh, and here is a link to a news story about, complete with a cool slideshow on the right.

I didn't invent the iconic and timeless Saturday Night Live character Mr. Subliminal. I am not the rich and famous star of the Showtime series Weeds. And I'm not the guardian of millions of pet fish. But Kevin Nealon is all of these things, and he’s also the star of this hilarious new "veggie testimonial" video.

And make sure to watch Kevin's interview here as well. It's frikkin hilarious.

Click for a larger version

I love love love this week's installment of DeFlocked. The ending hits on an, umm, interesting bit of Ringling trivia, that, along with the inherent animal abuse involved, pretty much flies in the face of the whole "family fun" image the circus tries to portray. Check it: Ringling employees have been arrested or convicted—either while with the circus or prior to their