Joan Court is 88 years old, and she's been working on behalf of animals for a very long time. Yesterday in Oxford, she made another powerful statement for animals that has already garnered international media attention. Accompanied by members of PETA UK holding signs reading, "Save Felix - Oxford, Stop Primate Torture", Joan donned a prisoner costume and sat in a small cage as she began a 48-hour fast. Joan’s fast is a protest of the vile brain experiments that are being inflicted on a monkey named Felix by a fellow named Tipu Aziz who, in a more civilized society, would have been tried, sentenced, and exiled to some barren desert a very long time ago. PETA UK is asking members of the public to contact Home Secretary John Reid and urge him to release Felix immediately to an accredited sanctuary and stop the expansion of the Oxford animal laboratory. And the redoubtable Joan Court is making a larger point—since this week is World Week for Animals in Laboratories—about the barbaric nature of animal experimentation. Do you really need an octogenarian in a cage to tell you that torturing intelligent primates is wrong? You can read the full story here, but keep Joan in your thoughts today—she's going to be very hungry.

Pic from the show

At the end of her recent show in Chicago, longtime PETA supporter Joan Jett took the opportunity to read out a statement to the crowd attacking Ringling Bros. Circus for their shocking abuse of elephants. She also urged the crowd to come out in support of a new ordinance in Chicago that will make it impossible for Ringling and other abusive animal circuses to use their standard training techniques of beating elephants with bullhooks and electric shock prods. Here’s what Joan said to the crowd:

Please don’t take your kids to the Ringling Bros. Circus while they are in Chicago; the elephants and other animals suffer from beatings and confinement. And be sure to ask your Chicago Alderman to support kindness to elephants by voting in favor of the pending elephant protection ordinance, which will ban cruel tools of the trade, like sharp metal bullhooks, electric shock prods, and leg shackles.

Joan Jett (for those of you who weren’t aware) is utterly amazing. Word has it that the crowd went absolutely nuts cheering and clapping after she made the statement. It was also, reportedly, a kickass show. Here's a little video to illustrate Joan's point.