I’ve worked here long enough to know that for every nasty, cruel thing you could imagine to do to defenseless animals, there are some nasty, cruel people out there doing it. This is the latest one to come across my desk. These disturbing images, which have been circulating within the animal rights community and received coverage in Britain’s Daily Telegraph, Sun, and Mirror today, show the hideous “sport” of horse fighting, from an organized event in China.

One of the most disturbing things about these images for me is the crowd of sadists (and children who are too young to know any better) who look on and smile—as if they were at a football game rather than a ritual torture. PETA Asia Pacific is working to raise awareness about this hideous blood sport, and I’ll keep you posted on their success as they continue to fight the ludicrous notion that “tradition” can justify torture in this or any circumstance.

Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips were sentenced today to 18 and 21 months in prison on federal charges related to a dogfighting operation that they had been running in Virginia. We’re obviously very happy that these guys are going to be serving time for their crimes against animals, but the other key provision here is that they will not be allowed to “own” dogs for three years following their release from prison. If it were up to me, they would be banned from any contact with animals for life, but you take what you can get, and restrictions on “ownership” of animals are vitally important (and sadly, often overlooked) in any cruelty case, as repeat offenses are the norm. This provision was something that PETA had specifically asked for, and we know of no other federal case where defendants have been banned from owning animals. Purnell Peace was in tears at the sentencing and personally apologized to PETA and other animal groups for his role in these crimes—which, well, it’s nice to see some remorse, but we weren’t victims here, the dogs were, and there’s not much that an apology can do for them now. Let’s hope that this sentencing sets a strong example for any of the bastards who still think they can get away with torturing animals and forcing them to fight for amusement or profit.

Michael Vick is set to be sentenced on December 10.

Alright people, fun’s over. You had your day with Joel talking about soy nog and “smiles”. Now it’s time to get back to work. Today we will be going over the finer points of whether a coherent liberationist ethic can be constructed from strictly utilitarian arguments (or whether some sort of deontological consequentialism is necessary to round out the debate), and throughout next week, I will be doing a series on recent addenda to the Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act. There will be a quiz on Friday to make sure everyone takes it all in.

Now, here’s a picture of the serious work I was doing yesterday while Joel was goofing off back at the office. We spent the afternoon outside the British Embassy in DC to remind the British Ministry of Defense that the “world is watching” while they continue to needlessly slaughter black bears for their ceremonial hats. Apparently this required that we remove all of our clothes and paint our naked bodies like flags. Hey, I just do what I’m told. The demonstration was a blast—we met some great activists, some friendly photographers, and some very bewildered passersby, and I think the pictures came out really well. Check em out.

A bunch of flags

It’s well known that chicken fat may kill you by clogging your arteries, but did you know that it may also crash your car?

Earlier this week chicken fat that leaked from a waste truck onto the roadway caused at least four accidents and made a smelly mess in PETA’s home state of Virginia. One injured person was even taken to a hospital.

According to news reports a truck hauling waste chicken grease from a Perdue Farms plant left a valve open, and the fat leaked onto U.S. Route 13 from the plant to the Maryland state line.

According to one Virginia State Police Sergeant, the gunk caused a "really funky" odor. No kidding.

The moral of the story is that if you eat meat you’re causing car accidents—and even sending some people to the hospital. Make America’s highways safe by ordering an emergency Free Vegetarian Starter Kit now.

- Joel

Here’s a blog that I’ve been pushing Amy at our VegCooking blog to write since the idea of having a PETA food blog was still in its infancy. Amy, however, is against processed foods. I’ve been hoping Amy would go on vacation, or be sick, or something so that I could fill in for her on her blog, but I’ll have to settle for posting on The PETA Files while Jack is out.

This is a blog to spotlight the glory of McCain’s SMILES fries.

According to McCain’s web site, “Mealtime is fun time with McCain SMILES® Fun Shaped Potatoes. Everyone enjoys these fun shaped potatoes that add fun and excitement to everyone’s meal!” And you know what—they aren’t lying! Sure, I love French fries as much as the next guy, but there’s just no denying that SMILES fries are like French fries deep fried in fun.

SMILES, like basically all fries, are vegan and that’s how I’m justifying writing about them on PETA’s blog. Take that, Amy!

Another food I really like is Vans’ vegan waffles.

- Joel Bartlett

P.S. Feel free to comment about how you think I’m a better blogger than Jack and Amy.
P.P.S. Don’t worry Amy, when you’re out someday I’ll post SMILES recipes on the VegCooking Blog.

Two weeks ago I e-mailed Jack and Amy, two of PETA’s bloggers saying, “If I wrote a blog I'd write about how excited I am about this time of the year because Silk Nog is in the grocery stores and I love it. If you feel the same way as me then maybe you could mention the awesomeness that is Silk Nog in your blog.” It turns out neither Jack nor Amy felt the same way as me…

But the good news is that since Jack is busy getting naked for animals today I do have a blog for the day and I will share with the world my feelings about Silk Nog!

