virginmedia / CC

On the heels of its recent Selfridges victory, PETA U.K. has named Sir Roger Moore 2009's Person of the Year.

The celebrated actor's tireless and successful efforts against foie gras began three years ago when Moore narrated a video about its production that has attracted more than 300,000 viewers. Since then, Moore has written to every member of the House of Commons asking them to help end foie gras sales in the U.K. and penned many pieces for national publications in his unending attempt to spread the word against the deadly force-feeding of ducks and geese.

For his inspiring accomplishments, Moore will be honored with a plaque and a copy of PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk's One Can Make a Difference.

Posted by Logan Scherer

farm3.static.flickr / CC

The splendid news comes from Sir Roger Moore, PETA UK's committed celebrity spokesperson, who received the call directly from Selfridges. Moore's unwavering dedication, along with the inspiring passion of PETA UK's campaigners, attracted endless attention on television, in newspapers, and around the Internet—wherever you turned, PETA UK was there, spreading the message to give up foie gras.

This towering triumph is proof that every e-mail, phone call, and letter matters. Please help spread the success by writing to managers of local restaurants that still sell the vile food. Alert them to the gross cruelty behind foie gras, and ask them to remove it from their menus.

Posted by Logan Scherer

igougo / CC

On Monday, for the first time ever, Windsor Castle will host a vegan royal banquet. Take a moment to let that sink in. Windsor Castle has existed for 900 years, and it's just now getting around to throwing a vegan shindig. Oh, well. Better late than never.

Do we have leading U.K. climate-change expert Lord Stern to thank for this momentous occasion? Perhaps indirectly, but the true pioneer here is none other than Prince Philip (for you folks in the most far-flung colonies, he's the guy played by James Cromwell in The Queen).

Prince Philip's Alliance of Religions and Conservation is hosting a three-day interfaith conference at Windsor called "Many Heavens, One Earth: Faith Commitments for a Living Planet," which will be attended by leaders from the Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Daoist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Shinto, and Sikh faiths. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will also attend. Because they'll be talking about the ways in which religious communities can foster environmental protection, it only makes sense that they would dine on the most environmentally friendly (i.e., vegan) foods. Still, it's not every day that environmentalists actually put their money ethics where their mouths are, so this is a pretty big deal. Are you listening, Al Gore?

All the food at the three-day conference will be vegetarian, and most of it will be organic and locally grown. In case you aren't already jealous enough, here's what's on the vegan lunch menu at Windsor Castle: roasted pear salad with cobnuts and chicory, portobello mushrooms stuffed with artichoke and herbs, pearl barley risotto, and organic wine.

Yum—being a royal environmentalist tastes pretty good!

Posted by Alisa Mullins

Yesterday, the U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority ruled against a PETA U.K. ad that the watch group feels the public is too dense to understand. The decision was sparked by a sole complainant who thought that people might be confused by this billboard:

Personally, I think it's pretty straightforward, but moving on: How about this one, which PETA U.K. unveiled yesterday?

Hans-Gerhard Wagner of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization has acknowledged that factory farms create an "opportunity for emerging disease." The meat, egg, and dairy industries keep diseased animals in crowded, filthy conditions and feed them a steady diet of drugs to keep them alive. It shouldn't come as a shock that factory farms provide the ideal conditions for drug-resistant "superbugs" to develop.

Forgo the surgical masks, folks. The safest, easiest way to prevent animal-borne disease epidemics is to go vegan.

Posted by Karin Bennett

Update: After receiving a complaint from Leslie Franks Solicitors that the description of its client hadn't made the distinction that Barker was not convicted of murder but rather of "causing or allowing" the death of Baby P, PETA U.K. redesigned this billboard. Convicted child abusers' violent acts send just as clear a warning to anyone who might overlook animal abuse.

It's been shown many times that those who abuse animals often go on to commit violence against human beings. (Remember what Eli Roth said?)

With that in mind, our friends at PETA UK have just placed a billboard in Haringey, the North London borough that is now infamous for being the location of the horrific abuse of "Baby P," a 17-month old boy who was found dead in his bed with a broken back, his fingertips sliced off, and his fingernails pulled out with pliers. He was also punched so hard in the face that he swallowed a tooth.

As a child, Baby P's abuser, Steven Barker, tortured animals, including frogs, whom he would skin before breaking their legs. How much suffering could have been prevented if Barker's fascination with inflicting torture on animals had been taken more seriously?

Baby P's case is a chilling reminder that cruelty-to-animals cases must be reported and aggressively prosecuted in order to protect helpless victims of all species.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

On Saturday, dozens of PETA UK members in duck masks descended on the Oxford Street Selfridge's for a flash mob–style protest. The "ducks" converged on the storefront, did a few rounds of the "birdie dance" (affectionately referred to as the "chicken dance" on this side of the pond), and dispersed.

The action was part of PETA UK's campaign against foie gras—and against Selfridge's for its refusal to stop selling the cruelly produced, diseased, fatty liver.

Oh, and they were led by the most adorable duck costume I've seen yet.

Are there words to the chicken dance? No one seems to know for sure.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

dailymail / CC

British artist Damien Hirst—known for his series of "art" installations featuring dead (and yes, sometimes dissected) animals preserved in formaldehyde—has reportedly hung up his canning supplies in favor of a paintbrush.

Apparently Hirst has spent the last three years painting in a shed behind his house. He says he had to relearn to paint for the first time since he was an art student, and the paintings were, at first, "embarrassing," and he "didn't want anyone to come in."

