Katherine Heigl wearing our "Have a PETA Day" T-shirt

Well, last night was probably my favorite television night of all time, because the best show ever also brought in an important message about animal rights. (TV + AR = my life, so you can see why I was thrilled.)

If you missed it, let me catch you up. Dr. Hunt, the new head of trauma surgery, wanted to train the residents and interns on how to deal with trauma patients, and he said that dealing with live tissue was the best way to learn. So he tied down six sedated pigs and stabbed them with knives, and then he asked the doctors to perform surgery to keep the pigs alive. (Though I'm quite sure that in real life the pigs were fake, as the show had several notices that no animals were harmed in filming.)

Enter Dr. Izzy Stevens, played by Katherine Heigl. Izzy refused to do the assignment and explained how completely unnecessary it is to test on live animals when we have such advanced alternatives that don't require us to do that. She said that animals are sensitive, emotional creatures that feel pain and don't deserve to be tortured. We are so right there with you, Izzy!

When Dr. Hunt continued to berate Izzy about this issue, she stood up for herself and for animals everywhere and never backed down. She even explained that testing on animals is pointless and can sometimes even work against medical progress. Even though a test might be successful when the subjects are animals, people and animals are different species and therefore will show completely different results.

Even no-nonsense, steely Dr. Yang took a liking to the pigs and called them by name. When the surgeries finished, Hunt ordered Yang to euthanize the pigs and she refused.

What an excellent episode! I was so thrilled to step away from Meredith's whiny, self-obsessed life for a while to focus on the other characters—and such a positive message for animals.

Now, if only Ross University had seen this episode ….

Posted by Christine Doré

Happy Halloween, animal lovers! I hope you all took our costume advice this year. I'm planning to see tons of Trollsens and Colonels wandering the streets tonight in search of fab vegan candy. Before your teeth begin to ache from too much sugar and your costume gets retired for another year, check out the best holiday e-card that Halloween has to offer. Enjoy!

Posted by Christine Doré

How fun that this year Halloween falls on an Internet Soup Friday! Yes it's cheesy, but I so love the little last-day-of-school rush that I get on I.S. Fridays. It's like you've already turned in all your homework and extra credit, so while you're waiting for the bell to ring, you just go online (or, in my day, rummage through the teacher's desk) and look for weird and fun stuff. So at the end of an action-packed week of filing, here is our offering of oddities.

• Lucky New Yorkers! Catch the 6 Train and scuttle on down to Bleeker Street to catch the latest ingenious exhibit by my favorite street artist Banksy. (OK, I'm not hip enough to know of more than one graffiti artist, but I certainly adore this one!)


• Poultrygeist, the quintessential tacky vegan cult flick, is out on DVD.


• Animal friends are gettin' in on the Halloween action. (Or silly humans are just anthropomorphizing. Still cute, though.)


• Hey, dolphins in Malibu basically have the right to vote, so I'm not sure why this is so crazy.


• Oh! The most precious thing I've seen all week!


• Here are some photos of people who you don't know in Shandong, China, signing a petition against fur. Represent, y'all!


• And since we're all in the Halloween spirit, MSN did the world a favor and ranked Mars candy as some of the worst around. We couldn't agree more, because Mars Inc., ya know, tortures animals!

So that's the lot! We sure hope you've enjoyed these tidbits while avoiding real work. I'm off to put in my vegan wax fangs and witch hat. Tune in next time, and please feel free to let us know if you come across any cute or strange happenings that you'd like us to include.

Happy Halloween!

Posted by Missy Lane

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Maureen has long been known for her adorability—it's true, she's super cute!—but even after her (winning!) stint on Celebrity Fit Club, she's still been looking to shed a few more pounds. So, being the helpful people we are, we're sending her a copy of PETA's "Vegetarian Starter Kit" and a word of advice—that one of the best, healthiest ways to lose weight is to go vegan!

As we wrote in our letter to Maureen, vegan diets are a great change from the heart-damaging cholesterol that is found in dead flesh. Cutting out dairy also means cutting out a lot of fat—dairy foods are, after all, about as high-fat as you can get.

You can check out our letter to Maureen here. We hope that Maureen can turn over a new dieting leaf, and maybe she'll find her true voice—as a vegetarian!

Posted by Amanda Schinke

If you live in California—or even if you don't!—you've probably heard all about Prop 2, the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act. Prop 2 concerns a law that would take effect in 2015 to eliminate veal crates, gestation crates, and battery cages in California. In other words, calves, sows, and hens would finally be given enough space to simply turn around, lie down, and stretch their limbs.

Although we at PETA would, of course, prefer that no animals be killed for food whatsoever, lessening the hell that these animals are put through is something that can be accomplished right now—on November 4, in fact, when Californians go to the polls.

Among the many voices clamoring in support of Prop 2 are Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles stars Lena Headey and Thomas Dekker, who have come together with us to help explain why Prop 2 is so important. Enjoy it, spread it around—and vote "Yes!" on Prop 2!

Posted by Amanda Schinke

My friends, this is breaking news. There looks to be a serious correlation between the Phillies' year-end season ranking and the ranking of Citizens Bank Park (home field of the Phillies) on PETA's annual list of the Top 10 Vegetarian-Friendly Ballparks.

If you'll take a gander at the nifty graph above, you'll see that 2005 was the first year in which Citizens Bank Park cracked PETA's Top 10, landing firmly in fifth place. The Phillies also improved their record that year. In 2006, despite adding veggie dogs to their munchies lineup—which already included flame-grilled Gardenburgers—Citizens Bank Park slipped a bit in our ratings, landing in seventh position. Subsequently, the Phillies record slipped three games. Coincidence? I think not.

In 2007, Kevin Tedesco, the head of Citizens Bank Park, took it up a notch and added a groundbreaking, delicious faux-steak sandwich piled high with grilled onions, mushrooms, peppers, and hot sauce. And Citizens Bank Park finally won the coveted title of the most vegetarian-friendly ballpark—and the players did pretty well for themselves, too, finishing with their best record in years and earning a spot in the playoffs.

During that offseason, Tedesco signed some huge free agents, including mock-chicken sandwiches and "crab-free crab cakes." (Of course, we don't want to forget the role-players, including hoagies with roasted veggies, soups, salads, "The Poppy" sandwiches—featuring roasted eggplant, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes—and PB&J for the kids.) The results? Citizens Bank Park took home a resounding victory in Veg Ballparks, and, well—you heard it hear first, folks—the Phillies won the World Series.

What will Tedesco do next year for an encore? Perhaps add pizza with soy cheese? A Gardenburger riblet sandwich on a toasted bun? We don't want to put any pressure on our favorite Philadelphian, but if he continues to stack up the protein-packed, cruelty- and cholesterol-free offerings, we're thinking that Cole Hamels and company might sweep every round of the playoffs in 2009. If you want your home team to offer more humane veggie options (and maybe win the World Series!) be sure to shoot them a note with some tasty ideas.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

Back in January, we told you about one of our cheekier stunts in our ongoing quest to help chickens who are raised and killed for KFC. Long story short: It involved the cemetery where KFC founder "Colonel" Sanders is buried and a headstone for PETA's own Matt Prescott (who, don't worry, is still among the living). The headstone is inscribed with a poem, the first letters of which spell out, "KFC TORTURES BIRDS."

Now, granted, we might have a slightly, um, off-center sense of humor, but what we saw as cheeky, others thought of as, well, morbid. One commenter even accused us of having "desacrated [sic] an entire graveyard." (Seriously? And people call us drama queens!)

Fortunately, a lot of other people "got it." Unfortunately, among those who didn't see the humor were the operators of the cemetery (and, just possibly, those chicken-pluckers at KFC). Suffice to say that we now find ourselves in possession of a homeless gravestone.

Cave Hill Cemetery forced us to remove Matt's headstone after cemetery officials caught on to the hidden message it sent. As such a unique piece of activism history, we'd hate to see it collecting dust when it can be out there getting the message out about KFC's real secret recipe. So now this piece of animal rights history can be yours just in time for Halloween, the creepiest holiday of the year—give or take Yom Kippur and Dia de Los Muertos. We're offering you the chance to own something that will scare the bejeepers out of your local trick-or-treaters. So head on over to eBay and make a bid—not only can you own a piece of animal rights history, you can help PETA put an end to the cruelty of KFC and other animal abusers as well.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

If you're looking for a truly scary haunt this Halloween, look no further than Postville, Iowa–based Agriprocessors. Seriously folks, it's a real house of horrors for all living creatures. The kosher slaughterhouse is severely lacking when it comes to humane treatment of animals and humans. Here's a perfect example from one of our undercover investigations:

You may remember that a few months back the slaughterhouse was busted because "76% of the 968 employees of Agriprocessors were using false or fraudulent Social Security numbers." This was the nation's largest single-site immigration raid. That's right, the slaughterhouse was almost entirely staffed by illegal immigrants who were exploited to do the dirty work—such as hacking into the throats of cows who were still conscious.

Now, Agriprocessors has something of its own to scream and writhe in pain about. According to the Des Moines Register, the slaughterhouse "faces nearly $10 million in civil penalties for repeated violations of Iowa's wage laws between Jan. 1, 2006 and June 30." And it appears that cattle slaughter at the plant has stalled—which translates into millions of dollars lost for the meat industry. You can check out the specific fines here.

According to the article, Iowa Labor Commissioner Dave Neil said, "Once again, Agriprocessors has demonstrated a complete disregard for Iowa law."

In addition to the $10 million in state fines, Agriprocessors is in even more trouble with the feds. A human resources employee pled guilty to conspiracy and identity theft charges, and the former CEO (and owner's son) Sholom Rubashkin was just arrested on similar charges. Heads are rolling at Agriprocessors, but for once they're not bovine heads.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

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That's right—a pair of guests at the Coogee Bay Hotel in Sydney were served a nice dish of gelato, complete with its own poop garnish. They believe that they were served the chocolate poo chunk as an act of "kitchen revenge"—the couple had complained about some loud music earlier that evening.

You know what my favorite part of this story is? That "DNA analysis is now being carried out to determine whether the poo was of human or (sic) animal origin." ("I went and threw up, obviously," the woman said. No kidding!)

On the other hand, as Alexia over at PETA Europe points out, is this so very much worse than the frozen secretions in milk? I mean, yeah, it is disgusting, but at least it's not full of pus, right? And hey, both get squeezed out of an animal. … I'm just sayin'.

And wait a minute—it's not like a lot of people aren't regularly eating poop anyway. Think about it: Animals on factory farms are stuck in their own waste all day long—is it any surprise that meat is so often contaminated with feces? And people wonder where salmonella comes from ….

Posted by Amanda Schinke

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With guidance from his coach, John Calipari, he's now working hard to shed the pounds and get back his game, and we at PETA have a novel suggestion to help him manage his weight: go vegetarian.

By going vegetarian, Henderson-Niles would be aligning himself with a host of other successful athletes, including ultimate fighter Mac Danzig, NBA legend John Salley, Salim Stoudamire of the Atlanta Hawks, Kansas City Chiefs star Tony Gonzalez, and Carl Lewis, who was named "Olympian of the Century" by Sports Illustrated.

"[O]verwhelming scientific evidence shows that vegetarians are far less likely to be overweight than meat-eaters and much more likely to be in better overall health," wrote PETA Director Dan Shannon. "While lots of grease might be required to tame Coach Calipari's hair, choking down greasy chicken and ribs just makes people fat and causes heart disease." You can read Dan's full letter here.

Posted by Sean Conner

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Is there anything more surreal than surviving countless bouts of painfully truthful admissions from the number one most-feared judge on American reality television? Yeah, of course! Just ask Kellie Pickler. The country singer went head-to-head with Simon Cowell in season five of American Idol, but it turns out that she couldn't look her own food in the face and still finish her meal.