Silk Nog makes the holiday meal. Silk Nog is better for you than dairy & egg-based nogs. Silk Nog tastes better than eggy non-soy nogs. Silk Nog doesn’t involve animal cruelty. And really, who wants to drink chicken periods?

Silk Nog is a seasonal drink—so act quick before it’s off the shelf for another 10 months. You can usually find it—or another brand of soy nog—by the egg nogs in your grocery store.

Vegenaise: Like mayo, but good.

On the topic of vegan versions of foods that are much better tasting than the non-vegan version let’s chat about Vegenaise. I always hated mayonnaise. I thought it was goopy, yucky, rottenness. I couldn’t eat a meal that had a drop of mayo in it.

I don’t know what possibly convinced me to get over my hatred of mayo to try Vegenaise, but fortunately I made the leap of faith one day. It turns out Vegenaise is far, far better tasting than mayo. It’s good enough to eat by the spoonful. It’s unfortunate that it’s marketed to vegans rather than just anyone who realizes how disgusting mayo is. Betternaise. Tastinaise. So to everyone who’s never been blessed with a mouth full of Vegenaise—do your taste buds a favor and try some today.

What foods do you think the vegan version is better than the non-vegan version?

- Joel Bartlett

Yup, you guessed it: Deflocked!

Click for a larger version

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

I’m going to be in DC tomorrow, standing naked outside the British embassy painted like a British flag along with PETA members from seven other nations who will be reminding Britain that the “world is watching” while the nation condones the cruel slaughter of black bears for the Queen’s Guards’ silly ceremonial hats. Embarrassing as all this is for me, the real purpose of this post is to say that the PETA Files will be in the capable hands of my good friend Joel Bartlett during my absence tomorrow, so please treat him nice and try to bear with him if he goes off on long tangents about Star Trek or Buffy the Vampire Slayer (as he occasionally has a tendency to do).

And yes—I have a weird job. Wish me luck!

Joel Bartlett

DannySeo/Creative Commons

First of all, a huge congratulations to Stella McCartney for being named Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards last night. Stella beat out Luella Bartley and Anya Hindmarch to score this prestigious award, which solidifies her well-deserved place amongst the world’s top designers.

As an aside, I should point out that I don’t normally get quite this excited about women’s fashion, but Stella’s win is more than just an accolade for a talented designer—it’s a message to the fashion world that truly innovative and progressive designers can do just fine without using fur or leather. Stella, who has been a great friend to PETA over the years, has always been outspoken about her desire to keep her designs animal-friendly, and even took the time to narrate an anti-fur video to help us to persuade other designers to follow suit. Congratulations, Stella—and thanks for everything that you do.

Although the media are focusing their attention on other issues now that the furor over the Michael Vick case has died down for the time being, the horrors of dogfighting are just as present as they ever were—and there is still a long, uphill battle ahead for the animal protection community as we work to stamp out this cruel blood sport forever. Yesterday, at a hearing in Virginia to determine a trial date for Vick and his codefendants, PETA members gathered to remind the public that all dogfighters need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and that all dogs deserve justice—not just the ones who happen to be abused by famous football players.

Fox News Atlanta is currently airing an investigation into the hideous practice of fox penning, in which animals—usually foxes, wildcats, or coyotes—are chased, cornered, and torn to shreds by hunting dogs. Penning events can last up to several days, with the hunters leaving the fenced-in area so that the dogs can “exercise.” You can watch the first part of the Fox investigation here, and learn more about this horrific blood sport on reporter Randy Travis’s blog. It’s great to see that this practice is being exposed for what it is, and hopefully the investigation, which is airing tonight, will go some way to getting it stopped forever.

… Probably not, if you’re able to read this without sounding out the letters. But the term does require some explaining for an American audience, especially since we’ve just launched a brand-new website for our Burberry Campaign, written by chavs, about chavs, and for chavs. OK, to be honest, it was written by me, about Burberry, and for pretty much everyone except chavs, but it still requires some explanation for anyone who’s never lived in the UK. So here goes:

“Chavs” are city-dwelling people who enjoy public drunkenness, vandalism, thievery, “breaking things,” and, conveniently enough, Burberry clothing. And our brand-new “Boycott Burberry for the Chavs” site is a petition created for chavs who are sick and tired of Burberry making even them look bad by its tacky refusal to stop selling fur. With a lot of help from the wonderful people who design PETA’s websites, I’ve even included a handy “translate” button in the banner for the site, so you can read the petition in the “original chav.” Check it out here, and sign the petition yourself.