It looks like reconnecting with art in its pure form, instead of focusing on shock art that exploits animals and treats their bodies as amusements, has made Damien rethink the direction his career has taken. You've got to wonder why the man wasn't as embarrassed by his past work …

Here's hoping that Damien will stick to this new oeuvre.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

The BBC has just unveiled its "Wildlife Finder," a Web site it bills as "the world's biggest online zoo." To create the "zoo," which so far includes 370 different species of animals (with more to come), the BBC has compiled video footage from hundreds of wildlife documentaries, including the blockbuster hit Planet Earth.

mirror.co.uk / CC

Unlike a "real" zoo, with its bored animals gazing out blankly from concrete cells and cramped cages, BBC's Wildlife Finder captures animals in their own habitats—from the rain forests of Chile to the volcanoes of Papua New Guinea. No more peering through cage bars trying in vain to catch a glimpse of a sleeping lemur or waiting for the hippos to come up for air. BBC's Wildlife Finder includes footage shot with underwater and infrared cameras to capture nocturnal and deep-sea animals doing the things that they do naturally—things they never get to do in a zoo.

So far, the most popular animals are proving to be the meerkats (who doesn't love meerkats?), Darwin's frog (a Chilean frog whose males give birth through their mouths—all of which is caught on tape, of course), and the New Guinea jumping spider, who is shown jumping onto a cameraman.

Gather the kids around the PC and check out the online zoo today. They'll learn a heck of a lot more than they would at the local wildlife penitentiary.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

Claire Parker outraged animal protectionists worldwide with her gruesome, cruel method of making "mad money." Parker, a mother of three, held dogfights in the garage of her Kexby home in England. She and her husband, a convicted drug dealer who died earlier this year in prison, would offer beer and sandwiches for dogfighters who attended the bloodbaths, where dogs would maul each other for up to an hour at a time, all as part of one of Europe's largest dogfighting operations.

We're happy to report that Parker and three of her cohorts are headed to the slammer.

PETA Europe urged the presiding judge, Richard Blake, to throw the book at Parker and the others. It asked that the defendants never again be allowed to own animals and that they receive the maximum jail sentences and attend mandatory psychological evaluations and counseling. Now Parker has been sentenced to 18 weeks in prison and is banned from keeping animals for 10 years. The others received jail sentences ranging from 23 to 28 weeks.

One former special forces soldier who infiltrated the operation reported that one dog was so badly injured that he looked like his face had been blown off by a shotgun. That dog, like many others, died from his injuries.

Judge Blake noted, "There's widespread public objection at these sorts of offences; of the sadistic abuse of animals for entertainment." I'd say that's putting it mildly.

Posted by Karin Bennett

blogs.reuters / CC

Why the brewbrouhaha about leather trousers? Aside from the cruelty inherent in factory farms and slaughterhouses—where animals are castrated, dehorned, and branded without any anesthetics as well as frequently hoisted, shackled, and butchered while still conscious—the toxic chemicals used to tan leather are dangerous for the both the environment and human health.

Leather-free lederhosen are cheaper, beer-proof, and most importantly, animal-friendly. Let's tap a keg and toast compassion.

Posted by Karin Bennett

*For anyone who thinks that the Bavarian beer lover's tradition looks silly, I have two words for you—beer bong.

The following is a guest post from actor and animal rights advocate Brigitte Bardot. A dedicated activist, whose foundation to help animals has tackled issues such as fur, horse slaughter, and companion animal overpopulation, Brigitte was the first celebrity to stand up for Canadian seals. Here, once again, she speaks out against the sinister seal slaughter.

© Prestige/Getty Images

When, in 2003, some politicians and talk-show hosts called for a boycott of French products because of my country's politics against the war in Iraq, sales of French wine dropped by 26 percent in the United States in just a few days. This boycott may have cost French winemakers $112 million because of lost sales overseas.

There is little doubt that consumer boycotts hit where it hurts the most—in the wallet!

These massive ethical reactions from consumers can sometimes convince a government or a corporation to change the way that it does business. That is why I am supporting PETA's boycott of Canadian maple syrup until the Canadian government agrees to ban the slaughter of seals on the ice floes, the largest massacre of marine mammals on Earth, forever.

Canadian law authorizes seal pups to be legally killed as soon as they have lost their white baby fur, which happens about two weeks after birth. On the ice floes, the seals are bludgeoned, and some are skinned while still alive. Each spring, this vision of horror returns: The ice floes become an open-air slaughterhouse, where some pups are left in agony, their mothers trying desperately to revive their small bloody bodies.

This gruesome bloodshed has only one purpose: to fuel the fur trade!

Canadian officials are accomplices to these massacres and spend huge amounts of money to support this dying industry, which is a stain on their reputation in the eyes of the world.

This is why we must act and make Canada understand that it would be criminal, irresponsible, and economically suicidal to continue with the commercial seal slaughter.

The United States and the European Union have banned seal products, but Canada produces about 85 percent of the world's maple syrup―the maple leaf is even the symbol of this country.

As French wine was the ideal product designated by Americans to protest France's pacifist stance, maple syrup is the ideal product to boycott in order to protest Canada's aggressive stance.

Refusing to buy maple syrup so as to refuse to be an accomplice to the slaughter perpetrated on the ice floes can send a strong message to Canadian officials. That's why I am asking you to join PETA and boycott Canadian products to let the leaders of this country know that the seal slaughter is inhumane and disgraceful and that it represents a threat to Canada's economy.