People Magazine reports that this country gal, who has been blazin' her own trail of stardom since her elimination from the show, has recently adopted a vegetarian diet. It looks like all that palling around with fellow vegetarian and friend Carrie Underwood has paid off—for Kellie's health and for animals. Oh, and did I mention that Kellie's decision was partly influenced by a Pamela Anderson television PSA that was put out by a somewhat well-known animal rights group that you might have heard of—ah, shucks, it was a PETA ad!

Kellie says: "One night I couldn't sleep, and I was up and just Googling random stuff, and I'm like, 'Hmmm, PETA.' I saw all the videos, and I just thought it was horrible. It's animal cruelty. A lot of it has to do with knowing what happens to the animals, and it really bothered me, and so I will not eat meat."

Props to Kellie for ditching her beefy ways. It's not always easy, especially when many of the songs in her music genre aren't so—shall we say—vegetarian-friendly. The former rare meat junkie says she already feels healthier, and that is a mighty good thing considering that she just released her self-titled second album.

Maybe on her next album she can sing about pigs in gestation crates or veal calves confined to tiny stalls. No?

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

A milk processing plant in California exploded on Monday. Seriously—it seems that a spark landed in some powdered milk, and the whole shebang went up like a powder keg—or perhaps we should say carton. Tee hee.

Injuries were kept to a minimum, thank goodness. Only one brave employee was wounded—he was helping firefighters navigate the plant, and he had to be treated for heat exhaustion. He's fine now, though!

The milk fire did, however, get pretty big—seven fire engines had to be called in, and the explosion blew a hole in the side of the building. Goodness gracious, we already knew about some of milk's explosive effects, but this is just ridiculous!

Because it pains me to go out on a fart joke, perhaps I'll call your attention to the other dangers that are associated with milk—like breast cancer, heart disease, and prostate cancer—not to mention all the baby calves for whom the dairy industry is, quite literally, deadly.

Also, milk will blow a hole in the side of your factory. I'm just sayin'.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Those zany kids at PETA Asia-Pacific are never content to rest on their … um, laurels—and thank goodness for that! Not satisfied to raise awareness about animals in China, Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan, and the Philippines (among other countries), they're now moving into new territory: Mongolia.

In a new pro-vegetarian ad proclaiming, "Turn Over a New Leaf, Try Vegetarianism," Mongolian singer-songwriter Nominjin wears a spectacular full-length gown made of fresh lettuce leaves. This will be the first PETA Asia-Pacific ad to appear in Mongolia.

"Kicking the meat habit is one of the most rewarding actions I've ever taken in my life," Nominjin said. "The best thing that anyone can do for animals, the Earth, and their own health is to go vegetarian."

You can't just grab a lettuce-leaf dress at the nearest department store, of course. It involves a trip to the market—and then a whole lot of work to assemble, as you can see in these pictures from the shoot:

BTW, that's PETA Asia-Pacific Director Jason Baker stringing together the peppers—proving that there's nothing he won't do to help animals!

Posted by: Jeff Mackey

But let's get this straight: Clogged arteries restrict blood flow to organs, and this can lead to organ malfunction. Oh my—so I guess that means that blood flow would be hindered to all organs—which means that any major/male organ could begin to malfunction. Yep, I think you smell what I'm steppin' in … the bizarre and common connection between animal abuse and impotence.

You heard it here first folks. So please, protect yourselves, protect your children: Quit huntin' and go vegan!

Posted by Missy Lane

Read Time's "10 Questions for Ingrid Newkirk" now.

But why should it just be readers of Time that get to address Ingrid? We love our blog readers and know that just from keeping up with our many campaigns you must be among the most educated and inquisitive folks out there. So we figured we'd give you a chance to ask Ingrid a few questions about any and all things related to animals and PETA. To submit a question for Ingrid, please leave us a message letting us know what's on your mind. We'll post responses to 10 of your questions in a few days.

Posted by Sean Conner

P.S. For the sake of keeping things orderly, please leave only one question or subject per comment and try not to submit a question that's already been posted.

Would you believe that Hairy-Kate and Trashley wouldn't stop to talk with us? You'd think they didn't like our masks—and after we waited for them in the rain too! And what with me having gone to the same college as they did and everything (although I, ahem, graduated). Shameful, really—but what do you expect from girls who continue to promote the cruel and toxic fur industry, even after peta2 gave them the facts? Shameful, indeed.

That's right—the Trollsens never came out to say "Hi." That's OK, though—we got to talk to a lot of their fans (who knew they had fans?) and showed a lot of people the truth about the fur-loving Trollsens' "Full House of Horrors." (Can I point out that I'd never seen that video before? How had I never seen that video before?)

There's also a chance that I, in my Hairy-Kate mask, might have inadvertently terrified a small child. It's true, young man; the Trollsens are frightening. Beware.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

The smoke was too much of a hazard for our beauties to get too close, so the Tofutti Cuties were handed off to park officers to deliver to the firefighters (which I guess makes the park officers deputy PETA beauties!). The men who were directing traffic away from the fires also got to sample some delicious, cholesterol-free Tofutti Cuties. Judging by the pictures, it looks like the ladies brought the mint and chocolate varieties! (The chocolate just happens to be my favorite, so I'm trying to quell the feelings of jealousy here.)

Check out photos of the ladies saying, "Thank you 'soy' much!" to the firefighters below. To learn how choosing dairy-free "ice cream" over the gross-out alternative saves your health and animals, visit MilkSucks.com.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

There's a great editorial titled "PETA's Undercover Agents Deserve a Pat on the Back" in the Post-Bulletin that's well worth reading. We don't generally just push people over to another site, but when something is good it's good—so we'll let someone else do the writing this time.

Check out the editorial here.

Posted by Joel Bartlett

Well hot diggity, she's done it again! The world's original female rock star has kindly chosen to use her powers for good by taking the time to shoot a new PSA for us. Just in case you hadn't heard, in addition to being a trailblazing icon, Joan is also an outspoken animal rights activist (not to mention that I've had my hair blown back by her bangin' music).

The Songwriting Hall of Famer doesn't just toss us a bone now and again by lending us her celebrity; this vegan actually talks about animal rights to every interviewer and audience that will listen. Her refreshing outlook and activism include a passion for the environment as well. Her latest CD, Sinner (which is rockin' in my earphones right now), actually comes to you loud and direct in 100 percent recycled packaging.

Because she gets the big picture, she's obviously the perfect candidate to give a spiel about why going vegetarian is most important favor we can do for the only planet we have. Check out the snappy, fact-filled veggie testimonial she did for us here:

You can also view our awesome behind-the-scenes interview with Joan here:

Posted by Missy Lane

With Halloween fast approaching and folks covering their homes and yards with the dusty plastic décor of yesteryear, the sight of gravestones might not make many folks bat an eye …. But when it's activists—including the Grim Reaper himself—urging Petland shoppers to stop letting dogs die, it just might get your attention.

Some great folks in Olathe, Kansas, did just that. They gathered outside a local Petland to remind folks that when people buy dogs from money-grubbing breeders, they are denying homes to needy dogs in animal shelters and subsidizing the animal overpopulation crisis. Petland, animal-peddling "pet shops," and breeders all continue to flood the market with more and more new animals, even as those in animal shelters are dying because of the lack of good homes.

Check out these awesome pics from the demo!

It's as easy as ABC, folks.

Posted by Sean Conner

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Russell has lent his tremendous star power to many worthy PETA causes. He's stood up for dogs and against dogfighting, he's a vegetarian who wants to kick KFC's bucket, and he spoke out against foie gras last year.

So, not only is Russell generous to the five charities he personally heads—that's right, five—he's always got time to help animals.

So congratulations, Russell! You are one icon well deserving of an award.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

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When we emailed Dave, his rep told us that not only was the jacket totally faux, but also that the entire band is against fur and completely fur-free! This is awesome. It looks like The Killers agree with the long list of stars who refuse to promote, ya know, genital electrocution and other such lovely aspects of the fur industry.

So The Killers are against fur? Hmm … "Rather Go Naked" ad, anyone?

What? Don't look at me like that. You were thinking the same thing … right?

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Still don't have a Halloween costume? Too tall to pass for a Trollsen Twin? Take a tip from PETA VP Dan Mathews: be the Colonel.

"Impersonating a scary guy like Colonel Sanders at Halloween is a great way to get a PETA point across at parties and become a frontrunner in costume contests," says Mathews, shown in the accompanying photos in his anti-KFC get-up. KFC is a total house of horrors after all—and our depictions of the colonel are terrifying enough to go along with Saw V. So, why not take advantage of KFC's hideousness and make a gloriously scary Halloween costume? All you need is a white suit and a bloody bucket!

Conveniently, printable versions are available for you to make your very own bucket of blood to accessorize your costume.

Yikes! Terrifying, no? It's a little scary how well Dan pulls that off … of course, he does have experience—no, not as a chicken torturer! In costumes and as a model! Sheesh.

Only eight days left until Halloween! Better get cracking with the corn syrup and red food coloring—you want to have enough blood, don't you?

Posted by Amanda Schinke

ericaberghan / CC

Wait, what? No, seriously—89-year-old Edna Jester of Ohio, in a move straight out of every kids' movie I ever watched growing up, declined to return the errant football that made its way onto her lawn. Here's where the story changes, though; Ms. Jester was then arrested and charged with petty theft for refusing to hand over the ball—and you know we just had to get involved. Fortunately (for Ms. Jester, anyway), the charges have since been dropped.

"But," our hearts cry, "what about the kids who lost their football? Will they ever get it back?"

Probably not—as of yesterday, one of the kids' fathers told news sources that his son just wanted the $15 football back. Well, we hear ya, Paul—and you know what? Being the charitable people that we are, we are more than happy to send your son a football (leather-free, of course) to replace the one he lost.

Heck, we'll even send two. Ya know, in case the first one ends up over the fence.

You can check out the letter we're sending to the boy's mother—or you can check out where you can get your very own leather-free football! (Defiant elderly neighbor not included.)

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Haha! This is perfect!

Click for a larger version

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

It's with a proud and ecstatic heart that I report this news today! Our investigation into an Iowa pig farm that breeds piglets destined for Hormel has resulted in 22—that's right, count them—22 criminal charges.

The Greene County Sheriff just announced in a news release that six individuals employed by the farm at the time of PETA's investigation now face a total of 22 counts of livestock neglect and abuse. Those charged include a former farm manager—who we understand still works on another pig factory farm—and a supervisor, as well as two individuals who still punch the clock at the Iowa factory farm as we speak.

A whopping 14 of the counts are aggravated misdemeanors—the stiffest possible charges under Iowa state law for crimes committed against farmed animals—carrying up to two years behind bars. To PETA's knowledge, this is unprecedented.

Charges based on PETA's undercover investigations are now pending against pig factory farmers in both Iowa—the nation's top pig-raising state—and North Carolina, which occupies the second rung on that dubious list!

This is a small victory for farmed animals, but we mustn't forget that Hormel, which financially supports this farm, has by all appearances yet to make any changes as a result of this investigation. It has refused to meet with us or even watch all of the footage, which we have repeatedly offered to show the company. Maybe now that the law has spoken up, Hormel will finally listen.

Please, urge Hormel to take action now.

Posted by Christine Doré

Raccoon Dog Pups
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Now comes word that melamine contamination appears to be responsible for killing 1,500 Chinese raccoon dogs. As horrible as it is to die from melamine poisoning, the alternative isn't much better for these animals, because raccoon dogs in China are commonly raised and skinned alive for their fur.

