To clarify PETA's position on pit bulls: We're for 'em.

By "for 'em," I mean that we are for pit bull protection, for their happiness, and for treating them like dogs instead of like cheap burglar alarms, punching bags, or gladiators in perverted death matches.

Some pit bull fanciers out there seem to think that PETA is "against" pit bulls because we don't oppose breed-specific measures to address what is obviously a breed-specific crisis. Au contraire. If someone proposed a ban on breeding Labrador retrievers or Chihuahuas or poodles (you get the picture―any dog), we'd be for those too. That's because we don't think any dogs should be brought into the world as long as millions are dying for lack of homes in animal shelters and on the streets every year.

Millions, people. Millions of dogs just like the ones you share your homes with have to be euthanized because too many people fail to spay and neuter their animals and choose to buy from breeders and pet stores instead of saving lives by adopting from animal shelters. Wouldn't we be derelict in our duty if we didn't support laws that would alleviate suffering and reduce those numbers? If those laws saved just one animal from suffering a miserable life or a painful death, wouldn't they be worth it?

Pit bulls are often singled out by legislators because they are involved in so many attacks on humans and other dogs—as well as horrific cruelty cases. Our fieldworkers know firsthand just how frequently and mercilessly pit bulls are abused. These dogs are hands-down the most common victims of heartbreaking abuse and severe neglect that our caseworkers encounter.

I'm going to warn you—the following pictures, which were taken by our caseworkers of pit bulls they have helped, are graphic and disturbing. But I hope you'll steel yourself to look at them and decide for yourself whether or not these suffering dogs would have been better off if they had never been born:

This is Rikus.

PETA fieldworkers found him cowering in his doghouse with a gaping wound on one of his legs, exposing muscle and bone. His face was swollen to the size of a melon because of infected wounds that he had suffered during a dogfight.

Music was nothing more than skin and bones when we found him, without food or water, and with nothing but a rusty pile of junk for shelter. He was shivering in freezing weather, trapped at the end of a heavy chain.

Music's ears were shredded and his body was covered with scabs and scars—an indication that he had been forced to fight with other dogs.

In December of last year, PETA staffers found Zoo—also skin and bones—chained and starving in Suffolk, Virginia.

Our vet determined that Zoo was 20 to 30 pounds underweight. Zoo tested negative for intestinal parasites—meaning that his emaciated body condition was because of starvation. He was also filthy, flea-ridden, and heartworm positive. We charged his callous owners with cruelty to animals. They pleaded not guilty in court, but the judge saw through their lies and convicted them. They were sentenced to 30 days in jail (suspended) and forced to pay fines of $250 each as well as restitution for Zoo's veterinary bill.

On New Year's Day, heartbroken PETA staffers discovered this angel, Hugo, dead inside his PETA-supplied doghouse. A necropsy report confirmed that Hugo had been starved to death—the only contents of his stomach were grass and orange peels. He had scars consistent with dogfighting and had a fractured rib that was the result of trauma. We worked with law enforcement officials to bring charges against the person who was responsible for Hugo's prolonged suffering and death. A judge sentenced the defendant to 120 days in jail and five years of probation during which time he is not allowed to inhabit a residence that has any animals in it.

Blackie was chained to an old carrier with no food or water. He was painfully thin, and his right rear leg had a compound fracture that had been left to rot for weeks.

For more information about PETA's position on pit bulls, check out our new pamphlet on the subject.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

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

Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on this Win It Wednesday. The winners of the 'Fight Breedism' shirt are Emily, Kelli, and S. Phillips. Congratulations!

We all have our favorite celebrities, and Charlize Theron has topped my list since she narrated PETA's puppy mill investigation. When she was spotted wearing our new "Fight Breedism" shirt on the beach with her rescue pups, I was pretty much over the moon. She's beautiful, talented, and funny, and she jumps at every chance she can to speak up for animals. What more could you ask for?

Her awesome T-shirt, for starters.

For this week's "Win It" Wednesday, we're giving away three "Fight Breedism" shirts so that you can rock Charlize's style. They're super-stylish, soft, and a great way to spread the word about adoption.

How do you win? Help Charlize give a voice to the millions of animals abandoned at animal shelters every year and tell us about the shelter animal(s) you have rescued. Leave us a comment below, then take our quiz to find out how well you know your ABCs (as in "animal birth control").

The contest ends on June 24, 2009, and we'll choose the three people who submit the most touching comments as the winners on June 26, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Check back every Wednesday for new prizes. Good luck!

Posted by Lianne Turner

Best Cat in the Universe: Ziggy

Just think—the next Best Cat in the Universe could be waiting for you at your local animal shelter. Kinda gives you goose bumps, doesn't it? If you have the energy, resources, and, most importantly, lap time to devote to a feline companion, you can't go wrong by adopting a cat from an animal shelter. But just in case you need some convincing, here are the top 10 reasons why shelter kitties rule:

10. You'll get the best selection in town—animal shelters are usually full to overflowing (unfortunately) with cats of all shapes, sizes, ages, energy levels, and temperaments.



9. Shelter cats are often already spayed or neutered (or else the cost of the surgery is included in the adoption fee). What a deal! Animal shelters also often throw in lots of swag, such as cat food, toys, and treats.



8. On a related note, shelter cats are almost always already housebroken, and many have been trained to use a scratching post too.



7. Many shelter cats are adults whose personalities are already developed, so you know what who you're getting.



6. Lots of shelter cats are mixed breeds who are less likely to inherit the congenital defects that plague (inbred) purebreds, including heart and eye defects and cleft palates.



5. If you have kids, having a cat can actually help prevent them from developing allergies.



4. No need for an electric blanket (or a masseuse)—cats make excellent bed-warmers.



3. No need for a big-screen TV, either. Cats provide all the entertainment you need.



2. You will finally learn the answer to the question "What do you do with an empty paper bag?"



1. And the number one reason for adopting a shelter cat is, of course, that you're saving a cat's life. Which is really the only reason that matters, isn't it?