If you won’t do it for the animals—do it for the chavs. (And if all this still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to you, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Trust me.)

When this new video for the holiday season was debuted at a recent meeting, a lot of PETA staffers were really excited about its potential. To be quite frank, I was not one of them. But now that I’ve watched it a few times, it is starting to grow on me a bit, and I’m fascinated to hear how people react to it — both people who already believe that it’s important to care about animals, and those who are still “on the fence” about the issue (or, as I like to put it, “stuck in the dark ages”).The idea behind the video is a powerful one — that the great social justice issues of our time have always met with widespread resistance from people who are resistant to change, and that those issues were only brought into mainstream thought by people who weren’t afraid to dedicate their lives to an unpopular idea that they knew was right — to give a voice to the voiceless. I’m still undecided about whether that point comes across in this video, though it’s clear that there’s a lot more to it than I thought when I first watched it. I'd love to hear what you think about it.

Casey Calvert, the guitarist for Hawthorne Heights, was found dead in his tour bus on Friday, apparently from a case of acute asthma. In addition to being a kickass guitarist, Casey was a great friend to PETA and to animals, and his loss is very deeply felt in our office today. Some of my colleagues in peta2, who knew him best, have written tributes to Casey which you can read below. We will always remember his kindness, his enthusiasm, and his unwavering commitment to making the world a better place.

I have been on many tours with Casey over the last couple of years. Casey was one of the nicest people I have met in all my years on the road. I used to give him a hard time about leaving a venue before he needed to be on stage to go watch 'A Nightmare before Christmas' or some other similar type movie. He was always so nice to everyone he met, and willing to take the time to say hello to his fans. He also cared about animals and was always willing to be a voice for them. I really do not know what to say, but Casey will be deeply missed. My heart goes out to his family and band mates. -Jason Bayless

I met Casey on Warped Tour this past summer. Although he generally steered clear of the spotlight, he was always willing work with peta2 to be a voice for animals. Every encounter I had with Casey, he would always tell me that he was willing to do whatever for the animals, and to let him know about any upcoming projects with peta2. He will truly be missed. -Lara Sanders

If I would have randomly met Casey on the street, I would have had no idea that he was a professional rock star. He was so shy and sweet. I remember one time running into him at the local mall when Hawthorne Heights was in town. He was all by himself, and we asked him what he was up to. He said that he had just finished playing, and he had dashed out right away to make it in time to see the brand new Harry Potter movie- and to this day, I don't think I have ever seen anyone more excited to watch a Harry Potter film. Casey was a sweetheart and will be remembered forever. -Mylie Thompson

Casey was always interested in updates to peta2 campaigns over the years, tried to make it a point to stop by our booth at festivals and tours just to say hello, and was one of the most consistent supporters of all that we do to help animals. He's inspired many Street Teamers to get more active for animals and has helped to educate thousands of music fans about cruelty to animals for campaigns such as the one we have against KFC. -Pulin Modi

I remember Casey coming to our table at Warped Tour signing the petition, asking about the shirts, and looking at the stickers and leaflets. He actually stopped by the table a couple of times during Hawthorne Heights' time on Warped Tour and said hello and what not. Really one of the nicest band members that I have spoken with. -Cody Ammerman

At Bamboozle, I gave Casey a vegan chocolate chip cookie bar made by the lovely people at Trustkill Records. Casey got the biggest grin on his face I've ever seen. It was absolutely adorable! -Nicole Nuss

Casey would email me out of the blue with all these ideas about things that he could do with us to help animals. He was always thinking about new ways that he could get involved to help animals. -Dan Shannon

Casey was one of the sweetest people I've ever worked with at peta2- so down to earth and friendly. He was a true friend of the animals, and will be missed by many. -Violet Owens

This beautiful, beautiful e-card starring Christina Applegate got leaked last week, and it’s been all over the blogosphere already. The Samantha Who? star posed nude to help remind people to stay away from fur and fur-trim during the holiday season. Check it out—it"s gorgeous.

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I hope everyone had a pleasant Thanksgiving holiday. Mine would have been pretty close to perfect if it hadn’t all been tainted by yesterday’s sad events in Tampa Bay. But the show must go on, and though it may not seem like it right now, there are more important things than the apparent inability of the Washington Redskins to throw accurate passes inside the 20-yard-line. For instance: While half the country was busy stuffing their shopping bags with every piece of fabric they could find this Friday, a number of animal lovers around the U.S. spent their holiday reminding shoppers that—as much as their rabid consumerism helps America—there are plenty of ways of doing that without hurting animals, and that it’s the easiest thing in the world to buy comfortable, stylish clothes without fur, leather, or wool. Here are a couple of the pics that ended up in my Inbox this morning—the first is from a Fur-Free Friday demonstration outside the mall here in Norfolk, and the second from a great demonstration in Miami Beach.