Either way, the responsibility for these horrible deaths falls squarely on the shoulders of those who support this cruelty by buying fur. If the raccoon dogs had been left alone in their native habitats, they wouldn't be eating an artificial, contaminated diet—and they certainly wouldn't face having their skin ripped off their bodies while they are conscious and in agony.

So, as the weather turns colder, if you see any fur-wearers, be sure to ask them if they prefer that the money they spent for that coat, collar, or cuff caused animals to die in agony from toxic kidney failure, or like this:

Posted by Jeff Mackey

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In addition, Nike, Lindex, Marks & Spencer, and H&M sent their own letters urging the industry to add clip mulesing to the certification.

So, what is this tick box, and why is it important? Well, the wool industry has made a certification form to allow retailers to purchase wool from lambs who haven't undergone the mulesing mutilation. (Yay!) But under the current certification, if a retailer also doesn't want wool from lambs who have undergone clip mulesing—where their skin is painfully killed using tight clamps—they can't get it. (Boo!)

So PETA flexed a little muscle and got 15 major clothing retailers, whose sales total more than AUD $100 billion (yes, that's "billion" with a "B"), to send a strong message to the wool industry that they oppose clip mulesing and want to avoid mulesing of any kind in their supply chains.

Of these companies, one—Nordstrom—stands out. Nordstrom was ready to pilot the certification program for all its own-label 2009 men's merino wool sweaters. After figuring out that the industry couldn't guarantee that no clip mulesing was used for the sweaters, Nordstrom backed out of the program. But then it went even one step further and decided to source all that wool from outside Australia instead!

Kudos to Nordstrom and these 14 other retailers for helping send the strong message that clip mulesing is not acceptable and that real alternatives to mulesing must be put in place.

The world is watching, Australia ….

Posted by Matt Prescott, PETA Corporate Affairs

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Mia, who is promoting her new book, I Live Here, actually posed for the photos ages ago. In the article, Mia says that she regrets wearing something that even looks like fur and would never be caught dead wearing something so realistic again. Bless her sexy self! She even tried to have the image pulled, but it had already been sent to press. Brilliantly, the opportunity to help more animals through this embarrassing little mishap was not lost.

To make sure there's no mistake about its cruelty-free stance, Curve placed a bold disclaimer on the cover declaring, "This is definitely FAKE fur!" Then, seizing the opportunity to educate readers about why fur is so disgusting, there's a very impressive letter from the editor that does all animal defenders proud!

A portion of the letter reads, "Why should you care? Even if you're a carnivore, you probably would be shocked at the torture and cruelty that goes into creating real fur, from the tiny cages to the horrid electrocutions. Don't believe me? Check out furisdead.com. You only had to look at last summer's headlines—in which it was revealed some manufacturers had actually used dog and cat hair as fur—to see how dead it is."

Whew! They took the words right out of our mouths!

Posted by Missy Lane

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Attempt 1: Five years ago, the longtime PETA supporter turned down an invitation from Prince William to perform at his 21st birthday party. She declined because of his hunting habits, and then posed a question of her own to the future king, asking him why he hunted animals at all. And … she's still waiting. Maybe he is too busy, or maybe he hasn't figured out why. You choose.

Even with her brand-new album, Funhouse, scheduled for release October 28 and an insanely hectic schedule, the singer has not forgotten about Prince William's lack of response, recently saying, "It's a bit rude, isn't it?"

Attempt 2: This time, Pink challenged The Queen. The star asked Queen Elizabeth II why the bear fur on The Queen's Guards' caps hasn't been replaced with a synthetic, cruelty-free material, as PETA Europe has suggested repeatedly.

Perhaps the Royal family needs to pass more Royal edicts, like this one from Prince Charles, who kicked foie gras off all Royal menus this year.

And seriously, respond to Pink's letter. She's waiting, PETA's waiting, and the bears are waiting. This rock star means business … have you seen that billboard in Times Square?!

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

Back in August, we wrote to the company about this, urging it to adopt a fur-free policy. At the time, the company said that it would look into the issue to gauge people's thoughts on it. So, to help speed that process up, we launched an online marketing campaign, getting members of the public to write to Zappos.com's CEO and urge him to send the pelts packing—and more than 11,000 of you did! The campaign became totally viral and social networking played a huge part—many people posted tweets on Twitter, passed around our petition on Facebook, and much more.

I mean, seriously, is this the first campaign in history ever to be won by tweeting and the slick use of other online tools? It's pretty exciting if you ask me—and also pretty novel! We are paving the way of the future, my friends.

Well, it seems that Zappos.com got the message that people hate fur, because yesterday, the company officially adopted a permanent policy never to sell any products containing the fur of an animal!

Thank you SO much, all you fantastic online activists, for helping—and thank you, Zappos.com, for making the kind decision to forgo fur now and in the future. This will help spare countless minks, rabbits, foxes, and other animals all the horrors of fur farming and trapping, such as being electrocuted, bludgeoned, and skinned alive.

Now that we're all rightfully pumped up about this exciting victory, we've decided to take on a new campaign—because, well, we can't be stopped! Please join us in asking Amazon.com to follow Zappos.com's lead and go fur-free. For those who want to learn more about the issue and find other ways to help, please visit FurIsDead.com and be sure to check out our compassionate clothing guide here.

Posted by Christine Doré

Click the photo to view the slideshow at LAWeekly.com Credit: C.R. Stecyk III

To jog your memory a bit: The desert tortoises had been living in critical habitats located near (and sometimes on) Fort Irwin–owned land. These protected land areas were created in order to provide protection for these reptiles and boost their dwindling population.

Sadly—but certainly not unexpectedly—phase one of the project has reportedly resulted in the deaths of 90 desert tortoises. Even worse, officials expected there to be some loss of life because of the relocation, but they continued with their plans anyway. Officials clearly underestimated the frailty of these animals and the harm that relocation could cause. It's pretty clear that officials failed to consider all potential threats to these tortoises when they factored into their plans the deaths of up to 136 desert tortoises during the entirety of phase one—not the deaths of 90 tortoises during the initial relocation, as has happened.

Early reports indicated that many of the relocated tortoises seemed to be moving in a direction back toward their original home. Unfamiliar surroundings, lack of shelter, and larger animals such as coyotes put these tortoises in great danger right from the get-go.

On a somewhat positive note, army officials have—for the time being—halted plans for further relocation.

Obviously, we at PETA don't believe that any project that causes disruption and stress to a group of animals can be deemed a success. At least now, army officials have no choice but to consider the welfare of these desert tortoises and possibly to show them a bit of the compassion that they should have shown from the start.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

One month ago, we released shocking footage from an undercover investigation of a factory farm in Iowa that raises pigs who are destined for Hormel. The public was rightly outraged by the horrific findings of PETA's investigators, who found that workers repeatedly hit pigs with metal gate rods and canes, a worker slammed the heads of piglet "runts" into the floor, and a supervisor shoved a cane into a sow's vagina and talked about sexually abusing pigs.

Even after the farm changed ownership and management during the investigation, this disgusting treatment and abuse of animals continued.

That being said, we have just released previously unseen footage from the investigation, apparently showing the farm manager kicking and shocking a pig. Unbelievably, he is still the manager of the farm!

In the video, the farm manager is seen shocking a pig with an electric prod and kicking her—both in apparent violation of the farm owner's own written policy—in a prolonged attempt to make her stand, which is a requirement for pigs who are sold for slaughter. The suffering sow, who was unable to stand due to crippled hind limbs, was left in the pen for two days, bleeding from a severed hoof, until she was ultimately shot and killed.

This shocking footage of the farm manager was recorded the very next working day after PETA's undercover investigator reported to the farm manager the abuse that he had documented at the farm.

We are seething mad that the farm manager retains his position as farm manager and has been allowed to continue to supervise other employees and their treatment of pigs. It is painfully obvious to us that all factory farms—as long as they exist—must be managed by individuals who are competent in humane handling of animals and who can lead by example. We'll let you determine whether he fits the bill.

We stand firm in our demand that Hormel take action against these abuses, despite the company's continued failure to respond to our attempts to work with it. Join us in renewing our pressure on Hormel. Demand that the company enact meaningful reforms to prevent this sort of abuse from occurring on its suppliers' farms.

Update: We wanted to make sure that it's clear to our readers that we offered several times to show Hormel and the farm's management ALL the footage that was taken during PETA's undercover investigation at the supplier's farm—including the above footage of the manager. Neither Hormel nor the farm's management took us up on our offer.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

hollywoodgrind / CC

There are a couple of reasons why Mr. Blackwell was so well-loved at PETA. First, his list was the inspiration for our own infamous Worst-Dressed List of notorious fur-addicts. His lists included the most biting barbs and were packed with puns and alliterative allusions (he rhymed, too, but I'm not very good at that). We loved that his 2006 list included fur hag Sharon Stone, whom he described as "an over-the-hill Cruella DeVille." Of course, we had already included her in our 2001 list, saying, "Put your fur coat away, Sharon. We saw enough of that tired old beaver in Basic Instinct."

We've agreed with Mr. Blackwell on more than just those two occasions, though. He described Madonna as follows: "From Ghetto Glam to Rhinestone Cowgirl to Mrs. Guy Ritchie. Any way you label it, she's still just kitschy, kitschy, kitschy." We said of the Material Girl: "The animal on her back is as dead as her film career—and duck-hunting hubby Guy Ritchie is not going to revive either." Whoopsie, I guess those little barbs aren't too relevant anymore!

Mr. Blackwell also agreed with us on the subject of the Trollsen Twins, saying of Hairy-Kate, "She resembles a tattered toothpick trapped in a hurricane." And finally, both we and Mr. Blackwell elected to pull Britney Spears off of our respective Worst-Dressed Lists in 2007; PETA decided that she needed a break from everyone, and Mr. Blackwell decided it was inappropriate to mock her "when her personal life [was] in such upheaval."

What can we say? Great minds think alike, and Mr. Blackwell was truly a great mind—2008 won't be quite the same without his list. It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our inspiration: the king of catty, Mr. Blackwell.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Nebraska has a unique new "safe haven" law. Most states have laws that allow panicked parents to leave their infants in safety—better to surrender a baby to a hospital or police station than to leave him or her in a dumpster (or worse)—but Nebraska's law doesn't place an age limit on surrendered children.

Since this law went into effect three months ago, a total of 18 children—many from out of state—have been abandoned at hospitals and police stations in Nebraska. The children, whose ages range from 20 months to 17 years, include a 13-year-old boy from Michigan whose mother drove more than 12 hours last week to leave him at a Nebraska hospital.

This is obviously an upsetting situation, and the law is already under fire across the nation. And although we at PETA are also upset by the lack of responsibility demonstrated by this level of abandonment, we're not surprised. After all, 25,000 unwanted animals are abandoned at animal shelters in Douglas and Sarpy counties in Nebraska each year.

And think about it: The dogs and cats who end up in animal shelters are the lucky ones. There are countless others who end up abandoned on the streets—neglected, starving, and sometimes abused, with no "safe haven" at all.

This is why PETA has created a billboard that stresses the importance of taking care of all who depend on us—animals and children alike.

Dogs and cats can live for 16 years or longer—almost the same amount of time, you might note, that responsible parents spend raising a child. Bringing an animal into your home is a lifetime commitment—and as PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch says, "Children and animals deserve better than to be dumped on a doorstep when they become inconvenient."

To learn how to provide better care for your animal companions or to find out how spaying and neutering keeps dogs and cats out of animal shelters, please visit HelpingAnimals.com.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

In honor of Halloween (and our peta2 zombie protesters), let me start this out by saying, "Braaaaaains!"

Good—now that I've got that out of my system, we can talk about the 11 awesome professional athletes who have all agreed to donate their brains to science!