I've been leading this fight for more than 33 years now, and I've already had some victories―with you today, we can win the final fight. I'm really counting on you!

Posted by Brigitte Bardot

Have you been sitting around the house, wondering why your old chum, Sir Roger Moore, hasn't given you a ring lately?

solarnavigator / CC

Truthfully, me neither, but if you are ever given the chance to get on his good side, you should know that opting for foie gras over truffles will get you pulled from his next party's guest list.

In a recent article for the Daily Mail, Sir Roger writes about the horrors of the foie gras industry, in which birds are force-fed, often until their livers burst. "I refuse to speak to old friends who, even when they know how it is produced, are prepared to overlook the suffering for self-gratification," states Sir Roger. "My wife, Christina, feels just the same. No creature deserves to be treated as these birds are for our delectation."

Talk about commitment to a cause.

Want to know what else Sir Roger Moore is doing in support of PETA's campaign to get foie gras eliminated from menus across the globe? Check out the rest of the article here.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

In a new ad for PETA Europe, Britain's top-notch squash player James Willstrop is out to unite vegetable fans and sports fans around the world.

Once he kicked animal flesh out of his diet, James noticed a surge in his energy levels and his speed. He's used these newfound super-vegetarian powers to squash not only obesity but also the competition at several major world tournaments.

Willstrop joins other athletes—including Prince Fielder, Georges Laraque, NBA stars Raja Bell and John Salley, MMA fighters Mac Danzig and Dale Hart, and Olympic great Carl Lewis—who have risen to the top of their games on a vegetarian diet. Taking PETA's "Pledge to Be Veg" can help you do the same.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

All right, I tried to resist, but it's just too easy: In honor of James, check out this delicious squash recipe.

PETA Europe members were at The O2 arena in London yesterday to protest Ben Hur Live's use of real horses, camels, donkeys, chickens, falcons, and eagles forced to "perform" in the show's rock concert–like chaos of bright lights, loud noise, and commotion.

Animals forced to perform never find it entertaining. And for the more than 100 animals used in the European production of Ben Hur Live, "stage fright" has certainly taken on a very literal meaning.

We've all heard that animals used for circuses are beaten, chained for up to 100 hours at a time, and carted around the country in tiny boxcars without a semblance of a natural life, but being on stage is just as terrifying and unnatural, and as I'm sure you've probably learned, it often ends in tragedy for the animals and the audience.

Please tell everyone you know in Europe that Ben Hur Live is hell for animals before someone gets hurt, and urge your friends and family never to patronize shows that use live animals.

Posted by Heather Drennan

As Agent 007, Sir Roger Moore battled the bad guys—but as a real-life Knight of the British Empire, Moore has spent the past several years battling the cruel foie gras industry.

When Moore heard about PETA Europe's campaign to urge Selfridges to stop selling foie gras—he sent a private letter to Selfridges' owner, Galen Weston, offering to buy up the company's entire remaining stock of the cruelly produced food if Weston agreed never to restock it again.

Sir Roger Moore still reigns as our favorite James Bond.

Always the classy gentleman, Moore gave Weston the chance to make this deal behind the scenes—but Selfridges has not responded to Moore's generous offer, so he has taken it to the airwaves. Check out his recent interview on the topic.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

bioweb.uwlax.edu / CC

This news from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) comes in response to a detailed letter PETA initiated in cooperation with other animal protection groups. That letter was written after we learned from a chemical manufacturer that under the E.U.'s new Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical Substances (REACH) Regulation, a number of duplicative tests were going to be conducted.

PETA, along with PETA Europe, the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments, Eurogroup for Animals, HSI Europe, and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, voiced concerns about the likelihood that companies would conduct duplicative animal tests for some types of toxicity when registering their chemicals under REACH. The letter explained how the redundant testing could be avoided.

ECHA was quick to issue a news release and a factsheet instructing chemical companies not to conduct initial toxicity screenings if they are planning to conduct more comprehensive tests during the later stages of REACH. Based on ECHA's own figures, 6,000 chemicals may fall under the relevant information requirements, and because up to 735 animals may be used for the initial toxicity screening for each chemical tested, ECHA's response has the potential to save the lives of 4.5 million animals.

There's still much work to be done, as REACH will still cause massive animal suffering. But you can bet your (vegan) boots that our next step will be to do everything possible to make sure that companies follow ECHA's new guidelines so that as many animals as possible will be spared.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

thewe / CC

Little did Vijay know that his good deed was destined to lead to another.

When a thief snatched jewelry from a woman who was walking down Johny's street, it was Johny to the rescue! Johny chased the man down, caught him by the pants, and refused to the let the man go until police arrived and arrested the bandit.

With the perp in custody and the jewelry returned to its rightful owner, Johny has been promoted from favorite neighborhood dog to local hero, which just goes to show how a simple act of kindness keeps on giving.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

When I first became involved with PETA, it was on an "issue-by-issue" basis—they interviewed me in my old apartment about animal abuse in the circus as I sat on a leather sofa. At that time I was a meat-eater and told them I believe that if anyone is going to wear the flesh or fur of an animal, they should at least have the decency to eat the meat of that animal. That comment led to my involvement in PETA's "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign. The following year, I chose to stop eating meat (and stop wearing or purchasing anything made out of leather); however, citing reports that Jesus Christ fed lots of people with fish, I continued to eat fish. Most recently, for just over a month now, I've kept to a strictly vegan diet and I've not felt "hard-done-by" at all. I have been really enjoying making a project out of seeking out an extremely healthy diet of raw, organic, vegan foods—and I plan on continuing to do so.
—Steve-O

Visit his Web site to continue reading about why Steve-O chooses to work with PETA and the impact he's making in the lives of animals.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

I can't believe that anyone would waste precious time or money on a memoir about a bullfighter's lifelong abuse and slaughter of bulls.

daylife / CC

That said, 67-year-old British matador Frank Evans somehow managed to find a publisher for his book, The Last British Bullfighter,* but he just lost out on a big promotion by U.K. bookstore chain Waterstone's.