Posted by Alisa Mullins

P.S. After you've given a kitty a forever home, you should check out this book: 250 Things You Can Do to Make Your Cat Adore You.

fametastic / CC

On the show, judge Simon Cowell is known for being a little harsh when he gives the contestants a dose of the hard truth, but in reality he is full of compassion, especially when it comes to animals. Not only has he lent his celebrity to important campaigns in the past (like when he recorded a video message to remind people not to leave dogs in hot cars or when he has spoken out about the importance of spaying and neutering (and against fur), but now he's taken the time to sit down and chat with us about everything from his thoughts on Michael Vick to Obama's new White House pup, and much more. Check it out below and let us know what you think!

Do you think it's important to adopt a dog or cat rather than buying one from a pet store? Well, I mean, if I was buying a dog, I wouldn't buy it from a pet shop, I'd go to a rescue shelter. Or I'd go to a friend who couldn't take care. … It's not where the dog came from, it's the dog. … I get really annoyed when people start telling me about the make and the model of their dog like [for] a car. … A dog is a dog, no matter what background they've got. … Often, the mutts, the strays have got more personality than a highly bred pedigree.

Why do you think some people are obsessed with buying purebred dogs? They are plagued with physical issues, and some breeds are so popular that folks can't tell their own dogs apart from their neighbors' dogs. Well, I think the fashion accessory thing has become quite the thing here. You've got the rap and pop stars carrying around the highly bred dogs …. They think it'd be embarrassing to be seen carrying a mutt … when actually it would be endearing—people would think they cared more about the dog than their image. The other thing which is a problem, as you know, is they'll make movies about, you know, Chihuahuas, and thousands of people will go out and buy Chihuahuas like in the movie.

Right. And we're concerned that the same thing might happen now with the first family. What do you think about their Portuguese water dog? I think we've got to be balanced on this. I think—on a positive note, I think it's nice that they have made an issue of buying a dog for the kids. What I think would be great would be if they also took in a shelter dog, just from anywhere, to balance it. I'll even pay for the dog food!

The Westminster and Crufts dog shows are always controversial because they promote purebred animals when so many mutts are dying in animal shelters. What do you think of these shows? Well, again, I have two thoughts about them, because I think the vast majority of people who go and watch something like Crufts or who are involved are animal lovers, not animal haters. The problem (in the U.K. at least) is that we have elitism in the dog world, which does bother me, for who's to say what makes the perfect dog? The fact that these judges are saying that a bulldog who can't breathe properly is the proper way to breed a dog―that's just insane! Because, in their warped minds, that's what a dog should look like. I've got a show called Britain's Got Talent, where we have crazy dog acts, and I like those dog shows better. The dogs are having a blast, obviously having a great time.

We see a lot of dogs chained outside like bicycles, for life. What is your message to people who do that? That's disgraceful. The awful thing about what that person doesn't realize is that in the dog's mind, as he's being chained up … that dog has put his trust in the person who's chaining him. That dog would give up his life nine times out of 10 for the person who's chaining him up. … For a dog, under those circumstances, just to be left alone, starving to death, lonely and thirsty, is about as low as a person can go. You've got to have a really warped, disgusting personality to want to do something like that. That really disgusts me.

What makes you angriest when someone is cruel to an animal? I think the fact that they get an enjoyment out of it. I think the disrespect—a dog's sole purpose in life is to guard you, and it's your responsibility, and the dog will give up his life for you—would literally die for you—is unbelievable! It shows a really … like Michael Vick. He should never, ever be publicly supported again. Ever. If people really knew the gory details of what he was doing …. They think it was just a dogfight, but what do you do after the fights? The way they kill the maimed dogs ….

Right. And it came out last winter that Vick even threw his family pets into the fighting ring. That's not a human being―that's a sadist.

As you know, your image is posted on our mobile spay-and-neuter clinic, which rides around in low-income, rural areas of Virginia and North Carolina. People cheer when they see you on the van, and they bring their dogs out for their vaccinations. Thank you for that. Can you send some words to people who are having a hard time putting food on the table about why they shouldn't forget their dogs in these tough economic times? Well, I think that a life is a life, and I totally respect the fact that it's very easy for pampered celebrities like me to lecture, and sometimes I despise people like me because we don't do enough. But I can tell you that if you give an animal kindness, it will come back to you a thousand times over. … You get so much out of it, I cannot tell you. And for us, certainly, I am always willing to do—if I can help you financially, I will do that. If you need a donation anytime, we'll set it up straight away. Never hesitate calling me about that.

Did you know that several of your American Idol graduates have gone on to help animals? Carrie Underwood, Reuben Studdard, and Kellie Pickler are, for example, all vegetarians and are all on PETA's "sexiest vegetarian" list. If you know someone is good with animals, does that make you more inclined to be kind to them after they perform? Well, funny enough, there's normally something that connects me to them. Certainly with Carrie, the second she walked in, I sensed a real kindness about her, and I think it's part of her appeal. And to me, it just shows that you're a nicer person. So I'm not surprised to hear all of that, to be honest with you. I'll do more to encourage it. We'll put it on the questionnaire!

Doré. Out.

Posted by Christine Doré

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard about Susan Boyle's knock-your-socks-off performance on Britain's Got Talent. Not only did Susan become an overnight singing sensation, she also spoke up about how much she loves her kitty, Pebbles.

Because they know that this down-to-earth international superstar won't forget the little guys, our lovely British friends at PETA Europe have asked her and Pebbles to consider starring together in a public service announcement with the tagline "Bring Harmony to a Cat's Life!" By raising her voice on behalf of cats, Susan would help homeless animals become winners as well. Yeah, yeah, it's cheesy—but it's true.

