ehow / CC

That's the number of glue traps—123—that have now been removed from the shelves of Gelson's Supermarkets in Southern California thanks to PETA member Renee Papadapolous.

Renee's letter to Gelson's—in which she described how mice and other animals suffer hemorrhaging, shock, and other horrors when stuck in "pans of pain"—earned a speedy reply from the chain. She admits, "I was actually surprised at the quick, positive, and friendly response …."

Friendly indeed! Gelson's immediately assured Renee that it would stop selling glue traps as soon as its current stock ran out. Thankful that Gelson's was taking such swift action, Renee still thought that something more could be done, so she offered to buy the chain's remaining stock of 123 glue traps. The entire stock was shipped to her, and she destroyed them.

Renee's refusal to rest until rodents were spared has earned her our "Compassionate Action Award"—it's also a reminder that one person really can make a difference for animals by taking action. Now are you ready? One … two … three … go!

Posted by Karin Bennett

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