Waterstone's scrapped its plans to promote Evans' book, thanks to a flood of complaints from PETA Europe and other animal protection groups.

I also can't believe that this elderly man, who's had a quadruple bypass and knee replacement, has come out of retirement to torment bulls again (sad news, which Blog Guy at "Oddly Enough" managed to make amusing).

Frank, if you're out there: Enough bull already! Lay down the damn sword, pick up a metal detector, and stroll off into the sunset.

Now.

Posted by Karin Bennett

*I hope this title is true.

My mom, my sister, and I always used to play "spot the celebrity" in airports. Not real celebrities, necessarily—just people who look like the rich and famous. So, for me, it's only fitting that PETA's new public service announcement—which we had hoped to run in New York City airports during fashion week but was rejected by the CNN Airport Network—is full of real celebrities to spot:

Just in case you need some help, we'll give you a few hints:

1. This person has been called PETA's "weapon of mass distraction" by her pal, PETA V.P. Dan Mathews.
2. This person's "Ink, Not Mink" ad showed us all that he has "Your Name" tattooed on his butt.
3. This musician was one of the first celebrities to get involved with PETA, with her 1987 hit record Don't Kill the Animals.
4. This celebrated writer and comedian firmly established her niche when she recorded a vegetarian testimonial about being Jewish, lesbian, and vegan.
5. This comedian just went viral as a "fried" Ronald McDonald.

So, can you spot all the celebrities?

Posted by Amanda Schinke

The following is a guest post from PETA Europe's Matt Goldsmith.

Always an organization to keep abreast of scientific studies, PETA Europe was particularly interested to learn that Glasgow, the city with the second-highest obesity rate of all the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, has seen an 80 percent rise in gynecomastia (aka "Man Boob") reduction procedures since 2007.

Now, while there might be some men in the world who for various reasons would welcome the idea of growing a pair of breasts, at PETA Europe we know that only a boob would want to go out and buy a 44DD because of obesity helped along by eating foods derived from animals.

With our newest billboard, PETA Europe is calling on the men of Glasgow to make a difference—both for their bodies and for animals.

Lose the breasts, guys: Go vegetarian!

Posted by Matt Goldsmith

babychums / CC

According to his spokesperson, Oliver is supposedly "well-known for his championing of better welfare for animals and has had awards from many animal welfare groups."

No wonder animal protectionists everywhere are seeing red after learning that he pinned down and helped castrate a bull for a segment for his upcoming series, Jamie's American Road Trip.
Castrating a bull without anesthetics is illegal in the U.K., but apparently Oliver signed on to the old "when in Rome …" theory.

If Jamie Oliver truly cares about animals, he should take a cue from PETA's Ingrid E. Newkirk, who talks the talk and walks the walk. Whether she's convincing officials in Taiwan to stop drowning stray dogs or being carted off to jail for protesting pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania, this true champion of animals never lowers her standards on how animals should be treated, no matter where she is.

Posted by Karin Bennett

Cruelty is sickening—in any language.

Two PETA Europe members who recently fell victim to swine flu set out to show the people of Brussels that no one is immune to the diseases that are bred on factory farms—not even those who wouldn't dream of eating animal flesh.

These two lovely (and now recovered) ladies crammed themselves into tiny "gestation crates" to illustrate the fact that the cramped, filthy conditions on factory farms are breeding grounds for swine flu and other deadly viruses and bacteria.

What's the best way to shut down disease-incubating factory farms? Stop supporting them: Go vegetarian.

Posted by Heather Drennan

"Why is PETA always doing crazy stunts and demonstrations?" As a PETA Foundation employee, this is probably the number-one question I get asked. So, if you are one of those curious folks—or even if you just don't know what I'm talking about when I say "wacky PETA stunts"—you're in for a treat, because I'm about to give you the rundown of the wackiest of the wacky things that PETA and its affiliates have pulled off over the years.

Brace yourself.

10. Wienermobile Takeover
    
    Long before the Wienermobile nearly brought about its own demise by crashing into a suburban home, we trailed it around the country as it conducted a talent search for children to sing the Oscar Mayer theme song. At one stop, our "pig" even managed to clamber aboard the Wienermobile, and he was poised to take the fiberglass frank for a spin when he was apprehended by the authorities.
9. Grim Fairy Tale
   
   Mother Goose doesn't take it too kindly when her feathered brethren are force-fed so that their grotesquely enlarged livers can be sliced up and served on toast points. When she took her case to a foie gras convention in NYC, bemused police officers felt obliged to arrest her and insisted that she keep her head on during booking so that everybody in the precinct could get a "gander" at their unusual collar.
8. Cannibal Comparison
   
   Way back in 1991, when newspapers were abuzz with stories about Jeffrey Dahmer, we ran what is arguably our most controversial ad ever. In it, we made the point that people who are creeped out by a cannibalistic serial killer should also be creeped out by the serial killings of thousands of animals in slaughterhouses every day. Strangely, some folks found this inconvenient truth a little hard to, er, swallow.
7. KKKrazy About Dogs
   