If Susan and her feline friend agree to the ad, they would be in good company too. Britain's Got Talent judges Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden have both starred in ads for PETA Europe.

By encouraging her fans to be responsible guardians by always adopting from animal shelters (never buying from pet stores or breeders) and making sure to spay or neuter their animal companions, Susan could help make a difference for the millions of homeless cats who end up in extremely crowded animal shelters around the world every year.

Don't worry, Susan's spiffy new look is an animal-friendly fake!

Posted by Shawna Flavell

today.msnbc.msn / CC

Devastated as I was when Anoop Desai got voted off American Idol this week, my day perked up when I discovered that our friends over at PETA India have approached Anoop to ask him to work with them. They sent a letter asking the R&B singer to join the Indian Animal Birth Control (ABC) campaign to "implement humane methods of controlling companion animal populations in slums" in India.

If Anoop agrees, he'll be joining Idol judge Simon Cowell in the effort to end the animal overpopulation crisis. Plus, America might see Anoop's compassion and finally forgive him for attempting that Usher song …

Posted by Christine Doré

mirror.co / CC

So, here's an idea that we and others such as Jana Kohl have proposed to the Obama family: Keep Bo company by adopting a second non-allergenic dog, this time from a breed rescue, a pound, an animal shelter, or from the lists of homeless animals on the Internet. There's no doubt that the Obamas mean well, or they wouldn't have given a donation to the humane society, got Bo fixed, or arranged that complicated "He's a reject from someone, no one bought him" deal. So, hopefully, they'll learn from their missteps.

Please, offer words of encouragement on this topic by writing very polite letters to President Obama. His family is just like yours: They just didn't "get" that a rescue means a rescue.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Vice President Biden and his purebred German shepherd puppy, Champ, have been all over the news this evening in reports about how the breeder who sold him the puppy has fallen on hard times, saying that she would "never, never, never again" sell to someone with a high profile. But we have a better idea: How about not selling to … oh, I don't know … anyone? With shelter dogs dying every day for lack of a good home, it's completely irresponsible to breed dogs for profit. Period.

When we initially got the news that the Bidens had naïvely purchased Champ from a breeder, we ran one of our popular television ads in his home state of Delaware titled "Buy One, Kill One," which reminds viewers that every time you buy a dog from a breeder, a dog in an animal shelter dies. We think it gets the point across nicely. Check it out here:

This past December, though, Mr. Vice Prez himself made positive headlines in The PETA Files when he announced that his plans also included adopting a dog in the future from an animal shelter. We even sent Biden presents in honor of the good news, including a doggy gift bag, spay-neuter certificates, and promises of more goodies to come when the new pup arrived. We hope he'll stay true to his word and make some pup lucky!

The Biden's high profile could shower positive media attention on abandoned dogs and shed light on the overpopulation crisis. Fingers crossed!

Posted by Christine Doré

Check out this van:

Isn't it snazzy?

This van is our Animal Birth Control (ABC) mobile spay-and-neuter clinic. And do you know what makes it even snazzier? It's just one of the low- to no-cost mobile veterinary clinics that we operate. Our other one, SNIP (Spay/Neuter Immediately, Please!), performed our 50,000th sterilization surgery today in Hampton Roads. And, if you add in all the other surgeries that we pay private vet clinics to perform, that means that way more than 50,000 animals have benefited from the free and low-cost services that we offer inside that van. It's seen more surgeries than my car has miles!

But it's not just the van. You need people to operate on patients. Our SNIP staff members are out of bed early, every day of the week, trying to make a dent in the animal overpopulation crisis, and they are doing a great job. By performing those 50,000 surgeries, they have saved 116,660 puppies and kittens from being born into a world that would otherwise cast them away.

Take a look at just a few of the lives they have affected:

Cheyenne was our clinic's lucky 50,000th patient.

Chyna looks a little sleepy after her surgery.

Troy's entire family was excited to have SNIP visit.

Aww, Buddy's guardian had to prop his head up for his picture.

We are super-proud of our SNIP staffers, and I hope you'll leave a comment congratulating them for all their hard work.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

redfishbluefish / CC

Thankfully, city officials woke right up after the tremendous outcry from local residents, and the city of Los Angeles is once again doing its part to curb the companion animal overpopulation crisis.

That's a smart move, Los Angeles.

It must be really difficult to defend the elimination of a spay-and-neuter program when millions of homeless animals are running through the streets dodging cars, evading cruel humans, and enduring extreme weather conditions—let alone pumping out litter after litter of babies.

As anyone who works in the animal protection field knows, spay-and-neuter programs are essential for getting at the core of the animal overpopulation crisis. When 6 to 8 million homeless animals are dropped off at animal shelters every year, finding homes just isn't good enough. The key is prevention—and spaying and neutering, my friends, is the answer.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

In my first year working at a grossly substandard animal shelter in Maryland, I forced myself to go in early to euthanize dogs by holding them in my arms and gently helping them escape an uncaring world without trauma or pain and to spare them from being stabbed haphazardly—while they were fully conscious, terrified and aware—in the general vicinity of their hearts with needles blunt from reuse and left to thrash on the floor until they finally died by the callous people who would arrive later to do the job.

I always wonder how anyone cannot recognize that there is a world of difference between painlessly euthanizing animals out of compassion—aged, injured, sick, and dying animals whose guardians can't afford euthanasia, for instance—as PETA does, and causing them to suffer terror, pain, and a prolonged death while struggling to survive on the streets, at the hands of untrained and uncaring "technicians," or animal abusers.

Diamond was suffering from a painful facial tumor that was slowly eating away at his face

Sasha had a severely infected bite wound.