Happy Fur Free Friday, people! I understand that today is a very big shopping day in this fine country, so I will be studiously avoiding any and all places of commerce throughout the day and focusing instead on the leftovers of yesterday’s Thanksgiving feast. But for anyone who is on their way out to take advantage of the big sales today, please don’t get carried away and buy anything made out of animals! By way of inspiration, here’s a little video we made to run during a Super Bowl a few years back. They rejected it, but it’s still a winner.

And, while you're enjoying those last few slices of Tofurkey: Deflocked!

Click for a larger version

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

Remember, don’t eat the mascot!

Check out this fantastic piece by David Shankbone that went up on WikiNews this week. Shankbone interviewed Ingrid about her reaction to the HBO documentary about PETA that just aired. Well worth a read.

Click here to read it.

So add us already. If you’re not on Facebook yet, it’s a fantastic way of meeting new friends, rekindling old romances, and getting back in touch with people you’ve spent the last 10 years trying desperately to forget. And if you are on Facebook, we would be honored to have you as a friend.

Just click here to check out PETA’s new profile, where you can check out our videos, write on our wall, and just generally be a part of our fascinating little Facebook world. See you there!

John Rich of the country superstar duo Big & Rich upset a lot of fans by wearing a big ol’ fur coat onstage at the Country Music Association Awards, telecast on ABC earlier this month. After hearing from a number of those fans ourselves, we wrote to Rich to explain how dozens of foxes are anally electrocuted for such a coat and sent along a link to Pamela Anderson’s video short on the subject. Well, it turns out Rich is, in fact, a big man, replying to us himself:

"My management wanted to respond to your email, but I opted to respond personally, as I am a rather direct kind of man. I would like you to please forward my apologies to any of your members that are fans of Big and Rich that took offense to me wearing a fur coat on the CMA awards. Trust me, it was never my intent to upset anyone. Also, if any of the world class designers that you mentioned in your previous email would like to send me full length faux fur coats, I would be happy to wear them, and when asked by the press or fans, tell them it is a faux fur. I do not agree with many of your organization’s views or tactics, but I do respect your passion for animal rights, as I am an animal lover as well. I appreciate your willingness to address me on this subject."

One of the duo’s biggest hits is “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy,” but judging from Mr. Rich’s straightforward letter to PETA, he’s willing to save a few foxes, minks and rabbits too. Thanks, John, for your compassion—you guys have a lot of fans here—especially Kim in Human Resources!

Hey, I had to use that subject line at some point. Cut me some slack here. The reference is to a fantastic piece by Bill Maher that appeared in yesterday’s Huffington Post, asking George Bush to pardon all the turkeys. Here’s an excerpt:

"I ask you to do what I'm going to do and pardon a turkey this Thanksgiving. It's not hard. Just eat something else (ideas here and here). Not someone else, because it doesn't seem fair to spare a turkey and roast a hunk of pig or cow instead. If we can bow our heads in gratitude for our families, our friends and our big screen TVs, and then carve into a creature who lived a miserable life and died a horrible death, then our ethics are about as sensible as Britney's parenting skills."

You can read the full post here, and be sure to leave a comment telling Bill Maher he’s a badass. Or something more eloquent. In making the case for a vegetarian Thanksgiving, Bill’s piece refers to our investigation into a Butterball factory farm that was a central theme of the recent HBO documentary about PETA, as well as a brand-new PETA investigation into a standard American turkey slaughterhouse, which is required viewing for anyone who is still thinking about cooking a turkey for dinner this Thanksgiving:

Other Viewing Options

Our good friend Kevin Nealon shared his own unique recipe for a vegetarian Thanksgiving feast with us during a PETA Thanksgiving event at Jorja Fox’s house last year. I think Kevin’s brilliant Thanksgiving Wad idea has the potential to be a long-lasting tradition that will forever leave its mark on the holiday. So share it with your friends. And for less adventurous (or more practical) folks, we’ve got a ton of great Thanksgiving recipes here.

Oxfam is a wonderful organization and they do a lot of great things, but their recent attempts to make money by hurting animals need to stop ASAP. Unfortunately, Oxfam has recently begun exploiting people's compassion and generosity by sending them gift catalogs full of adorable looking animals who can be "donated" to impoverished people. Now, everybody likes cute animals, but there’s something particularly sordid about using their images in a fundraising scheme that involves shipping them off to countries with no animal welfare standards, where they will be neglected, starved, and killed in horrific ways. As effective as this little stunt may be for Oxfam’s Membership Department, there are much better ways to alleviate global poverty that don’t victimize animals—and they damn well know it.

Please take a moment to learn more about our efforts to encourage Oxfam to do the right thing, and send them an e-mail about this misguided campaign, by clicking <