   Ever notice the eerie similarities between the AKC and the KKK? No? Well, our fiendishly funny "Wrong Meeting?" TV ad, in which a Klansman shows up at an AKC meeting, spells it all out.
6. Milk Gone Wild
   
   When PETA's "Milk Gone Wild" spoof was rejected by Super Bowl censors, so many people flocked to MilkGoneWild.com to see what could possibly be racier than Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction that they temporarily crashed our servers.
5. Unhappy Mother's Day
   
   How do you spend Mother's Day if you are eight months pregnant? How about by baring it all in London to protest the filthy, cramped gestation crates that pregnant sows are forced to live in?
4. The M-Word
   
   After celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey served horse meat on his U.K. show The F-Word, PETA Europe made sure that everyone knew Ramsey was "full of it" when they dumped a ton of manure at his restaurant's doorstep.
3. Rest in Pieces
   
   PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk gave people food for thought when she released the contents of her will, which stipulates, among other things, that her feet be made into umbrella stands and that her pointing finger (no, not that finger) be mounted and sent to Ringling chief Kenneth Feld as a reminder of who's to blame for the deaths of 26 elephants (and counting).
2. Putting the 'Ma' in 'Vermont'
   
   When we told Ben and Jerry's that "breast is best" and asked them to start making their ice cream with (human) mother's milk, it turned into a breast-milk brouhaha.
1. Faux Father Furor
   
   PETA V.P. Dan Mathews was a man (of the cloth) on a mission when he talked his way into furry designer Gianfranco Ferré's 2004 Milan fashion show and leaped onto the catwalk. As security guards tackled him and tried to drag him off, they were attacked by outraged Italians who swatted them with their programs while shouting, "Leave the priest alone!"

smh.com.au / CC

If all this has left you wondering, "Why pick on cranky chefs and giant hot dogs, PETA?" you should check out The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights. The book explains why our passion for animal rights drives us to push the envelope—and push compassion into the public consciousness.

So which is your favorite PETA stunt? Spill it below.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

smh.com.au / CC

We already knew the Material Girl was a fur hag. Now, she's added to her animal-unfriendly rep by purchasing 110 pounds of kosher meat for the last two performances of her "Sticky and Sweet" tour in Tel Aviv.

We immediately sent her a letter explaining that most imported kosher beef sold in Israel comes from Uruguay, where cattle are often shackled and violently wrestled to the ground before having their throats cut and being hoisted into the air by their hind legs—a cruel "shackle and hoist" slaughter method that the Chief Rabbinate of Israel has called "primitive" and has promised to phase out.

Instead of ordering her weight in meat, Madge would win over more fans if she gave a compassionate diet a try.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

1019rxp / CC

Well, after a recent interview with the pro-hunting rag-azine, Outside Living, I think we can all agree that the song is not about Aerosmith's Joe Perry.

In the interview, Perry said, "(Hunting) really gives you a great opportunity to keep in touch with reality," to which PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange shot right back, "People who take out their aggressions and frustrations on helpless animals are usually compensating for other shortcomings in their life." She added, "We don't know how Joe measures up, but it's interesting that he seems to feel so satisfied when he's handling long phallic-looking weapons."

Now that I know Joe Perry likes to harass and shoot helpless animals for "fun," I'll forever hum out loud another oldie whenever I see his mug. It goes, "Ding-a-ling …"

Posted by Karin Bennett

smh.com / CC
Buñol's annual Tomatina festival

Looks like a lot more fun than this:

stopbullfighting / CC
Pamplona's annual Running of the Bulls

Posted by Shawna Flavell

thesun.co / CC

Never buy an animal on a whim just because you saw one in a movie. How many times do we have to say this?

It looks like at least once more. Harry Potter fans, or to be more precise, their parents, have broken our cardinal rule of movie fandom. As a result, an animal sanctuary has opened on the Isle of Wight in the U.K. to help cope with the problem of owls who have been dumped by people who purchased them without thinking.

In the books and movies, Harry's snowy owl, Hedwig, is portrayed as low-maintenance, but many fans who purchased snowy owls for their kids are realizing that real owls require a lot of attention—and they're abandoning the birds after the magic wears off.

The moral of this story is twofold. Companion animals shouldn't be acquired on a whim, and birds of prey shouldn't be preyed upon by film fanatics.

Posted by Karin Bennett

tusb.stanford.edu / CC

Vegan prisoners in the U.K. have just won the right to order cruelty-free hygiene products, including essentials such as shampoo and sunscreen. So, you might say that the incarcerated vegans¹ will now be protected in their right to bare arms (ba-dum, ching!).

The Vegan Prisoners Support Group has successfully petitioned for inmates to have access to nuts and dairy alternatives as well. Next up? Vegetarian shoes, of course.

While I don't know the state of lip balm in U.S. prisons, I do know which states have the tastiest vegetarian prison food²—and you can check out our celebrated Top 10 List here.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

1. Incidentally, the name of my next band.
2. Spoiler: It's Idaho.

If you visited PETA's Web site during the month of November, you probably saw turkey slaughter footage. And no, I don't mean Sarah Palin's infamous turkey pardon fail.

But have you ever seen slaughter footage from Turkey? Turns out animals are killed as cruelly there as anywhere else.