It's easy to point the finger at those who are forced to do the "dirty work" caused by a throwaway society's casual acquisition and breeding of dogs and cats who end up homeless and unwanted, but at PETA, we will never turn our backs on neglected, unloved, and homeless animals—even if the best we can offer them is a painless release from a world that doesn't have enough heart or homes with room for them. It makes it easy for people to throw stones at us, but we are against all needless killing: for hamburgers, fur collars, dissection, sport hunting―the works. PETA handled far more animals than 2,124 in 2008. In fact, we took in more than 10,000 dogs and cats and work very hard to persuade people to spay and neuter their animals and to commit to a lifetime of care and respect for them. We go so far as to transport animals to and from our spay/neuter clinics, where they are spayed or neutered and given vet care, often for free! Since 2001, PETA's low- to no-cost spay-and-neuter mobile clinics, SNIP and ABC, have sterilized more than 50,000 animals, preventing hundreds of thousands of animals from being born, neglected, abandoned, abused, or euthanized when no one wanted them. And on a national level, PETA is focusing on the root of the problem through our Animal Birth Control (ABC) campaign.

Big Girl was still alive when a field worker found her

If anyone has a good home, love, and respect to offer, we beg them: Go to a shelter and take one or two animals home. The problem is that few people do that, choosing instead to go to a breeder or a pet shop and not "fixing" their dogs and cats, which contributes to the high euthanasia rate that animal shelters face. Most of the animals we took in and euthanized could hardly be called "pets," as they had spent their lives chained up in the back yard, for instance. They were unsocialized, never having been inside a building of any kind or known a pat on the head. Others were indeed someone's, but they were aged, sick, injured, dying, too aggressive to place, and the like, and PETA offered them a painless release from suffering, with no charge to their owners or custodians.

Every day, PETA's fieldworkers help abused and neglected dogs—many of them pit bulls nowadays and many of them forced to live their lives on chains heavy enough to tow an 18-wheeler—by providing them with food; clean water; lightweight tie-outs; deworming medicine; flea, tick, and fly-strike prevention; free veterinary care; sturdy wooden doghouses stuffed with straw bedding; and love.

What we see is enough to make you lose faith in humanity. One pit bull we gained custody of, named Asia, looked like a skeleton covered with skin when PETA released her from the 15-pound chain she had been kept on for years. Asia suffered from three painful and deadly intestinal obstructions, which prevented her from keeping any food down. She faced an agonizing, lingering death, so our veterinarian recommended euthanasia to end her suffering. We pursued criminal charges against those responsible for her condition, leading to their conviction for cruelty to animals. That is just one of the dozens of cases we see every week.

The majority of adoptable dogs are never brought through our doors (we refer them to local adoption groups and walk-in animal shelters). Most of the animals we house, rescue, find homes for, or put out of their misery come from miserable conditions, which often lead to successful prosecution and the banning of animal abusers from ever owning or abusing animals again.

Santana had facial injuries so serious that his right eye was swollen shut and his jaw was ripped and hanging

This dog was suffering from advanced cancer

As long as animals are still purposely bred and people aren't spaying and neutering their companions, open-admission animal shelters and organizations like PETA must do society's dirty work. Euthanasia is not a solution to overpopulation but rather a tragic necessity given the present crisis. PETA is proud to be a "shelter of last resort," where animals who have no place to go or who are unwanted or suffering are welcomed with love and open arms.

Please, if you care about animals, help prevent more of them from being born only to end up chained and left to waste away in people's back yards, suffering on mean streets where people kick at them or shoo them away like garbage, tortured at the hands of animal abusers, or, alas, euthanized in animal shelters for lack of a good home. If you want to save lives, always have your animals spayed or neutered.

Posted by Ingrid E. Newkirk

bestweekever / CC

The premise of Ted, which sounds sort of like a cross between The Office and Big Bang Theory, is that smart and successful, if somewhat nerdy, employees are forced to use their powers for bizarre, if not downright unethical, endeavors by a soulless corporation. They are asked to weaponize pumpkins (which doesn't sound all bad, really) and to create uncomfortable, scratchy office chairs (some chairs do seem to have gone missing from the PETA office). They even cryogenically freeze a company scientist for a year as part of an experiment (now that's the kind of animal testing we can get behind—just kidding, c'mon).

But back to that in vitro meat. We can't help but think that the show's creators were inspired by PETA's call to scientists to develop a commercially viable lab-grown meat by 2012. As an incentive, we're dangling a big, juicy carrot in the form of a $1 million prize. Hey, we already have lab-grown candy—how big of a leap is from it Pop Rocks to test-tube T-bones?

Posted by Alisa Mullins

When Ron Artest isn't sticking it to his opponents on the basketball court, he's sticking up for animals. That's why the Houston Rockets forward teamed up with us and the Houston Humane Society to star in an ad urging people to get their dogs "fixed."

"These animals are literally dying for a good home," says Artest, the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the 2003-2004 season. "Millions of dogs and cats in shelters across the country are euthanized every year because there simply aren't enough good homes for them. Spaying and neutering your [animal companion] will help control the overpopulation problem."

Artest unveiled the ad today in honor of Spay Day. Check out photos from the event below:

Posted by Christine Doré

Here are the top four reasons why Fred Willard is the man:

4. This Is Spinal Tap: Seriously, put it on your bucket list.

3. Waiting for Guffman: A travel agent–slash–community theater star who's all tracksuit and no talent—nice.

2. ABC PSA (ad-libbed version): Known for his improv skills, Fred ad libs on the acronyms in this funny bit focused on our Animal Birth Control (ABC) campaign.

And the number one reason Fred Willard is the man? Well, you'll just have to see for yourself:

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

Change was a hot topic this election, but we all need to remember the millions of animals whose lives will stay the same even though the election is over—unless we all do a lot of hard work. Breeders and pet shops will continue to contribute to the tragedy of dog and cat overpopulation—just to make a profit. We need to work hard to make spaying and neutering affordable and legally mandated in every community across the country. Although the election is over, let's remember to keep fighting the good fight! We must educate others about the importance of spaying and neutering their animal companions and adopting from shelters instead of buying from breeders and pet stores. If we all pitch in, then eventually the tragic but merciful euthanasia of animals for whom no suitable, loving homes exist will no longer be necessary.

