babble.com / CC

We recently received a report of a 65-year-old hoarder in Maine, who—despite having been convicted of cruelty to animals in 2005 and barred from owning any animals for the rest of her life—was apparently once again stockpiling a menagerie of animals.

A concerned neighbor reached out to PETA after several high-ranking officials failed to act on his complaints, deeming the situation a parole violation only. With a little work, we were eventually able to locate a district attorney who was willing to prosecute, provided that we could obtain the necessary evidence.

We then found a sympathetic state trooper who agreed to visit the woman's property. According to his account, when he arrived he got the shock of a lifetime. After he told the woman that he had a warrant for her arrest (for an unrelated matter), she reportedly attacked him with a stun gun to his head and neck. When she refused to drop the weapon, he used pepper spray to subdue her, handcuffed her, and called for backup.

Animal control agents arrived to find more than 40 animals on her property, including dogs, cats, parrots, chickens, ducks, alpacas, a donkey, and a pot-bellied pig. Almost all the animals were in cages. The animals were sent to shelters around the state, and the hoarder is now being held awaiting bail.

Folks, you might know of someone in your neighborhood whose yard is teeming with stray cats or someone who has a multitude of neglected dogs barking nonstop in his or her backyard. Please know that there's a very strong possibility that this person is a hoarder—a mentally ill person with a compulsion to acquire "things" they can't bring themselves to discard. Hoarders don't try to find loving homes for their animals—in fact, they usually resist any effort to do so. In this case, more than 40 animals might have died from neglect and disease had it not been for police intervention!

A person who hoards animals doesn't love animals any more than a hoarder who fills his or her house with garbage loves trash. The big difference, of course, is that empty pizza boxes and beer bottles don't suffer and die from neglect—but animals do.

Posted by Karin Bennett

If you dig 60s pop art as much as I do, you're really going think this is boss. Forty-five years after being on display for just one day during the New York World's Fair in 1964, artist Robert Indiana's iconic EAT sign is blinking back into action. Part of a larger exhibition of Indiana's work, the oversized objet d'art will be up and illuminated all month at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine.

While the sculpture is pretty groovy as it is, we think that adding the word "VEGETARIAN" to it would make it full-on far out. That's why we wrote to Mr. Indiana and asked him to add our favorite "V" word to the piece for just one day. Imagine, if you will:

Andy Warhol's portrait of a can of Campbell's Tomato Soup (which is vegan, by the way), might be "mmm, mmm, good," but this PETA-ized pop art is a mmm, mmm, masterpiece! What could be a better way to shine the light on a diet that's better for the Earth and all its inhabitants?

After all, it's time for the dawning of the age of asparagus.

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

indybay / CC

They say, "As Maine goes, so goes the nation.".

With that in mind, have you heard the news out of Maine? It's the sixth state to pass legislation significantly changing rights for state residents.

No, not that. I'm talking about this recent legislation, which bans the use of veal and gestation crates statewide.

That's right. As of January 1, 2011, calves will no longer be immobilized in tiny stalls for the production of veal, nor will mother pigs be trapped in gestation crates, on factory farms in Maine. Woo hoo!

And, of course, this follows news that U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine co-sponsored a resolution urging Canada to end the seal slaughter.

Maine's state motto is "Dirigo," which means, "I lead." When it comes to protecting animals, that certainly seems to be true!

Posted by Jeff Mackey

Without letting even the tiniest opportunity to help nonhuman animals swim by, my inventive comrades have devised a delightful new stratagem to help free some of our sea-dwelling sisters and brothers.

The Pitch: To open the world's fist-ever Lobster Empathy Center in the lobster-execution capital of the world (Creative, yes?)
The Setting: A prison (Bloody genius!)

mikefeeney / CC

In the state that boasts the world's "best" (read "most evil") entrées of lobsters boiled alive—or still struggling on a plate, only to be eaten alive—the lovely town of Skowhegan, Maine, has unassumingly put their jailhouse up for sale. Muwahahahahahahaha! So with foresight in our eyes and love for crawly crustaceans in our hearts, we placed our bid to lease the space with a theme so poetically apropos: "A prison is the perfect setting to demonstrate how lobsters suffer when they are caught in traps or confined to cramped, filthy supermarket tanks," our offer letter explains.

The proposed attraction would include wrapping visitors' hands in giant rubber bands for the duration of their stay, serving faux-lobster treats, and giving kiddies free stuffed toy lobsters labeled "Lobsters Are Friends, Not Food."

Can't wait to go, right? I know, me neither! Sadly, our dreams will have to be put on hold for a bit, as the prison was just sold to the highest bidder. But do keep us in mind if you hear of any sweet oceanfront prison property up for grabs!

Now if all this talk has given you a hankering for some vegan lobster tail, here's a recipe to satisfy your urgings.

—Missy

Posted by Missy Lane