This video was taken in a slaughterhouse in Turkey, but pointlessly cruel abuse like this can happen to any animal anywhere—from the 8-day-old calf who was beaten and kicked while on her way to slaughter in the U.K., to the conscious chicken plunged into scalding-hot water in an Indian slaughterhouse, to any of the animals enduring the many horrific abuses we've documented in the U.S. at Pilgrim's Pride, Smithfield Foods, Butterball, and AgriProcessors facilities, among others.

If this video upsets you, please run, don't walk, over to GoVeg.com and order a copy of our free "Vegetarian Starter Kit." For those of you who are already vegetarians, keep this video handy and show it to the next person who asks you why you refuse to eat anybody who had a mother.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

flickr / CC

As in, let me celebrate my birth by paying a cook to throw a fully conscious, feeling being into a pot of boiling water to scald to death for my dinner. Ugh.

No wonder my heart skips a beat whenever I read about a caring person who liberates a lobster from a filthy lobster tank so that the animal can be returned to the sea. So my heart nearly burst out of my rib cage when I read that a Slovenian tourist and his daughter bought 30 lobsters for 1,300 euros (more than US$1,860) from a Croatian hotel-restaurant called Hotel Niko in order to free them.

Thirty lobsters have been spared excruciatingly painful deaths and have been returned to the ocean.

Tonight, I'll be celebrating their release with some "Mock Lobster."

Posted by Karin Bennett

examiner / CC

Funny: Cartoons about cats on a lazy Sunday.

Not funny: Making jokes about barbecuing cats when you're supposed to be working.

We're relieved that the Federal Aviation Administration apparently agrees that making jokes at a dead animal's expense is inappropriate. It has removed the "jokester" from duty.

Posted by Karin Bennett

Our friends at Animal Defenders International (ADI) have just released footage from their undercover investigation of the Great British Circus.

If you're like me, you just had déjà vu. ADI's undercover footage of elephant beatings is sickeningly similar to our footage of Ringling's elephant beatings. That's because the routine abuse of animals in circuses is universal.

While Ringling lies through its teeth about its treatment of elephants, the Great British Circus claims to follow the "code of conduct" set forth by the European Circus Association (a mouthpiece for circuses), which states, "Training must not … cause physical injury or psychological stress" and "… our animals are treated like members of the family … just like your family pet."

Which family? The Manson Family? In my family, we don't twist our cat's tail, and we don't strike our dogs' snouts.

In an alarming twist, Ringling Bros. plans to visit Europe. If you live across the pond, please take action so that Ringling isn't given the chance to swap bullhooks tricks of the trade with its British elephant-beating counterpart.

Posted by Karin Bennett

treehugger / CC

Our terrific colleagues at Japan Anti-Vivisection Association (JAVA), who often work with PETA Asia Pacific, recently alerted us to Japanese cosmetics giant Shiseido's continued reliance on cruel animal tests for its products, which include wrinkle creams and its ironically named ZEN Eau de Parfum. Despite the fact that hundreds of companies worldwide have banned all animal tests forever, Shiseido is still forcing chemicals into animals' stomachs and dripping shampoo into their eyes.

No animal should have to die for lipstick, moisturizer, shampoo, or perfume, so we're helping JAVA step up its efforts to get Shiseido and other Japanese companies to give animal testing the heave-ho. Since Shiseido products are sold around the world, you can help convince the company to choose kindness—just go here to tell Shiseido why you won't be buying into its cruelty.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

In news from the "elefriend" front, yet another kind company has promised to stop promoting Ringling Bros.

images.businessweek / CC

After talking to some very persuasive PETA peeps and learning that Ringling beats elephants when it thinks no one is watching, Spanish women's clothing chain Zara has vowed to pull all Ringling T-shirts from the racks of its more than 1,300 international stores.

Gracias, Zara, and might we suggest carrying this trendy tee instead?

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

Years later, studies are still proving what the masterminds behind PETA's "Got Beer?" campaign knew all along: Beer is better than milk.

While that pus-filled glass of milk actually depletes your bone mass, a new study shows that beer just might be the key to keeping your bones from going brittle.

So crack open a cold one while we contemplate pulling an oldie but goodie out of the PETA vault.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Genius! In what looks like an amphibian homage to our "baby" coat, Lady Gaga has chosen a "ribbeting " way to tell the world that skins aren't in.

Check out what she said about the newest addition to her wacky wardrobe:

"The Kermit the Frog outfit is by an incredible designer by the name of Jean[-Charles] de Castelbajac, and he does a lot of museum art fashion pieces. … I really loved this one in particular because I thought it was commentary on not wearing fur, 'cause I hate fur and I don't wear fur. We were all laughing in the house about how it looks like a pile of dead Kermits."

Posted by Shawna Flavell

guardian.co.uk / CC

It is estimated that during Benson's lifetime, she was painfully hooked and dragged from her aquatic home more than 60 times—that's right, six-zero—so that anglers could pose for a photo and then fling her back into the water.

Isn't it logical to believe that the pain and stress that she suffered over and over …

(and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over)

… again for anglers' so-called "sport" were contributing factors in her death? Why yes, it is.

As our friends over at PETA Europe told BBC News, "If common sense isn't enough, the science is clear: Being repeatedly impaled with a hook and yanked into an environment in which fish cannot breathe, like Benson [was], undeniably causes distress [and] pain and can lead to infections. Even simply handling or netting fish can abrade their protective coating and lead to death."

I'd say that pretty much sums it up, wouldn't you?