Click for a larger version

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

We hope you all had a happy and safe Halloween! Yeah, we saw you rockin' those Trollsen and Colonel masks! We were knee-deep in mischief ourselves, but don't worry, it was all treat and no trick. PETA's "Spay and Neuter Immediately Please!" mobile clinic (aka the SNIP-mobile) spent the whole spooky day spaying and neutering dozens of black cats from the Hampton Roads area. So gosh darn cute! Yes, even witches know that cats need to be altered to live full and hauntingly happy lives.

On hand was our VIP 8-year-old PETA Kids representative, Skyler, who happily donned a black kitty costume and handed out treats to all.

A big nod goes out to the staff members aboard the mobile clinic who over the years have done an awesome job preventing the births of hundreds of thousands of unwanted kittens. It's a truly frightening statistic that one unspayed female cat can produce 36 cats in just one and a half years!

Thank you, thank you, SNIP crew! You're all wonderful!

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

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

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

OK, I'll admit it—Mr. Peanut looked pretty sharp (who doesn't look good in a monocle?), but the real stars of last month's annual Virginia Peanut Festival parade were PETA's new mobile Animal Birth Control Clinic and the plucky 'pups' who walked alongside it. They were there to spread the word about the importance of spaying and neutering animal companions and to offer the services of our low- to no-cost clinic to the thousands of low-income families in attendance. The peanut-loving people of Emporia swarmed us to sign up their dogs and cats to be sterilized. Participating in a nutty parade (both figuratively and literally nutty) and doing something to stop thousands of unwanted puppies and kittens from being born—I'd say that's a pretty sweet way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

Some of you might remember our (funny!) spay and neuter ad, starring everyone's favorite puppet, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. In case you need a refresher, here it is:

Now for the reason you might not remember it—when we first released the PSA in 2003, some people thought that we were implying that Clay Aiken was "neutered" because he was gay. As a gay myself, I can say with certainty that nothing could have been further from the truth—just ask my friend Lady Bunny!

© Tina Paul/fifibear 2008

In any case, we took the ad down. We at PETA might be many things, but goodness knows, anti-gay certainly isn't one of them!

We'd decided to go along with Triumph's suggestion of "Get Neutered—It Didn't Hurt Clay Aiken" for the ad because of some scary things Clay had said in a Rolling Stone interview. "I think cats are Satan," he'd said. "There's nothing worse to me than a house cat. When I was about sixteen, I had a kitten and ran over it." Ouch! He clarified that the cat's death was an accident and that he was "haunted" by the cat's spirit—but come on.

Well, as far as we know, Clay still hasn't apologized for his kitty hatred. But you know what? Five years later, with the Idol starting a new chapter in his life, we're going to let bygones be bygones—and we're removing the ad from our library of available PSAs.

So congratulations on the birth of your son and on your newfound freedom, Clay. And hey, maybe someday you'll meet an angelic kitty who changes your mind about our fine feline friends, hmm?

Posted by Michael McGraw

The American Kennel Club (AKC) is promoting several days throughout September as "Responsible Dog Ownership Day." What's wrong with this picture? Hmm, let me think … wait, I've got it: How can a pro-breeding organization promote "responsible" guardianship?

The AKC's main objective is to breed and exhibit purebred dogs—and for each purebred dog bred and sold to a family, a dog in an animal shelter loses his or her chance at a home. But that doesn't matter to the AKC folks, who believe that purebred dogs somehow matter more than their mixed-breed doggie brethren. Where have I heard this before?

Dogs, of course, don't care if they meet breed specifications—they just want a home! But the AKC demands that dogs adhere to strict breed guidelines even when they've been proved to cause medical problems, like with pugs' breathing difficulty. They oppose mandatory spaying and neutering laws—it would mean a loss of revenue—and they even oppose legislation to restrict the continuous chaining of dogs! For the AKC, it really is dog ownership, and they can't imagine not being able to do whatever they please with their property.

Well, I just don't see how the AKC is in any position to promote responsibility when it comes to caring for our canine companions. As long as nearly 4 million dogs and cats keep dying every year for want of homes, there is absolutely no such thing as responsible breeding. The best way to be a responsible dog (or cat!) guardian is to practice your ABCs—Animal Birth Control—and always spay and neuter.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Need some brushing up on your ABCs? Animal Birth Control, that is. Now's your chance! Meet Amber, PETA's sexy new student who has a big heart for homeless animals and some hot tricks up her sleeve.

Check out PETA's Striptease Quiz and see if you have the smarts to get 10 out of 10 questions right. You'll be quizzed on everything from the importance of spaying and neutering to the significance of adopting from animal shelters instead of pet shops. If you study hard and get 100 on the quiz, I promise there'll be a reward for you in the end.

After you've aced the quiz (I know you will), fill out the contest form below and you will be entered to win an ABC T-shirt.

You have until September 17, 2008, to enter to win the T-shirt. We will contact the winner on September 18, 2008. Be sure to read the contest terms and conditions and PETA's privacy policy before you comment—you're acknowledging that you have read and agree to both by entering.

Posted by Christine Doré

Gossip gurus are all worked up over recent rumors that PETA supporter Jenna Jameson is pregnant. Jenna recently stripped down to her birthday suit and slipped beneath the sheets (again, which you can win!) to appear in our new animal birth control ad.