That's right, these athletes—including six retired NFL players, among others—will all be donating their brains (post mortem, of course) to a study headed (tee hee) by the Sports Legacy Institute and Boston University. The study will use these oft-concussed brains to determine if there is a definite link between concussions and traumatic encephalopathy.

You might know traumatic encephalopathy better as "punch-drunk syndrome," or "boxer's dementia." Dementia and parkinsonism have long been linked to repeated concussions—such as those suffered by boxers or football players—and this study will further explore this relationship.

Sadly, studies like this often inflict head trauma on primates—only to kill them shortly afterwards—in order to simulate concussions in human brains! That's why these athletes' donations are so valuable—by donating their brains, these athletes have spared countless animals from suffering the torture of enduring repeated traumatic injuries. Their brains, by the simple nature of being human brains, will also provide science with much more reliable and conclusive results than any an animal test could provide.

That's why PETA is presenting these athletes with our Compassionate Action Award! Each athlete will receive a framed certificate and letter of appreciation—and the unspoken thanks of all the animals who will not have to suffer in the name of "science."

The awards go to retired NFL players Isaiah Kacyvenski, Ted Johnson, Frank Wycheck, Ben Lynch, Bernie Parrish, and Bruce Laird; former U.S. Olympic swimmer Jenny Thompson; Florida Panthers hockey player Noah Welch; former U.S. Women's National Soccer team player Cindy Parlow; former boxer Maurice "Termite" Watkins; and last, but not least, Sports Legacy Institute founder, former Harvard football player, and former professional wrestler Chris Nowinski.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Four monkey-masked PETA members paid Yale a little visit yesterday in honor of National Primate Liberation Week.

As motorists passed underneath the banner-wielding monkeys, they were reminded that "Yale Murders Monkeys." Well, specifically, Yale imprisons monkeys in tiny cages, mutilates them, injects them with poison, forces drug addiction on them, and eventually kills the animals as part of the experiments—but "murders" pretty much covers it, don't you think?

That's right—the more than 160 primates who are locked up in Yale's laboratories are the subjects of many cruel experiments, several of them drug-related. Some of the more heinous abuses include injecting toxins into monkeys’ brains so that they can’t walk, move or eat, addicting the monkeys to PCP to induce schizophrenia (excuse me?) and addicting them to nicotine by giving them the equivalent of smoking 17 packs of cigarettes per day. Because, ya know, exposing a monkey to 17 packs' worth is really reflective of an average human smoker's habits. Right.

The vivisectors at Yale are even killing pregnant monkeys and removing their fetuses in order to cut out their brains. If this were happening anywhere else, it would be condemned as psychopathic, murderous behavior—but because it's done in the name of "science," we're expected to accept this.

Well, forgive me, but this isn't the kind of thing that we at PETA tend to accept—and neither, I think, would most reasonable people. These monkeys are being tortured and murdered at taxpayer expense, but who said the taxpayers approve?

If you don't approve, please write the National Institutes of Health and ask them to end their policy of funding animal experiments like these.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

jalopnik / CC

TMZ might be on to something, frankly. Besides the composition of the memo itself (which is making me a little, ahem, sic), there's the fact that the Chrysler folks are totally ignoring all the many rugged, non-porous leather alternatives out there. Of course, nobody on a factory floor should be wearing peep-toe stilettos, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with a good pleather—which, you might notice, is specifically outlawed. Work boots work if they have steel toes and are made of a sturdy material; the skins of dead, abused animals are not required.

Plus, as PETA Director of Corporate Affairs Matt Prescott points out in his letter to Chrysler—oh yes, of course we wrote them a letter—this policy might "discriminate against employees whose religious beliefs forbid or discourage the wearing of leather such as Jains, many Hindus and Buddhists, and others"—not to mention those, for example, who refuse to wear skins for other ethical reasons (hmm … do I know anyone like that?).

So seriously, Chrysler, discriminating against employees while promoting an industry that is cruel to animals and toxic to the environment? Not cool. But the news this morning is cool: Chrysler did consider changing its tune and says that no one who doesn't adhere to the leather rule will be punished.

They might also want to consider hiring a proofreader, but we're content with the cruelty-free boots.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

wikimedia / CC

Let's see. First, American International Group (AIG) received $85 billion from the Federal Reserve last month in order to stay afloat … and then they reportedly treated their top agents to a $440,000 week at a fancy-schmancy spa. Investigators were not impressed.

But hey, we all make mistakes (though most of mine don't reach the six-figure range), so when AIG needed an additional $37.8 billion, the Federal Reserve was willing to hand over taxpayer money to help out.

And then AIG reportedly spent $86,000 on a hunting trip.

I have to confess here that I don't know how expensive hunting equipment is—I wouldn't come within 50 feet of that cruel and unnecessary "sport"—but something tells me that $86,000 might be a little much.

According to an AIG spokesman, the killing—I'm sorry, hunting—trip "was an annual event for customers" and was "planned months before the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's loan to AIG."

Yeah, I'm sorry, but maybe they should've thought about how this would look to taxpayers. "Gee, thanks for the $37 billion—I'm goin' to England to slaughter some animals!"

To put it mildly, people are rather miffed at AIG's cavalier spending habits. White House Press Secretary Dana Perino called the spa trip "despicable," and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating all these "unwarranted and outrageous expenditures," saying on Wednesday, "The party is over. No more hunting trips. No more luxury resorts. They are not going to have the party and leave the hangover for the taxpayers."

Poor AIG. They just can't get a break—oh, wait, they did, and then they decided to go hunting with it.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

According to Google Insights, searches for "human breast milk" skyrocketed in the last month. Searches for "breast milk recipes" have also more than doubled. (See the graphs below for more details.)

Never to miss an opportunity—especially during these tough economic times—PETA has decided to create a human-breast-milk cookbook, with all profits going directly to PETA's "Dump Dairy" campaign. In between recipes, you'll be able to read about how cow's milk has been linked to zits, mucus build-up, and flatulence. We'll also include full-color pictures of veal calves who miss their mommies. All we need now are the recipes!

Please share your human-breast-milk recipes by commenting below. (Note: Aside from the breast milk, all recipes must be strictly vegan.) We're looking for desserts, snacks, main courses, etc! Let us know how you'd like us to credit you if your recipe makes the cut.

We're planning to launch the book guerilla-marketing style. Click here if you'd like more information about our Cookbook Street Team.

Exhibit A: Graph of Searches for 'Breast Milk Recipes'

Exhibit B: Graph of Searches for 'Human Breast Milk'

Posted by Joel Bartlett

P.S. This entire post is a joke, but given our history, it's understandable if you didn't get that.

art / CC

We're for real here, folks. Foie gras, which is French for 'fatty liver,' is produced by shoving pipes down the throats of ducks and geese and force-feeding them until their livers become fatty and often diseased. Foie gras is considered so cruel that its production is banned in 15 countries, including the U.K., where Selfridges is based. Prince Charles has banned foie gras from all Royal menus this year, and House of Fraser, Makro, Harvey Nichols, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, and every major U.K. supermarket have already banned foie gras from their shelves. Clearly, Selfridges is the one in need of an enlarged internal organ (specifically, a heart).

Collins joins Sir Roger Moore and the Duchess of Hamilton in urging Selfridges to drop foie gras from their shelves. Are you outraged by the cruelty that is shoved down the throats of these birds? Speak up!

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

As a clarion call to people of faith, a priest recently bestowed a blessing upon sheep who were bound for live export aboard a cargo ship in Fremantle, Western Australia. In a public display of solidarity, the priest blessed the sheep with holy water before they were loaded onto the cargo ship Mayora.

Father Mostowik is the director of missionaries for the Sacred Heart Justice and Peace Centre and is certainly no stranger to social justice. Thankfully, his ethics include the understanding that compassion must reach to all beings, not just the talking two-legged ones. His powerful message, while unspoken, was made loud and clear. It is a signal to us believin' folk of various faiths that our duty of compassion should extend to all of God's creatures.

While it's wonderful that Father Mostowik is using what he believes is right to take action in his own way, we here at PETA know that these animals need a heck of a lot more than a kind blessing. These animals need action, kindness, and support.

The slave ships that drag these animals across the globe are an ugly truth that usually goes unseen. Crammed together with hardly any room to move, some animals often don't survive the journey. Australian sheep are kicked, beaten, and dragged off boats by their ears and legs; they are often left to suffer and sometimes die in barren feedlots. They are bound up and thrown into the trunks of cars, and they are slaughtered in prolonged and cruel ways that are illegal in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. A PETA investigation in 2006 revealed horrible cruelty in this industry. You can watch the video here.

We hope Father Mostowik has the ear of quite a few people who've yet to hear just how horribly these animals are abused.

The fact that more and more religious leaders are taking aim to relieve the suffering of animals indicates an exciting shift in public consciousness. However, these calls to action merely point the way. In order to alleviate the suffering of millions of animals who are bound for our dinner plates, archaic recreation, or clothing, the responsibility to act falls on every one of us cruelty-free peeps no matter what holidays we celebrate.

Posted by Missy Lane

Always a bit of a wild child, PETA Germany definitely has a flare for the exotic. Just take a look at these anti-zoo, anti-circus "Exotic Animals Belong in Liberty" ads. They featured a menagerie of MTV Germany and VIVA music channel hosts painted as exotic animals (my fave is the contemplative tiger). They were recently published in the German TV magazine TV Digital. Way to go, PETA G!

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

You might remember the wildly popular "Road to the Greenhouse" video from earlier this year. Well, it's back and better than ever as Broccoli Obama and Dijon McCain battle it out with a surprise third-party candidate extraordinaire … [spoiler alert] … Chris P. Carrot!

Now, Carrot ran for election back in 2004 but got a lot of flack from haters when his "Eat Me" outburst made headlines, but now he's back—more mature, patriotic, and delicious than ever.

So go ahead this year and Rock the Vote … or, er, Vote or Die … er, um … Go Veg? No, that's not right. Just do yourself a favor and watch our super-funny video!

That's right, our new video is hilarious. We packed it with more jokes than you can fit in Carrot Top's trunks. We're so funny you probably missed half the jokes. To prove your wit, post a comment with how many puns and double entendres you counted in the video. Everyone who gets the right number will win a special prize.*

Posted by Christine Doré

P.S. As a 501(c)(3) organization, PETA does not endorse or oppose any candidate for public office or any political party. That also means we won't allow any comments of that nature, so please save us the trouble and don't mention any candidates or political parties in your comments. Deleting them is tiresome. Ditto if you don't like our video. Keep it to yourself, because we know it's awesome.

*The special prize is to be determined. If you have any suggestions, feel free to post those too.

Having managed to survive the horrors of an estimated 25 to 40 years of captivity and exploitation as part of a daily amusement-park parade, Dorothy the chimpanzee died peacefully of old age at In Defense of Animals (IDA) Africa's Sanaga-Yong Center in Cameroon last month.

Following the first armed confiscation of primates in Cameroon, Dorothy was freed from her confinement at the amusement park and taken to Sanaga-Yong in 2000.

So touched by Dorothy's life and parting, staff members and chimpanzees held a funeral service to honor and remember her. Dorothy was buried beside the enclosure she had called home, near the tomb of her friend Becky.

Chimps seeing Dorothy's body for a final time

People from the village attending the funeral

Dorothy

In her memory, we have donated money to help construct a raised platform above Dorothy's former home. The platform will allow visitors to the center to see into the forested enclosure and reflect on Dorothy's life, both at the center and before her stay there.

Posted by Sean Conner

They've both been featured in killer PETA street demonstrations this month! Now, we're known for being clever, sexy, and interesting when it comes to our eye-catching demos, but in my opinion, the last few weeks have really taken the cake. Check it:

These hottie-boom-botties have teamed up at San Francisco's annual leather-fetish festival to remind people that you can still have the fetish without the flesh.