Posted by Karin Bennett

flickr / CC

"Next believes that the continuation of mulesing beyond the 2010 deadline previously self-imposed by the Australian sheep industry is unacceptable," the company announced in a statement. Next joins other leading retailers and designers—including Abercrombie & Fitch, Timberland, H&M, American Eagle, Liz Claiborne, Hugo Boss, Perry Ellis International, Coldwater Creek, and many more—that have pledged not to use wool from mulesed lambs.

You can help stop this unnecessary mutilation by encouraging Talbots (one retailer that has failed to take action) to follow in Next's footsteps and stop purchasing Australian wool.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

metro.co / CC

In her letter, Ingrid points out that "on October 5, 1947, in the first televised White House address, President Truman asked Americans to refrain from eating meat on Tuesdays and poultry on Thursdays to help stockpile grain for starving people in Europe. Today, the number of starving people in the world is on a par with the number of obese people in the U.S., and a restriction on meat and dairy-product intake could help tip those scales for the better."

It's enough to persuade even Bob Geldof that he does like Mondays.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

animalrights.about / CC

To put this in perspective, Baby, Sarah, and Banana (three of the elephants who are traveling with Ringling) were forced to perform for the first time in 1968—the year that Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. We've come a long way since then—or have we?

Ringling talks a big game about "elephant conservation," but the reality is that Ringling has actually removed more elephants from the wild than it has bred. Most of the elephants you see pirouetting and standing on their heads in Ringling performances at one point in their lives roamed vast jungles. You might call it Ringling's other dirty secret (besides that little issue of beating the @#$% out of elephants when they think nobody's looking).

Ringling's elephants are also dying faster than they are breeding: At least 26 elephants, including four babies, have died since 1992. Eight were under the age of 40 (which is just about half an elephant's natural life expectancy of 70 years). Oh, and those babies Ringling does manage to breed are only used to replenish its stocks as other elephants die—they will never be released into the wild—ever.

Pretty depressing, isn't it? Ringling must be using some kind of new math to make all that add up to "conservation."

If you follow the jump, you can read about each of the elephants—and the life sentences to which Ringling has condemned them.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

And that would be Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), which is (surprise, surprise) reneging on its promise to end mulesing by 2010.

AWI will have had six years to stop a horrific practice that no other country engages in. New Zealand stopped the mulesing mutilation almost 10 years ago. If AWI does not meet the 2010 deadline, retailers around the world will take action by sourcing wool elsewhere.

AWI has only itself to blame for losing the world market by trying to delay the inevitable. Of course we were spot-on: AWI has chosen not to live up to its word and is still stuck in the 1930s. Australian wool is no longer the standard—it is now a symbol of the way greedy people have behaved by treating thinking, feeling animals as if they were inanimate commodities.

Despite the fact that leading retailers across Europe and North America are refusing to purchase wool from mulesed lambs, the Australian wool industry's most recent ludicrous scheme is to adopt an equally cruel and painful procedure called "clip mulesing," in which clips are attached to the folded skin on lambs' backsides, causing the skin to rot and fall off. Clips are not an alternative to the mulesing mutilation; they are simply a less bloody form of it. We are pleased, however, to see that the wool industry has finally responded to the complaints of dozens of retailers around the world who want to buy only wool from sheep who were not mulesed (not even with clips) and who have asked that wool from clip-mulesed sheep be identified on a mulesing declaration form.

As the Australian Weekly Times wrote, "For an organisation that purports to be a research and marketing body, the decision by Australian Wool Innovation to abandon the mulesing deadline is reckless, unwanted and unhelpful." This shows that your voices—and those of retailers who are demanding that Australia join the 21st century and stop mutilating lambs—are being heard in Australia.

Please help PETA continue to pressure the Australian government to do the right thing by taking a few short moments to write to Australia's prime minister, Kevin Rudd, to demand that mulesing be outlawed now. And, if you still wear animals even when so many wonderful alternatives exist, ask yourself why.

Posted by Tracy Reiman

Sculptor Antony Gormley has launched a new artistic endeavor, the One & Other project, in London. He's recruited 2,400 "living sculptures" to stand atop the famous "Fourth Plinth" in Trafalgar Square. Each person gets an hour on the 8-meter-high plinth (which is usually used to display artwork) to do whatever he or she would like—and one lucky PETA Europe supporter was granted a place!

Natalie Simpson sparkled as a sultry mermaid who asked people to go vegetarian.

We're so proud of Natalie for daring to show a little skin in order to save the skins scales of other thinking, feeling beings. If you want to be like Natalie and stand up for animals, take our Pledge to Be Veg for 30 Days and give a fish-friendly diet a try.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

nationalpost / CC

Since most of Europe has denounced the shameful slaughter of baby seals loud and clear, you'd think that Canada's government would finally get a clue and take action to end the annual bloodbath, right?

Think again.

Sorry to say, but once again, instead of enacting the ban that good people around the world—including a great many in Canada—are demanding, the Canadian government continues to pour all its efforts into keeping the massacre going. Until the last minute, it was still lobbying the E.U. to change its mind.

Canadian bureaucrats can be pretty thickheaded, but we are determined to keep the pressure on them until they can't ignore it any longer. That means pushing the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic Games to get involved, buying American maple syrup instead of Canadian, and spreading the word to get other folks involved too!

Posted by Jeff Mackey

marketplace.publicradio / CC

Yes, most chemicals put into a living, breathing body will kill you or leave you very, very ill. I'm sick and tired of hearing about these toxicity tests—sooo yesterday—and they continue to reap in funds so they can continue to torture and [maim] their victims. Cosmetics too—it's all BS!! [Vivisectionists] are just plain sadistic beings without a soul!!