Jenna definitely knows a thing or two about birth control—and she understands the necessity of birth control for animals too. Why is it so important? She says:

Until dogs and cats can go on the pill or wear condoms, we need to help them practice safe sex—by spaying and neutering. Millions of homeless animals are turned in to shelters every year because there simply aren't enough good homes for them all. The answer is as easy as ABC: Animal Birth Control, which means get your Fido of Fluffy fixed!

Jenna can decide for herself whether or not she has the time, love, patience, money, and desire to have a baby—animals cannot.

You can comment until August 29, 2008, to win Jenna's autographed sheets (how hot is that?). We will contact the winner on September 3, 2008. Be sure to read the contest terms and conditions and PETA's privacy policy before you comment—you're acknowledging that you have read and agree to both by leaving a comment.

Readers of Dog Fancy magazine opened the recent issue to see an ad that read, "Just bought a brand-new purebred puppy? Welcome him or her into your home with a free gift bag! Call us today at 1-866-834-6061 to claim your bag and hear about our products." The ad's offer sounds good enough, right?

Well, for people who actually called the number, the offer may have lost some of its appeal when they learned that the "gift" bags are actually body bags! If readers knew the ad was placed by PETA, they may have expected the shocking twist, but why would we want to give away a little detail like that?

The ad and the body bags were created to serve as a strong reminder to all dog lovers that for every dog you buy, another one will die, because every dog purchased from a breeder takes a spot in a home that a homeless dog is dying to fill. With the millions of homeless animals in this country, it's insane to buy rather than adopt.

Our video "Buy One, Get One Killed" drives home that point nicely.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

Ah, shucks! Why be subtle, really? Especially when you're creative and stand for something! This time, some of our PETA punsters have come up with an ad that is sure to cause a stir—and rightfully so. When millions of unwanted animals are destroyed for lack of homes because less than responsible people still fail to spay or neuter their cats and dogs, perhaps a mildly indecent outcry is in order. You think? Check out the awesome ad here:

And if you want to get people to learn more about this epidemic, we've created the fantastic Animal Birth Control (ABC) campaign. Not only do we have ourselves a stylish Web site, the campaign also tackles seriously distorted ideas about buying from breeders, puppy mills (if you're one of the 10 people who don't watch Oprah, you can learn all about them here), and pet stores while offering simple steps for what you can do to help. We also provide more printable factsheets and literature than you can shake a stick at!

Posted by Missy Lane

OK, I don't want to brag, but ... ah, heck! If spaying and neutering were an Olympic event (if synchronizing swimming got in, why not?), our SNIP staff would be at the podium holding their gold medals! Move over, Morgan Hamm—you may know a thing or two about the pommel horse, but could you prevent the births of thousands of unwanted cats? We didn't think so.

Yesterday, PETA's SNIPmobile hit a grand slam for homeless cats—completing an outstanding 30 spays/neuters done completely free of charge! These little kings of the urban jungle had the entire day devoted just to their well-being and happiness. And you know what, they were feral—all of 'em.

The SNIPmobile

We did the free sterilizations, although we don't believe most feral cats should be out there at all—in danger, unsocialized, and fearful of humans—because ferals often have to be the James Bonds of the kitty world just to duck and dive past the slew of dangers present in their environment.

Ferals are at risk of being picked up by bunchers for use in disgusting laboratory experiments—in addition to facing the risks posed by cars, extreme weather, diseases such as feline AIDS and feline leukemia, and other animals. And if that's not enough mud to trek through, there's the food situation. Keep multiplying the overwhelming number of ferals born in a colony each year, consider the amount of food available, do the math, and, well ... you get the picture. We did it, however, because cats are better off out there not reproducing than out there having kitties under the pilings.

Until we can do what Switzerland did and make it mandatory for people who want a cat or dog to pass a responsibility test, preventing future litters of kittens—and we're talkin' all kittens here, not just ferals—spaying and neutering is the key way to gain control of the overpopulation nightmare in this country and better protect these animals from harm.

Feral cats certainly don't live the life of champions. But thanks to the compassionate souls working countless hours on our mobile clinic and the people who looked out for them and took them back and forth, these ferals have a few less worries on their plate.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

Her new role in The Wackness is already getting rave reviews, and we couldn't be happier! The Rama's Screen review says, "Every year there's always one independent movie that premieres at Sundance Film Festival that goes on to be the year's most groundbreaking film worthy to compete with other Oscar worthy contenders and for this year, The Wackness is definitely it." Right on, Famke! Ya'll need to get your behinds to your most eclectic lil' indie theatre tomorrow to see this movie!

You probably remember that Famke showed that she deserved a halo and wings for her devotion to her dog Licorice. Both Licorice and Famke appeared in a PETA "Be an Angel for Animals" ad. In the ad, Famke reminded everyone to spay or neuter their companion animals and ensure that they receive proper veterinary care and get plenty of attention and exercise.

Thanks, Famke, for using your beauty in the most attractive way possible! We all wish you the best with The Wackness!

Posted by Robbie LeBlanc

It's like a plot out of a cheesy Lifetime movie or, better yet, a sleazy episode of Maury Povich's talk show: Teen Girls Forge Pregnancy Pact. Man, now that would make a great headline. Oh, wait, it is a headline!

Yep, if you haven't heard yet, 17 Gloucester, Massachusetts, high school students may have formed a pact to get pregnant. And parents say teenagers can't follow through on anything....

Well, while everyone else is trying to figure out who did what or how or why—or whom, for that matter—we thought it'd be a good time to toss in our own two cents. Obviously, this town could use a little more sex education and a little less scandal ala the likes of Jamie Lynn.

So we thought maybe this sleepy fishing town could use a little "Sex Talk"—PETA style! Our PSA, which highlights the importance of spaying and neutering to prevent unwanted births—will air nationally during CNN's Anderson Cooper 360° show. Take that, unprotected sex!