This devoted peta2 crowd got in the Halloween spirit this year by donning fake blood and zombie makeup to remind the rest of New York City that they'd rather be dead than eat at KFC.

This awesome activist removed her clothes and slapped on the tiger stripes to remind circusgoers that wild animals don't belong behind bars.

PETA Germany activists staged a naked die-in to draw public attention (as well as tons of German media attention) to their frustration with the European Union's support for the cruel bullfighting industry.

Our good pal Frieda the Sea Kitten laid out our ever-popular (not to mention massive) sea kitten quilt for aquarium attendees in Tampa to remind them that sea kittens are wonderful animals who shouldn't be held in captivity.

Posted by Christine Doré

PETA President Ingrid Newkirk's new book One Can Make a Difference is a collection of essays by some pretty awesome people—and one of my favorites is the wonderful Stella McCartney. You can't help but love Stella; she is not only a fabulous (and award-winning!) fashion designer but also a staunch opponent of fur and leather.

Even when asked to use animal skins in her clothing, Stella's always said no. In her essay, she writes, "I'm actually quite proud that I stuck to my decision never to touch the products of such outright cruelty." Right on, Stella! We're proud of you, too!

Another fantastic part of her essay is when she talks about this PETA fur exposé, which she narrated:

She sent copies to a bunch of designers who continue to use fur, but not all of them were willing to watch it. "Karl Lagerfeld, rather predictably, felt he needed to return the video to me!" Stella writes. "Dolce & Gabbana were disgracefully rude about it, too."

Why the lack of manners? Stella has one hypothesis: "I frankly don't think most designers have the balls to watch animals writhing and being slaughtered; they don't want to admit they're responsible for such suffering."

Well, Stella's got the cojones, so to speak—and for that, we adore her. And speaking of One Can Make a Difference, Ingrid launched the book last night in New York at an extremely successful book signing. Check out the fantastic turnout and click here to order your own copy:

Posted by Amanda Schinke

phayul / CC

I think this is wonderful news—but hey, we at PETA have always been against all forms of oppression. That's why our director of media relations, Michael McGraw, is writing Chad Weiden, the assistant principal of Social Justice High School (and likely principal of the new Pride Campus), with an important suggestion: Pride Campus should have an all-vegetarian cafeteria.

"It is only because of prejudice that animals killed for food on today's factory farms suffer miserable lives and nightmarish deaths," Michael writes—and it's true! Even though animals love, fear, mourn, and rejoice just like we do, their feelings are completely discounted. They are kept in cramped, filthy warehouses where they are beaten and abused, and at slaughter, their throats are cut or they are boiled alive—just because they don't happen to be exactly like us.

Michael's letter quotes Steven Simmons, a PETA staffer and gay rights activist who died of AIDS in the early '90s, who wrote, "It's time for us to end this hierarchy of who has the right to live, who deserves not to suffer, who should be respected, [the idea] that there's a limit to the amount of compassion that we can have for our fellow creatures." We're hoping that Assistant Principal Weiden will encourage his students to have compassion for today's most vulnerable population—the animals—by keeping Pride Campus meat-free.

You can read Michael's letter to Mr. Weiden here.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

erck / CC

Disney World's compassionate decision is part of a growing trend among businesses to distance themselves from this cruel product. Just ask Target, Giant Eagle, and Harvey Nichols—three huge chains that recently caved in to pressure from PETA and its affiliates and pulled foie gras off their shelves. The production of foie gras has also already been banned in 15 nations—including the U.K., Germany, Israel, and Switzerland—as well as in the state of California.

While this is all a giant waddle in the right direction, we're not going to stop campaigning against foie gras until everyone stops forcing ducks to be organ donors. Today Disney World, tomorrow the rest of the world! For more info about this nasty stuff and to take a pledge to say "nah" to foie gras, click here.

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

turner / CC

Unfortunately, retirement from racing for a horse who has developed injuries or is no longer fast enough to complete usually means a lifetime of breeding or a one-way trip to the slaughterhouse.

PETA immediately sent a letter to officials to ask that Big Brown be gelded and fully retired, not held at stud to breed and pass along the traits of a horse who has sustained several injuries throughout his racing career. You can view our full letter here.

Horse racing has always been a greedy, money-hungry industry with little regard for the animals it puts in harms way, so long as the horses continue to bring in the big bucks. Fortunately though, laws are changing to help protect these horses. Side whipping as well as "Snapper" whips, which are used in harness racing, have both been banned. Anabolic steroids have been banned from racing, and Maryland recently banned the use of all steroids. But we still have a long way to go to shut down all horse-racing venues and to remove these animals from lives plagued by injury.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

Shane Victorino
philly / CC

Two: Why? The Phillies' Citizens Bank Ballpark has been ranked the "Most Vegetarian Friendly Ballpark" two years in a row for its impressive vegetarian offerings, such as Philly faux-steak sandwiches, "crab-free crab cakes," mock-chicken sandwiches, and veggie dogs. With all of these delicious, cruelty-free options available, why would you choose to go cholesterol- and cruelty-heavy? (Okay, so Spam musubi is a popular food in Shane's native Hawaii—but as my mother would say, what's popular is not always right.)

And finally (and most importantly), three: SPAM is made by Hormel, and Hormel is supplied by factory farms like this one in Iowa. You remember—the factory farm where the pigs were beaten and vaginally and—according to one bragging supervisor—anally penetrated? Where their tails and testicles were cut off without anesthetic?

We're giving Shane the benefit of the doubt here: He probably didn't know about the torments faced by the piglets destined to be slaughtered for Hormel and possibly end up as SPAM. But hey, knowledge is power, right? So PETA Assistant Director (and major sports fan) Dan Shannon has written him a letter giving some background info on Hormel and the way its suppliers and that Iowa farm treat pigs. We suspect that the cruelty in every can of SPAM will make Shane madder than a high Hiroki Kuroda fastball—and that a change in snack foods might be in order.

Check out Dan's full letter here.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

You know how we always say that chickens are the most abused animals on the planet? Well, watch this horrific video and you'll see why. A new investigation by our friends at Mercy for Animals has once again exposed the cruelty behind the egg industry. Undercover footage taken at one of the largest egg farms in California documented that workers were swinging chickens around by their necks in a heartless attempt to kill them. Chickens were crammed into filthy wire battery cages so small that they could barely move. Left to suffer with untreated injuries, infections, and open wounds, the chickens were forced to live side-by-side with the decomposing bodies of their cagemates for weeks on end.

Every time animal advocates investigate egg factory farms, they expose horrific cruelty just like this. Fortunately, there are a couple of things that we can do about it. First of all, ditch the eggs from your diet (if you haven't done so already). If you don't buy eggs, no one has to suffer to make them, right? Secondly, you can help banish battery cages in California. This November, Californians will have the opportunity to pass Proposition 2, which would require that farmed animals be given enough room to stand up, turn around, lie down, and extend their limbs. If you live in California, please vote YES on Proposition 2 and encourage your friends and family members to do the same.

Even if you're not living in Cali, you can still help. Click here for more information about how you can support this historic ballot initiative.

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

Richard Cooey
metronews / CC

Serving vegetarian meals would not only save money on inmate health costs, it would also prevent murderers and criminals from being involved in more senseless killing. There has even been evidence to suggest that serving inmates vegetarian meals helps reduce prison violence. Now this is just a win-win situation for everybody!

Whether you're pro– or anti–death penalty, don't we all agree that innocent creatures don't deserve to die at the hands of another? (Hmm … maybe we don't, but we should!) Now, I don't know if our pal Richard Cooey will opt for a vegetarian last meal, but I do know that we can help stay the execution of the millions of innocent animals who are currently on death row—condemned to dinner plates and hideous clothing.

Well, in the end, the courts have ruled that Cooey is full of hooey. He's next up to be executed by the state of Ohio on October 14, but you can help end unnecessary suffering just by making different meal choices!

You can read our letter to the warden here.

Posted by Missy Lane

We're not the only ones who are severely frustrated about Giorgio Armani's failure to keep his word and remain fur-free! Sir Paul McCartney—pictured here with Giorgio at one of Stella McCartney's fashion shows—is the latest to respond to PETA's action alert.

© AP Images/Francois Mori

Sir Paul is adding his voice to a chorus of celebrities who are upset over Armani's penchant for rabbit pelts—celebrities such as the Andersons (Gillian and Pamela, no relation). These lovely ladies kicked off PETA's "Get Armani off Fur" campaign—Pam hosted a PETA launch event during Fashion Week in Italy, and Gillian narrated PETA's horrific rabbit fur farm exposé.

We hope that Sir Paul, Gillian, and Pam won't be the only famous voices to speak up against Armani's fur fixation. PETA Vice President Dan Mathews has written to many Armani-wearing stars, including Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Glenn Close, and Cate Blanchett, urging them to use their influence with the designer to get him to keep his fur-free pledge.

Oh yeah, and one other thing Dan did—remember that "Pinocchio Armani" ad? Well, Dan unveiled the new posters outside Armani's flagship store in Milan this week. Here he is with a local activist there—check out those giant rabbits!

Those big bunnies are just two blocks from Armani's store—I guess they'll be keeping an eye on him … and so will we! Stay tuned for more Armani news—and don't forget to take action!

Posted by Amanda Schinke

boston / CC

When this memorial tower is complete, it will serve as a monument to the thousands of innocent individuals who lost their lives, sustained serious injuries, or had their lives changed forever on September 11, 2001. We think that there would be no better place to host an eatery that is opposed to the unnecessary cruelty and violence that goes into every hamburger, fish stick, or chicken dinner.

Like the innocent people who were attacked on that horrific day, animals who are confined to to tiny crates, cages, and stalls have no control over their surroundings. They're terrified by the sights they see and the sounds they hear from other suffering animals. They're prodded and hung upside down, and their throats are cut—all while they remain conscious. They have no way out.

Actress Alyssa Milano instantly made the connection between burning human flesh and the flesh of animals who we season, roast, and feed to our families. She ultimately made the decision to kick meat from her diet after a friend told her the smell of burning flesh on 9/11 reminder her of a barbecue. In an interview with peta2, Alyssa said, "The world has so much suffering in it already—choosing to be vegetarian is one thing you can do to reduce the suffering on a daily basis."

If Freedom Tower becomes the new home-away-from-home for VegiTerranean, I'll definitely be making the drive up there. But even if you live across the country and can't make it to New York, there are dozens upon dozens of inexpensive, cruelty-free meals that can easily be prepared right in your own kitchen.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

PETA France got extra lucky when they snagged hot singer Eve Angeli to pose for their newest anti-fur ad. However, this beauty really took it to the next level when she posed alongside a skinned fox and the tagline "This Is the Rest of Your Fur Coat." She really wants the world to see just how gruesome the fur trade can be, and for that we adore her.

Another reason we love Eve is that she's so dedicated. This is not the first time she has signed up to help animals on fur farms. She once stripped down to tell the world she'd "rather go naked than wear fur." She's even done a nude calendar to help animals on fur farms!

Eve became an avid supporter of this cause years ago after she saw pictures of animals on fur farms. In an interview with PETA France, she said, "I saw pictures that traumatized me—at least they shocked me for real. We become aware of the agony of those animals abused on fur farms in confined cages."

If you haven't yet, you should definitely pledge to be fur-free, or as Eve might say in French: Je m'engage à NE PAS PORTER DE FOURRURE.