As ill-conceived as the decision may have been for these girls to get pregnant, they at least had a choice, unlike the countless number of female cats and dogs left unspayed and forced to fend off every male animal for miles around when they go into heat. It's anything but a good time.

Hopefully, a little national attention will show that it's about as insane to allow cats and dogs to have litter after litter of babies as it is for teens. And, well, if it reduces the number of teenage girls getting paternity tests on The Maury Show, well, I guess that's good too.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

OK, not quite. Actually, the International Cannes Film Festival is already over, for those of you not on the up and up with film awards. What I'm talking about here is the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, where two—yes, count 'em, two—of PETA's PSAs have made the short list for public service messages. Ladies and gentlemen, may we introduce "Buy One, Get One Killed" and "Sex Talk"!

All right, so the videos have been around for a few months now, but they're definitely worth watching for a second, third, or 37th time, because, well, they're just that amazing.

This is a huge honor, and we're pleased and proud that both videos are receiving the recognition that they deserve and that spay/neuter advocacy is receiving the spotlight that it so desperately needs.

The animal overpopulation crisis is a growing problem and will only continue to grow if guardians don't do the responsible thing and practice animal birth control for their companion's health and happiness.

Now, about conquering that other film festival. ... Hey, there's always next year ....

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

What was the California Healthy Pets Act has become "Dogs and Cats—Nonspayed or Unneutered: Civil Penalties"—a far cry from the lifesaving legislation that was originally presented to the California Legislature last year.

Although we can support the amended and nearly not recognizable bill because it implements some spaying and neutering of animals (only following running at large and impoundment multiple times), it completely ignores the breeders who are bringing more animals into this world when 6 to 8 million enter our nation's animal shelters each year. These shelters must put to death nearly 4 million dogs and cats every year because of simple math: too many animals and not enough worthy adoptive homes.

This new bill sends a message that the overpopulation of cats and dogs isn't at a crisis level and isn't something that every single litter impacts in a very negative way. Buying an animal from a breeder adds up to killing a homeless animal in an animal shelter. Yet vital legislation that will help reduce the overpopulation crisis in California was changed so drastically that it doesn't even address a major component of the crisis: Breeders kill shelter dogs' chances.

It's time we hold accountable those who are major contributors to the death of millions of animals each year. Organizations like the American Kennel Club (AKC) continue to oppose lifesaving spay/neuter legislation, even though there are exemptions that allow breeding with permits, as AB 1634 did. No one hates euthanasia more than the shelter workers who are forced to hold the syringes, yet it is really folks like the breeders from the AKC who are responsible for the killing. Really, breeders, how do you sleep at night?

See our animal birth control (ABC) campaign for more information.

Posted by Christine Dore

Since 2001, PETA's mobile "Spay and Neuter Immediately, Please" (SNIP) clinic has been providing free and low-cost spay-and-neuter surgeries (nearly 45,000!) in Virginia's Hampton Roads area, where PETA is located. Earlier this week, we doubled the size of our lifesaving fleet, rolling out a second animal birth control mobile clinic.

Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim, who was on hand to cut the ribbon during the official unveiling of the clinic, praised PETA's approach to the companion animal overpopulation crisis as intelligent and humane. That's right—we've got smarts!

Check out these pictures of the new lifesaving clinic!

Simon says…we're sorry we couldn't resist the clichéd reference to a certain kids' game.

Ingrid is especially happy because the unveiling was on her birthday. What a wonderful present!

Check out the size of those scissors! They're HUGE! Was Mayor Fraim expecting the clinic to be wrapped in steel? Really, it's a bit much—my toenail clippers could have finished off this ribbon!

Kimora will be stunning people with her beauty wherever the clinic travels.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that a boatload of cats and dogs (4 million) are killed every year in the U.S. because there just aren't homes for these animals. And you also know that when people don't sterilize their animals, that contributes to the problem.

We've all seen the population pyramids: one fertile cat can produce 12 to 18 kittens every year, and one fertile dog can produce 12 to 20 puppies every year (not doing it together, of course). When you do the math, that can translate to more than 11,000 cats and more than 12,000 dogs in five years. The flipside of these overwhelming numbers is that we can stop a lot of suffering just by spaying or neutering one animal. And when we spay or neuter more animals, the savings multiply.

—Grace

Posted by Grace Friedan

Tired of drinking Cosmopolitans all by your lonesome? You're in luck. After six long years of reruns to keep you company, the bawdy bunch from Sex and the City are back for their big screen debut. Here's a little quiz to get you in the mood for the new Sex movie:

420,000 is the number of:

A. Manolo B's in Carrie's closet
B. Men Samantha has "dated"
C. Kittens one unspayed cat and her offspring can produce in seven years

OK, it's a trick question. The answer is "all of the above." But let's just concentrate on "C." Unlike SATC's man-eating cougars, real cats don't have a choice of whom they sleep with when they're in heat. So fix your cat. While you're at it, fix yourself a Cosmo and watch our hilarious "Sex and the Kitty" spay-and-neuter spot. To poke fun at a serious subject, nothing is funnier than amorous animatronic animals poking each other:

--Amy

Posted by Amy Elizabeth, Senior Writer

This one's a beauty. Vanessa Carlton, whose latest album, Heroes and Thieves, has been making critics go all gooey for a few months now, is the star of a new PETA ad to help prevent animal overpopulation as part of our Animal Birth Control Campaign. Check it:

And just so you can have it playing in your head for the rest of the week, here's A Thousand Miles.

Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest is the star of a new PSA for PETA urging basketball fans to "have the balls to spay or neuter your dog." Artest has never been shy about speaking his mind, and, in addition to bringing him a fair share of headlines throughout his career, this trait has shown itself off the court through community involvement, charity work, and a willingness to speak up for those less fortunate than himself. This is what he had to say about his new ad for PETA.

After Oprah aired a hard-hitting exposé of puppy mills last week, the folks at the American Kennel Club had the audacity to publicly praise the show, while they were presumably maneuvering frantically behind the scenes to make sure that the breeders they’ve been vigorously defending for decades don’t take a hit as a result. PETA President Ingrid Newkirk wrote to Oprah yesterday to thank her for doing the show and to point out that the AKC is no friend of dogs and never has been. You can read her letter here.

Oprah Winfrey is going to be tackling puppy mills on her show today, so be sure to check it out (or Tivo it) if you get a chance. Puppy mills, which keep large quantities of purebred dogs in overcrowded, often shockingly inhumane conditions, are a well-kept secret of the pet-trade industry, and the animal protection community is extremely grateful to Oprah for exposing this major cause of pet overpopulation to a wide audience.

It’s standard practice for puppy mills—which supply animals to pet stores and purebred enthusiasts, without any concern for the millions who will die in shelters as a result—to keep animals in constant confinement, without proper veterinary care or socialization. It’s common to hear stories of puppy mills that are shut down on cruelty to animals charges (I posted about one a couple of weeks ago), but it’s nowhere near common enough—and these sordid operations will continue to thrive for as long as people support them by purchasing animals from pet stores or seeking out purebred animals from breeders.

You can find out what time the show will be airing where you live on Oprah’s site, and there’s more information about puppy mills, and you can learn more about PETA’s campaign to help companion animals here.

The popular daytime court show Cristina’s Court is up for an Emmy nomination for a fantastic episode entitled “Requiem for a Pit bull,” in which Judge Cristina Perez stands up for the rights of these much-misunderstood animals during a case in which a man is accused of shooting and killing his neighbor’s pit bull, Capone, after the dog wandered into his yard.

Tragic as the story is, it’s an important reminder not to leave animals unsupervised under any circumstances (even if you don’t happen to have gun-happy neighbors), and the show highlights the urgent need for legislation to protect these dogs, who are systematically abused and mistreated because of the “macho” image they’ve been given in the popular media.

You can learn more about the episode here.

Fans of FOX’s Back to You breathed a collective sigh of relief when the writers ended the show’s long drought with two brand-new episodes last week. You’re going to have to bear with me for a painful segue here, but legendary funnyman Fred Willard—who stars alongside Kelsey Grammer in Back to You—was good enough to co-host PETA’s 25th Anniversary Gala a couple of years ago, which I was fortunate enough to attend (they needed some people to help clean up afterwards). So, for any Fred Willard fans out there who are anxiously awaiting the next new episode of Back to You in April, here’s an exclusive video from that event to tide you over:

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that selectively breeding dogs for certain “aesthetic” traits like a shiny nose, or perky ears—or whatever the hell it is that breeders are looking for in the animals they use for self-gratification and profit—isn’t good for the animals, and in fact can cause extreme health problems. All of the animals who won awards at the AKC-sponsored Westminster Dog Show this week have something in common beyond having been deliberately bred into a world where millions of animals are dying on the streets for lack of a good home: They’re all genetically predisposed to be highly susceptible to a laundry list of debilitating diseases.

In first place, we have Uno, the first beagle ever to take home the “Best in Show” honors at Westminster. As a beagle, Uno has a significantly higher risk of hypothyroidism, demodectic mange (a condition that occurs when a dog’s immune system can’t regulate the number of mites living in the skin), umbilical hernia, epilepsy, eye and eyelid problems, cryptorchidism, hip dysplasia, intervertebral disk disease, and luxating patella. But I’m sure his Westminster crown will console him when one or more of these ailments set in.

The two poodle contestants, Vikki and Remy, who were just edged out by Uno in the competition, probably won’t live as long as he does either: Poodles are prone to cataracts, progressive retinal atrophy, allergies, severe skin disease, hip dysplasia, runny eyes, ear infections, Von Willebrand disease, bloat, and Addison's disease—an adrenal gland deficiency which requires lifelong medication and monitoring.

Uno also defeated a Weimaraner named Marge (elbow dysplasia, bloat) a Sealyham terrier named Charmin (bronchitis, early tooth decay, poor digestion, severe spine problems), and an Australian shepherd named Deuce (hip dysplasia, blood disorders, digestive problems, epilepsy, chronic eczema, gastric disorders, spinal paralysis).

So everyone’s a loser. Thanks, breeders, for contributing to the problem. Can’t wait to see you guys next year.

I talked a bit yesterday about the ad we have running during the Westminster Dog Show, which is like a great big frat party for dog breeders, but what I didn’t mention was that we also had a team on the ground waiting to greet attendees, and inform passersby exactly what the breeding industry means for animals. The demonstration—which involved body bags to symbolize the millions of homeless animals who won’t be getting a mention at the dog show and signs reading “Breeders kill shelter dogs' chances”—was a big success, and the pics are really striking. Here’s what PETA VP Daphna Nachminovitch had to say about the protest:

"Breeders churn out puppies for a buck and go so far as to oppose spay/neuter laws that can save animals' lives. All dogs are created equal, but millions of wonderful mixed-breed dogs across the country are paying with their lives because of purebred mania."

Maybe you’ve noticed our new campaign targeting the companion animal overpopulation crisis called the ABC campaign. Because, you know, animal birth control is, like, as easy as ABC. We just launched the campaign with this public service announcement featuring Tour de France rider Levi Leipheimer, which is pretty wonderful, don’t you think?

And not quite as wonderful, but cool nonetheless, is our new line of products bearing the ABC logo. It comes on a bunch of different kinds of T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and the like, and if none of that stuff suits your fancy, you can even get your very own Animal Birth Control wall clock, perfect for, well . . . I’m not really sure where a birth control—animal or otherwise—wall clock is perfect for to be honest.

In all seriousness, check the stuff out and let us know what you think. Personally, I’m just wondering why we’re not adding ABC to our ultra-classy thong designs . . .