Posted by Christine Doré

Why is Ms. Dissection.com hopping mad about dissection? Any way you slice it, dissection is cruelty in the classroom. Millions of frogs, cats, dogs, pigs, worms, mice, rats, rabbits, and fish are killed each year for student dissections. Breeding facilities that supply animals to schools rip animals from their natural homes, and some even use stolen or abandoned animal companions. PETA went undercover at one such supply house and caught employees embalming cats and rats while they were still alive!

Animals deserve to be left in peace, not pieces. CutOut Dissection.com couldn't agree more. Read our interview with this dedicated activist to get the lowdown on her name change and much more.

PETA: What made you decide to change your name?
CutOut Dissection.com: I changed my name in order to raise awareness about the 6 million animals who are killed and processed for dissection each year. These animals suffer painful deaths and their bodies are then used in labs, when computer stimulations, diagrams, or 3D models could be used instead. Cutting up animals in school sends the message to students that an animal's life is worthless. I don't think that's a message teachers should be sending. With so many cheaper, more educational, and humane ways to learn, there is no reason for students to be dissecting in high schools today. I hope to raise awareness on this subject, and to cause teachers and students to say "No" to dissection and "Yes" to alternative ways to learn anatomy.

PETA: Did you dissect in high school?
CutOut Dissection.com: In middle school I dissected a chicken. I wasn't into the idea of dissecting an animal, but when I asked my teacher for an alternative, he said that I could only have it if I went vegetarian for the two weeks leading up to the dissection. I thought that was crazy at the time, so I went through with the project. Looking back, I can't remember much from the actual dissection; I know now that using an alternative would have been much more educational, and I also know that it's definitely not crazy to be a vegetarian too.

PETA: What do people call you now?
CutOutDissection.com: My fellow interns call me CutOut, but my family still calls me Jenny. My favorite thing to do is to introduce myself to people as CutOut Dissection.com, which always raises a few questions. This gives me a chance to explain a few facts about dissection—such as how cats are sometimes pumped with formaldehyde while they're still conscious.

PETA: What have people's reactions been to your name?
CutOut Dissection.com: CutOut is one of those names that you have to say three times, spell out, and use in a sentence before people process it. Once people get my name down, they normally want to know why I changed it. This gives me a chance to tell them about the estimated 6 million animals used in high school dissection labs throughout the United States every year. Once people learn how the animals are gassed, pumped with formaldehyde, drowned or otherwise inhumanely killed for dissection, they are shocked and want to know what they can do to help.

PETA: You're obviously very passionate about educating people about dissection. Why is that?
CutOut Dissection.com: Two years ago, I was an active peta2 Street Team member. I was trying to rake up some points to trade in for a shirt, and I got an e-mail saying that anything that I did relating to dissection during the month of October would be worth double the points. Because of this, I decided to work on getting a dissection-choice policy passed at my high school. When I started to research policies and why dissection is bad for the school, students, and animals, it became an obsession of mine. My senior exit project and my junior year were both dedicated to getting a dissection-choice policy passed at my high school. I was shocked when I read about how much more educational the alternatives to dissection can be, how much money they can save for the school, and how many lives could be spared. It's shocking to me that schools still use dissection as a part of their science lessons when there are so many humane and equally educational alternatives out there that will also save schools money.

PETA: I know you got the policy passed at your school. Congrats! How excited were you?
CutOut Dissection.com: I was super-excited, to say the very least!

PETA: I can imagine. What did the DMV say when you got your new license?
CutOut Dissection.com: It took me two tries to get my license. On the second try, the DMV worker looked very amused and confused, but also looked like she was afraid to ask for an explanation. When she finally did ask about it, I had a good conversation with her, explaining that CutOutDissection.com is a real Web site and then explaining why I'm against dissection. She seemed repulsed by the thought of animals being drowned, pumped full of formaldehyde, and gassed as a way of death. She also looked shocked when I told her that it affects 6 million animals per year. When she called over another worker to be a witness to my paperwork, the other worker grinned and said, "Oh, I remember her!" (It happened to be the worker I had talked to on my first attempt to get my license). Overall, it was a great opportunity to start a conversation about alternatives to dissection!

Whether you are a student, parent, teacher, or concerned taxpayer, you can act to end dissection in your town's school system. Visit CutOutDissection.com (the Web site, not the person) for tips on what to do and help getting started.

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

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But no. I'm not talking about events in that Little Town of Bethlehem, circa 1 A.D. This happened just last year in Virginia Beach, practically next door to PETA's Norfolk HQ.

In a study reported today, DNA testing confirmed that the embryo carried by Tidbit, a blacktip shark held captive at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, contained no genetic material from a male. That's right—a virgin conception, in our day and age. Holy mother of God … er … I mean … Holy Tidbit!

But wait, that's not all. Tidbit's pregnancy was only discovered when she died after being sedated for her annual health checkup—so there was no virgin birth, only an immaculate conception. The scientists who confirmed the nature of the pregnancy say that Tidbit's pup would almost certainly have been eaten by bigger sharks in the same tank.

Now, those of you who frequent our site know that we're not fans of aquariums and marine mammal prisons … uh, parks. But the above story pretty much says it all. These facilities claim to be helping and preserving marine animals, but they can't even protect a newborn—or the adults, for that matter. In the end, perhaps Tidbit was the fortunate one. At least she no longer has to deal with the daily boredom and stress of her unnatural environment.

Ya know, when we first moved our headquarters to Norfolk, we ran a campaign against this particular aquarium because of its severely inadequate dolphin tanks (among other things). And it always just really frustrated me to know that there were these marine animals locked in a tank right across from the ocean.

Now the Jesus shark comes to this very aquarium and is dead before arrival. The irony is not lost on me!

Posted by Jeff Mackey

From the ever popular Milk Gone Wild 2

Our letter to the company has garnered so much attention—and by that I mean impossible-to-walk-down-the-street-without-someone-asking-questions sort of attention—that stories about breast milk have been popping up everywhere! Not that we like to brag—OK, we love it!—but I do think our buxom beaut of an idea got the ball rolling.

Whether it's Angelina Jolie breast-feeding for a W magazine cover, the illegal duplication of breastfeeding pictures of Jamie Lynn Spears (which has prompted a federal pornography investigation), or—my personal favorite—the guy-next-door who sells his wife's breast milk for money (these are hard times, folks), stories about breast milk are spreading through the newspapers like a wildfire!

Of course, one of our favorite writings about breast milk appears in PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk's newest book, One Can Make a Difference. Check it out: An entire chapter in the book focuses on how human breast milk is better for babies than cow's milk is: A pediatrician in India in the 80s found that if she urged people to switch from formula and animal's milk to human breast milk (she even started a human-breast-milk bank!), she could reduce incidences of diarrhea—which were leading to deaths! Deadly diarrhea—do you really think that does a body good? Neither do we.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

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Then, while Sir Paul was urging everyone to avoid McDonald's all-flesh patties, Venezuela simply removed the option altogether. That's right—according to news reports, the nation shut down all 115 McDonald's branches for a full 48 hours as punishment for "alleged tax irregularities." Must've been pretty irregular (no jokes about what eating the McD diet will do to you, please)!

But then on Wednesday—and I almost can't believe this—a TMZ reporter went into an L.A. McDonald's and ordered a Happy Meal (why, oh why?)—and when she got her order, the box advertised an electronic "Michael Vick football" game. Nothing says "great for kids" quite like that, right?

As for the McDonald's folks, it was a big "whoops" from them—the Happy Meal box was from 2004, and, McDonald's says, "does not reflect any current partnership with Michael Vick."

But, as PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich says, "Given that McDonald's lets its suppliers cram animals into metal cages and crates and boil chickens alive, it's sad, but it doesn't shock us. At this point, even Michael Vick himself would probably prefer this particular Happy Meal to be a happy memory."

So, too bad, so sad for McDonald's and the issues it's facing this week—although, considering what it does to animals, I'm not convinced that it deserves a break today.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Though we can all agree that neglecting to feed an animal companion is pretty low, what about knowingly starving or denying an animal water until he or she dies? Well, that's what glue traps do, which is why selling them makes Lowe's the lowest of the low.

We've sent out one of our custom campaign vans to visit Lowe's stores in North Carolina, to remind shoppers of what, exactly, the glue traps that Lowe's sells inevitably do—cause immense suffering and ensure a slow death to whatever animal is unlucky enough to touch one.

Check out the photos from our demo (and just imagine what you'd think if you passed this van with our mouse friend here in the driver's seat … yeah, we're good at grabbing attention):

Unlike other major retailers, such as Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Albertsons, and Safeway, Lowe's has refused to drop these deadly devices from its inventory. Join Ms. Giant Rat in encouraging Lowe's to change its cruel policy.

Posted by Sean Conner

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So as you know, Giorgio Armani has been on PETA's bad list lately. Promising to go fur-free and then reneging on the idea altogether in order to make rabbit-fur outfits for babies really just isn't something we appreciate (I think the animals would agree …).

Hearing this loud and clear, A-list actress and compassionate PETA friend Gillian Anderson really came through to lend her support to this issue. Her voice can now be heard narrating a shocking, moving investigation video that takes you into the depths of rabbit fur farming.

The video was unveiled earlier today at a news conference outside Armani's Michigan Avenue store in Chicago. I strongly encourage you to watch this video and pledge to be fur-free. Gillian, PETA, and all the rabbits of the world will thank you for it.

Posted by Christine Doré

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In early September, we learned about the death of Diamond, a Rottweiler who died while in the custody of a Clay County, Florida, animal control officer. The poor dog likely died from heat shock, allegedly because the animal control officer left her in the back of the seething-hot van with no air conditioning, water, or fresh air on an 85° day—after riding around with her for an hour or so and while he attended a meeting.

A necropsy came up inconclusive but suggested that the death was related to heat stress. This was not good enough for Clay County officials, evidently, and they actually decided a reenactment was necessary so they could prove that the officer wasn't at fault. Ready for it … WHAT?!!???!!

Yeah, you can't make this stuff up. They placed a homeless shelter dog who was "of similar size and weight" as Diamond into the exact same box, in which the heat reached more than 86 degrees, and waited—presumably to see if the dog would die. This lasted for more than one hour. I think we need one more resounding WHAT!???!!??? I mean, seriously, people, this is just completely insane—not to mention horrifically cruel. The fate of that poor dog has not been made public.

While it's bad enough that a dog died in the county's custody in the first place, this whole aftermath reenactment just makes me physically ill. Naturally, PETA Vice President of Cruelty Investigations Daphna Nachminovitch immediately sent off a letter to Clay County blasting them for their senseless decision to subject a second dog to obviously potentially fatal conditions.

If you are as outraged by Clay County's actions as we are, please take action!

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

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Blood? Guts? HILARIOUS! What do you think he follows this one up with—the old "kitten in the microwave" gag? That one's a real knee-slapper too. I hate to be the one to tell you this, Brett, but people who think dead animals are funny don't typically end up in the Hall Of Fame—sometimes, they end up in custody.

There is, of course, nothing even remotely "sporting" about hunting. Imagine a game of football in which one team has pads, cleats, helmets, set plays, offensive and defensive coordinators—the whole nine yards (zing!), and meanwhile the other team is running around naked and unprepared (no, no, not the Lions). That's about as "competitive" as hunting deer with high-tech camouflage and a sniper rifle.

Some people call guys like Favre who use military-grade weaponry to kill defenseless animals "sportsmen." You know what I call them?

Cowards.

Posted by Dan Shannon

I love this one.

Click for a larger version

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

As if there weren't already enough terror attached to the loathsome leather trade, the notoriously cruel Indian leather industry has now been linked to Islamic terrorists groups. According to a recent article in The Times of India, the illegal cattle-smuggling trade, an integral part of the leather supply chain, has been funding terrorism in India. For years now, money made in this thriving racket has reportedly been funneled to various terrorists, including one of the men convicted of killing American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.

It's pretty ironic that a country in which cows are considered sacred is one of the largest leather manufacturers in the world. In fact, Indian law makes it illegal to export cows. To get around this, traffickers force cattle to march hundreds of miles across the country. Marched for days without food or water, cows often collapse from exhaustion or despair, To keep them moving, workers smear the cows' eyes with chili peppers and tobacco and break the cows' tails. By the time the cows are crammed into illegal transport trucks and smuggled across the India-Bangladesh border, many are so sick and injured that they have to be dragged into the slaughterhouse—where their throats are slit while they are still alive.

I say we fight the war on terror by buying pleather and signing this petition to the Ambassador of India.

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

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Obviously, those days are long gone.

In a sure sign of desperation, Six Flags Inc.—whose stock has been performing so poorly that it's in danger of losing its listing on the New York Stock Exchange—has decided that the way to drum up business is to have park visitors eat bugs. We can only be glad that these financial geniuses weren't responsible for writing the recent bank bailout legislation, right?

Now, you may recall that Six Flags recently announced that it was going to end the horrible cockroach-eating stunts of the past couple of years during its Halloween-themed "Fright Fest." So, to pretend it's being true to its word, it's announced that it still won't use cockroaches this year—instead it'll offer other kinds of bugs to eat, such as "superworms, larvae, caterpillars, cicadas, night crawlers, crickets, and grasshoppers." Boy, that should make for some delightful childhood memories, huh?

When Six Flags originally announced the end of cockroach-eating, its public relations manager, Sue Carpenter, said, "We're on to other Fright Fest events that do not include any living creatures!" So, what's the dealie? Last we checked, crickets, caterpillars, and grasshoppers were living creatures—and not at all eager to be chewed up so some yahoo can have cuts in the rollercoaster line. Plus, it sends a dangerous message to kids that it's okay to harm others to get ahead.

As soon as we got wind of Six Flags' bait-and-switch nonsense, we wrote to its vice president of communications, Sandra Daniels, to express our outrage and offer another chance to do the right thing.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

Not only is Carrie Ann supportive and kind to the Dancing contestants, she is also a great friend to animals. All three of her cats are rescues, and she strongly believes in spaying and neutering. Her compassion really makes this ad rock—oh, and the stilettos and fishnets aren't bad either!

Check out Carrie Ann's exclusive interview with PETA:

Thanks, Carrie Ann!

And since I know you're wondering—I'm voting Lance!

Posted by Christine Doré

Say it ain't so! Last week, we told you about our brand-new 'Got Autism?' billboard, which was intended to give the drivers of Newark, New Jersey, a little food for thought. The billboard drew a connection between milk consumption and autism in children. This week, the advertising company that was hosting our billboard has pulled the plug and the billboard has been removed.

It's pretty safe to assume that the ad is not being removed due to a lack of attention! Just the opposite—our message has garnered tons of feedback, including support from parents of autistic children who have seen noticeable improvements after removing dairy from their child's diet.

We wanted to share the thoughts of a few individuals regarding this campaign:

My son at the age of 2 ½ had not talked or interacted with anyone for a year…right after his MMR shots that he had at 13 months. I took him off of milk last November (when he was 2 ½) to see if it did anything, and he is now talking and playing and catching back up to where he should be (he is 3 ½ now). … It may not have been overnight, but the progress started just weeks after taking him off cows milk …. —Jaimie

I have a child with autism and I love this ad. The "got milk" ads with the disgusting white upper lip make me sick. We have been GFCF for 12 years. Milk equals sleepless nights and stomach pain. —L Land

I am not personally a vegetarian, but last year when we took my 4 year old son off of milk, casein all dairy, we started to see amazing changes in his behavior and speech. He still has Autism, but is no longer in a black hole of darkness. And we are not done fighting yet. I think people who say this does not work, well how do you know everyone is different. And as a mother of a child with Autism, I do not at all find this offensive I find it truthful, at least for us. —Danielle Manglis

Thanks for the continued support of the campaign! Even though the billboard has come down, the message is still loud and clear.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

Maybe you remember this phrase from your childhood: "Liar, liar, pants on fire, nose as long as a telephone wire."

Well, does that apply to Giorgio Armani, or did he hit his head—causing him to have a drastic about-face? Because the Armani who was once swearing off fur is now dressing babies in it just one short year later. Note to Armani: Rabbits are furry animals no different from dogs, cats, foxes, and minks.

So, shoppers who were on their way into his flagship store in Milan were treated to a glimpse of how Armani looks to us now that he apparently can't break his rabbit habit. PETA Europe posted this rather pointed portrayal of Pinocchio Armani just outside the store:

Because, seriously, what kind of person learns about the cruelty of the fur industry, pledges to be fur-free, and then decides to kill animals for "fashion" anyway? You tell us.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

The Pretenders are hosting a party, and you're invited—a listening party, that is! Their new album, Break Up the Concrete, comes out today, and they're so excited for everyone to hear it that they're putting it up on their Web site in its entirety! So before you head over to your favorite music vendor, you can check out the Pretenders' new album online with Windows Media Player or QuickTime.

And hey, if you want to win your very own hard copy of Break Up the Concrete—or even a signed Fender Telecaster guitar—you can enter to do that as well!

Rock on, Chrissie and the Pretenders! We love your new album, and we know the rest of the world will too!

Posted by Amanda Schinke

By now, you might have heard about Timothy Wayne Shepherd, the 28-year-old man who confessed last year to killing his ex-girlfriend and who is also charged with dismembering and barbecuing her—no, really.

While this story is shocking and terrible, it sounds awfully familiar. Oh, that's right! Last week on the PETA Files, we posted an entry all about barbecuing humans! It was a demonstration to get people to wake up and "meet their meat." In our demo, a woman had her body painted like charred flesh and lay on a mock grill while passersby gawked—forced to make the connection that those tightly wrapped, clean-looking meat packages in the grocery store once were living, breathing beings who felt pain when they were slaughtered.

In our case, the demo was thought-provoking and symbolic (flesh is flesh). In Timothy's case … it might have been a bit too real.

We're writing to the prison where Shepherd is being held. If he is convicted of the murder, he will receive a sentence presumably intended to prevent him from taking any more lives. Well, we certainly agree with this sentiment—and that's why we're asking Shepherd's jailers to stop the cycle of senseless killing by putting him on an all-vegetarian diet. We can never bring back the young woman who was the victim of Shepherd's crime, but we can try to prevent him from causing any more painful deaths.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Stumped about what to wear for Halloween? Forget trying to hustle up some horror out of a hockey mask, and for the love of all that is unholy, please leave that tired old Scream costume in the attic where it belongs. If you really, really want to scare the hell out of people this year—go as one of the Trollsen Twins!

Pelt-wearing party girls who don't give a crap that animals are gassed, electrocuted anally and vaginally, and skinned alive for their fur, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are a truly gruesome twosome. So, with Halloween creeping around the corner and our Trollsen Twins campaign in full swing, we thought, "Why not make Hairy-Kate and Trashley masks?" Then we thought some more and said, "Hmmm, why not give 10 of these terrifying things away?" Which is where you come into the picture: Just send us a comment telling us about your best Halloween costume by October 12, 2008, and you could be one of the lucky stiffs to walk away with either a Hairy-Kate or Trashley mask.

We'll contact the winners by October 13. Heads up, though: We can only send masks to people in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. … but that doesn't stop us from spreading the "troll-y" love—you can print your own mask here.

Be sure to read the contest terms and conditions and PETA's privacy policy before you comment. By commenting, you're acknowledging you agree to them both.

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

I am thrilled to announce the launch of the cutest campaign ever to exist: Save the Sea Kittens! In an effort to get people to think about fish in a whole new way, we decided to change their name for a while. If people had to order "sea kitten sticks" at a restaurant, I guarantee that the world would think a bit differently. Imagine that you open your menu and decide on the salmon—and then this image pops into your head:

Yeah, I think you'd go with a different menu item after that little reminder (might I recommend this dish if you're craving that flavor, as it's delicious and causes none of the cruelty).

It's easy to order and purchase meat when it's wrapped in neat, clean little packages, void of all the blood and pain that goes into creating it. Fish get an especially bad deal. People go fishing (a.k.a. sea kitten hunting) all the time without a care in the world—because fish can't scream and force people to think about the cruelty of their actions.

So we're changing things up a bit now and helping to give fish everywhere a voice. When people realize how fascinating (and adorable) fish can be, they might think twice. I took it a step further and dressed up my own sea kitten (which you can do, too, by clicking here). I'm pleased to introduce you to Ruth, my new swimmy lil' pal:

Isn't she grand? Probably the best sea kitten ever created—but you can try to prove me wrong. Dress up your own sea kitten and leave me a comment to tell me his or her name. We'll have ourselves a little sea kitten party up in here! In our new feature, we've pulled out all the stops. You can read sea kitten bedtime stories, grab your own sea kitten computer décor, and even take action to try and stop sea kitten hunting.

Enjoy!

Posted by Christine Doré

The whole of PETA India is on a roll, ya'll! I'd barely even finished writing my blog entry about the array of successful demos that the grown folk at PETA India have put on throughout the month of September, when their younger counterparts at petaDishoom squeezed in a grand finale!

To commemorate Gandhi's birthday and World Vegetarian Day, PETA India's youth wing, petaDishoom, teamed up with local groups and a just a few hundred activists for a veggie rally followed by the first-ever "Animal March" to the city of Pune. Donning animal masks and picket signs, these peaceful marchers chose the perfect way to honor the Mahatma's memory and carry on his legacy of compassion and nonviolence.

Here are some fun pics from the event:

You know, it's always the right time to cross over to the vegetarian side, so if you've been dying to kick it with the cool kids (like the ones pictured here) but you just need a little kick-start, you can get yourself a copy of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit" here.

On a side note, I've just learned that dishoom (which is now my new favorite word) translates roughly into one of my other favorite sayings, "to bring the raucous." Judging from the huge success of this march and PETA India's nonstop celebrity features and kick-butt campaigns, I'd say PETA India sure dishoomed it this month … eh?

Silliness aside, congratulations, PETA India and petaDishoom, for one very successful month!

Posted by Missy Lane

Michael B. Hennessy
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Michael B. Hennessy, a psychology professor at Wright State University, spends his time tormenting baby guinea pigs. With help from over $350 thousand in funding from taxpayer dollars, Hennessy has learned a lot about sickness and stress in laboratory animals, but he himself isn't confident that the results can be safely extrapolated to humans.

Hennessy takes guinea pigs from their mothers when the newborns are less than 1 month old to observe the resulting "stress-induced sickness behavior." To worsen things, the babies are injected with a behavior-altering substance to see how it affects them. They are forced to endure invasive surgeries, including having their heads cut open, tubes stuck inside, and various chemicals and agents injected into them—including E. Coli bacteria!

To make matters worse, even Hennessy himself sees the obvious problem with his methods—the fact that guinea pigs aren't people. In a recent paper, he concludes that "caution is required in generalizing from studies of sickness in laboratory animals to depression in humans."

Owen Floody
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Floody starts with healthy female hamsters, carves into their skulls, damages their brains, and then examines how this affects their sexual behavior. To assess this, he drops them in a box with a male hamster or "manually stimulates" them (you don't want to know). At the end of this bizarre ordeal, the animals are killed and their brains are dissected.

Floody even gets his students involved in these experiments, allowing undergraduate students in his physiological psychology course to help with this torture. PETA has already expressed its concerns to Bucknell, and you can chime in to help end these experiments by clicking here.

What'll it be? The Wright State professor who grasps the underlying problem with vivisection but does it anyway? Or the Bucknell professor who "manually stimulates" then kills female hamsters? Leave a comment to let me know!

Posted by Sean Conner

The war in Iraq may be thousands of miles away and across one good-sized ocean, but there's another scuffle going on over desert lands that are closer to home. U.S. soldiers are in a territory dispute with one of the Mohave's oldest inhabitants: California Tortoises.

LA Weekly reports that after years of coexisting with these slow-moving, gentle animals—listed as threatened under federal and state endangered species acts—the U.S. military at Fort Irwin, California, has taken measures to airlift these native tortoises to another section of the Mojave, more than 20 miles from their home.

Click the photo to view the slideshow at LAWeekly.com Credit: C.R. Stecyk III

The tortoises, who in recent decades thrived on the restricted-access lands, are now having to survive on foreign grounds in a much busier, more unstable, and completely unfamiliar environment. Plus, they're now at a greater risk of danger from vehicles, hikers, campers, and mines.

Way back in 1994, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service developed a Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan, which led to the construction of six critical habitat areas—and guess what? One of those habitats consists of much of the land currently occupied by Fort Irwin—and the land Fort Irwin wants.

The reason for relocating these reptiles? Military folks at the southern California training base need more land space to play their war games. Fort Irwin is a Hollywood-built Iraq—it's a perfect replica, complete with actors who portray shepherds, prisoners, lawyers, and any other individuals who stroll the Iraqi streets.

With all the strategizing, simulating, role-playing, and lifesaving training going on—not to mention the bottomless pit of cash the military seems to be harboring—the military should at least take a few moments to teach their soldiers compassion for all living creatures and be able to devise a better plan for the safety of these animals.

In an attempt to halt expansion plans, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a federal lawsuit against the Army and the Bureau of Land Management. This battle is sure to continue, and we'll be on guard.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

Just in time for the release of Saw V and the craziness of the Halloween horror-movie season, PETA will be running one of our creepy KFC ads in movie theaters in Baltimore and Denver for the next four weeks. This will really make horror-movie lovers think about the horror that chickens go through just to end up in a greasy KFC bucket.

While people cringe in their seats at the blood and guts on screen, hopefully they'll think back to the ad and realize that the same bloody butchering scene goes on in slaughterhouses every day.

Check out the ad here and tell us what you think:

Posted by Christine Doré

Not to be outdone by PETA India, the folks over at PETA Asia-Pacific have certainly been busy lately—in the last week, they've had three tremendously successful demos!

First up, we have three activists in Seoul, Korea, who lay outside a fur store in "bloody" fur coats, caught in a steel-jaw trap. Calling attention to the cruel methods used to trap wild animals for fur, their message read: "Animals Suffer in Traps. This Is Fur."

A few days later in China, two of PETA Asia-Pacific's sexy Lettuce Ladies asked passersby in Guangzhou to "Turn Over a New Leaf—Go Vegetarian." As you can see from the pics below, they got a lot of attention! Not bad for the first PETA Asia-Pacific demo in China in five years, don't you think?

Most recently, Santa spread the joy of soy in Manila and Hong Kong, courtesy of PETA Asia-Pacific. In light of the much-reported melamine-tainted–milk scandal, which has killed at least four babies and sickened 53,000 others, jolly old Saint Nick is working with PETA Asia-Pacific to inform milk-drinkers that cow's milk is also loaded with cholesterol, fat, and other contaminants, including cow's blood and pus, pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics. Over time, these can be just as dangerous as melamine.

Kudos to our friends at PETA Asia-Pacific for the string of amazing demos. We can't wait to see what they'll do next!

Posted by Amanda Schinke

In 2007, PETA received a call from a whistleblower who tipped us off to a Cleveland lab, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF), that performed a fatal brain surgery on a dog for a useless medical-device sales demonstration.

Fast forward to 2008. PETA has received yet another tip from a whistleblower because of yet another alleged unnecessary dog death at the CCF—and this time it appears to be a violation of federal law.

The whistleblower alleges that a healthy dog—who had undergone an experimental transplant in which a heart was inserted into her neck—was killed after surgeons discovered that her airway was blocked by hay. Sadly, the whistleblower says that the dog was knowingly allowed to eat the dangerous hay from the pens of other animals while roaming around the laboratory and disturbing other animals who were recuperating from painful surgeries. I'm pretty sure that the surgeons needed that extra heart, not the dog…

PETA has filed a complaint against the facility with the USDA, and we are asking for an immediate investigation into alleged violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. The potential violations include failure to ensure proper nutrition for dogs (at least one was apparently allowed to eat hay) and failure to ensure adequate veterinary care for animals used in experiments, just to name a couple.

Many Cleveland residents, especially those who frequent the Dawg Pound, would be horrified to know that a lab in their city might be guilty of repeatedly killing healthy dogs who are used in useless experiments. The CCF needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for its apparent disregard for animal welfare, and we hope that the USDA will do just that.

If you want to help, please politely contact the CCF using the information below and ask that it conduct a full and thorough investigation of this matter and take all appropriate corrective actions.

Please send polite comments to:

Paul E. DiCorleto, Ph.D., Chair
Lerner Research Institute
Cleveland Clinic
Mailstop NB21
9500 Euclid Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44195
216-444-5849
dicorlp@ccf.org

Sad news—House Peters Jr., the man we all know and love as Mr. Clean, passed away yesterday at the respectable age of 92.

I pretty much love the character of Mr. Clean. In a world of cleaning-product commercials featuring only women, Mr. Clean's gender-stereotype–defying presence was always refreshing. (Plus, he had an earring, which is cool—and pretty progressive for the 1950s, when the character premiered!)

What I don't love, though, is the company responsible for the product Mr. Clean—Proctor & Gamble (P&G), the infamous maker of animal-tested Iams! PETA's problem with P&G goes back pretty far—far enough, in fact, for us to have parodied Mr. Clean's image on a 1998 protest door hanger.

But that wasn't enough to convince P&G to stop abusing animals in the name of "research." While P&G has developed non-animal testing methods and worked to end much of its outdated testing program, even today, eight years later, P&G–owned Iams continues to keep up to 700 dogs and cats locked inside hidden laboratories.

So as we say goodbye to Mr. Clean, we urge you to honor his memory by, say, wearing white T-shirts and gold earrings—not by purchasing Iams.

For a list of dog and cat food brands that are not tested on animals, click here.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

xinhuanet / CC

If you haven't yet heard, Mexico has recently started the "Vamos por un millón de kilos'' campaign to encourage all residents to lose weight. Well, we know a thing or two about lookin' fine and stayin' slim without all the grease and cruelty that meat-based diets offer. Check out our letter to President Calderón and let us know what you think:

His Excellency Felipe Calderón President of the Republic of Mexico

1 page via fax

Dear President Calderón:

On behalf of PETA, an international animal rights organization with more than 2 million members and supporters worldwide, I applaud your administration's "Vamos por un millón de kilos" campaign. May we add that the best way to help your citizens lose weight while improving their health would be to encourage them to choose a vegetarian diet? As you might know, consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy products is linked to the major killers in the U.S. and Mexico—heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and strokes.

Animal flesh, milk, and cheese are packed with fat, calories, and cholesterol. It's little wonder that as Mexicans move away from a traditional Mexican diet high in healthy vegetables, grains, fruit, and beans and toward the typical U.S. diet, which is laden with fatty animal flesh and devoid of fiber, they are also following their neighbors to the north in packing on the pounds and becoming sick and prematurely incapacitated. Overwhelming scientific evidence shows that vegetarians are far less likely to be overweight than meat-eaters and far more likely to be in better overall health. They live longer and die less painful deaths. The American Dietetic Association—the largest group of nutrition professionals in the U.S.—reviewed hundreds of studies and concluded that vegetarians have lower rates of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer than people who eat meat. A healthy vegetarian diet provides all the nutrients that we need to thrive—without the saturated animal fats and cholesterol found in meat that cause weight gain and clogged arteries. In addition, every vegetarian saves hundreds of animals from the horrible cruelty of the meat industry, such as mutilation without any painkillers, intensive confinement, and violent slaughter.

To help kick off the "Go Vegetarian, Mexico" campaign, two of PETA's beautiful Lettuce Ladies would like to join you for an event at the National Palace to hand out delicious vegetarian fare—like tasty faux-beef tacos and soy-cheese and mock-chicken quesadillas—along with copies of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit." (The kit can be viewed online at SeaVegetariano.com.)

Please let me know when you would like to schedule this exciting event. Thank you for your consideration.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid E. Newkirk
President

Posted by Christine Doré

© AP Photo/Lisa Poole

Hey all you animal-loving Pretenders fans! Do I have a treat for you! As you probably know, Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders is not only a complete rock star in every sense of the word, she's also an incredible animal rights activist. We've reported many of Chrissie's actions on the PETA Files—such as leading protests in NYC against horse-drawn carriages, helping draw much-needed attention to the Australian wool boycott, and voicing her anti-leather stance when a company tried to name a leather bag after her (gross! I know, right?)—but that's really just a small sample of what this great woman has done in the name of animal rights.

Chrissie is front and center again with the upcoming release of the new Pretenders album, Break Up the Concrete, due out October 7, and in the middle of a whirlwind of press, she made sure to give PETA an exclusive Q&A and an early release of two of her new tracks (which can be found here). Without further ado ... I give you Chrissie Hynde:

Dan Mathews: Tell us about some of the highlights of your life as an animal activist.

Chrissie Hynde: I like the way that question is worded because I consider myself an animal activist first and my music as more of a hobby that gives me a platform to fight for animals. The big highlight was when I first walked into the PETA headquarters and looked at all the files of cases you've won and all the activity and campaigns planning. Having been a fairly dour vegetarian since 1969 when nobody really gave a shit about animals, it was the first time I ever felt optimistic about the movement really succeeding.

I also loved getting up at 4 a.m. after the first big PETA gala in Washington D.C. in the early 90s to go on a hunt sabotage. I like being on the front lines, though I'm not really on the front lines as I've never personally busted into a slaughterhouse. Those I admire most are the PETA investigators who infiltrate. At another PETA gala I was changed forever by James Cromwell's speech in which he said "You can't call yourself a true environmentalist unless you're vegan." That attitude is finally sinking in and people are realizing what they eat determines how responsible a citizen they are. I recently saw him in L.A. and jumped up and thanked and hugged him and made a huge fuss … but I don't think he knew who I was!

The thing I'm most proud of is going after the Gap and getting them to stop buying leather from the horrible black market in India. I love all animals but my main focus has always been cows, so it was a joy to go to jail with Ingrid after the Gap protest and have it succeed. I love Ingrid and always urge her to take a break once in a while; I even made her come over to my house in London to chill out and watch a movie.

Dan Mathews: What are your observations about PETA's often provocative way of doing things?

Chrissie Hynde: PETA is my favorite organization because there is such a great spirit of adventure in all the campaigns. We're all in this because of the horror stories out there but PETA manages to tackle the issues with such a winning spirit, even when all odds are against us.

Dan Mathews: You opened a vegan restaurant, Vegiterranean, in your hometown of Akron, Ohio, which has been a runaway success. Any plans to expand?

Chrissie Hynde: Yes! If a small Midwestern town can have a line out the door at a vegan restaurant, it can work anywhere. Times are definitely changing all over. I'd like to expand to Las Vegas so tourists from all over the world can see how great vegan food can be, and of course in L.A. I've read that Freedom Tower in New York City, the new development where the World Trade Center once stood, is looking for a notable restaurateur. I'd like to throw my hat into the ring. There's been so much horrific blood and guts and violence there that it'd be fitting to open a cool restaurant where no mangled, burnt bodies are on the menu.

Posted by Christine Doré