The rest of you echoed her response.

Because this is an issue that resonates with so many people, I thought you might enjoy reading this article in the U.K.'s Guardian, written by human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. Tatchell attacks the recent Home Office report head-on and calls on the U.K. government to work diligently to rid the nation of crude animal experiments. The entire article is available after the jump.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

PETA's favorite fur-free fashion designer, Stella McCartney, has recruited Bambi (and Thumper, Flower, and Owl) to star in ads for her fabulous fall collection, set to appear in the September issue of British Vogue (which has a longstanding policy against running fur ads and is not to be confused with its evil sister, U.S. Vogue).

According to British Vogue's Web site, Stella was inspired to incorporate characters from Disney's seminal anti-hunting movie into her ads because they remind her of her beloved mum, Linda, who, as we all know, was a PETA angel for animals and who passed her compassion gene along to her kind kids. Awwww …

Posted by Alisa Mullins

PETA Europe's "Sexiest Vegetarian," Leona Lewis, proved why she deserved her crown when she rescued a rabbit from a life on the streets—a life that was bound to end on someone's dinner plate.

fashionindie / CC

While out and about in L.A. this week, Leona noticed a homeless man with a tethered rabbit. When she asked the man what his plans for the rabbit were, he admitted that he might eat the bunny. Um … come again?! As a vegetarian and a diehard animal defender, Leona struck a deal with the man: She gave him $100 to buy proper food, and he gave up the rabbit.

Now, Melrose (the rabbit was named after the street he was found on) is living it up in the "Bleeding Love" superstar's posh L.A. pad. Jealous much?

A friend of Ms. Lewis said, "She didn't think life on a lead was any way for a rabbit to live—then when he said he was going to eat it she knew she had to save it." Swoon. If only all celebrities had that kind of "Spirit."

Posted by Christine Doré

carolinelucasmep / CC

To make it all the more frustrating, only 70 percent of toxicity tests—the ones in which animals are deliberately poisoned to test chemicals—were required by law, meaning that nearly 30 percent of these archaic and needless tests could have been abandoned entirely.

While the number of European tests are rocketing up, the numbers of new medical treatments are going down—not to mention that 90 percent of drugs that pass animal trials fail in humans. All of this from a nation that is leaps and bounds ahead of the U.S. in approving non-animal testing methods for lab studies.

These numbers show us just how vital it is for compassionate people to take action. If we don't speak up, the suffering of animals will continue to be ignored.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

thesun.co / CC

Gervais' cute namesake is a 20-year-old bull who has worked the sugar mill district in Sangli, India, his entire life and would have been sent to slaughter if Animal Rahat had not rescued him.

PETA Europe wanted to give Ricky an extra-special birthday present this year for being such a great sport for animals. As you may recall, the star launched into a hilarious "tirade" earlier this year against organizations that send animals to people in developing countries. Recognizing that impoverished people often lack the basic means to feed and care for the animals they receive, Ricky remarked, "There's nothing in it for the goat!"

Add to that the letter he sent to Gordon Brown asking for an end to the use of real bearskins for The Queen's Guards' caps and his teaming up with Pink to voice one of the characters in our Stolen for Fashion CGI video, and you have one compassionate comedian who deserves a great big "Thank you!"

Happy birthday, Ricky.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

While I'm told there was thunder booming throughout London early yesterday morning, the real storming was taking place around St. Paul's cathedral, where 100 PETA Europe demonstrators sprawled across the steps wearing nothing but blood-red paint and bear masks.

The naked demonstrators were there to protest the continued use of real bearskin for The Queen's Guards' ceremonial caps. Bears killed for the caps may suffer for days in traps or die of blood loss or infection after being shot. When mother bears are killed, their orphaned cubs are easy prey for predators—if they don't starve to death first.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Yesterday, Nicola McLean—model, star of I'm a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here, and all-around hottie—teamed up with our friends over at PETA Europe to wish the dastardly European department store Selfridge's an "Unhappy Birthday."

Nicola, flanked by two other models, burst out of a cake in front of Selfridges' Oxford Street store despite the inclement weather. The ladies simply sizzled in yellow bikinis (a nod to the store's centenary Big Yellow Festival celebrations) as they urged the chain to remove cruel foie gras from its shelves.

"While Selfridges celebrates its centenary, ducks and geese who are force-fed for foie gras die before their first birthday and have nothing to celebrate," says Nicola. "I won't be shopping at Selfridges until they stop selling foie gras." You say it, girl!

You can join Nicola in the campaign against the foie gras–peddling store by clicking here.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

nostalgiaah / CC

More precisely, it is Moonlit Path, her horse, who is at the center of the dispute. Trainer Nicky Henderson has been charged with allowing the 6-year-old horse to be injected with tranexamic acid—a substance that prevents hemorrhaging and is banned on British racetracks. (The drug is allowed to be administered in advance of a race, but it must have cleared the system by race day.)

And why exactly would trainers need to prevent hemorrhaging? Could it be that racing puts such an extreme stress on horses' bodies that heavy internal bleeding and blood clots are common? You bet. Horses used for racing also often develop bleeding lungs and gastric ulcers from being forced to perform far beyond their natural physical limits. Oh, and let's not forget about all the horses who are raced to death.

PETA Europe is writing to the Queen to remind her that—drugs or no drugs—horse racing is a cruel "sport" that should be relegated to the history books.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

smi.ucr / CC

noun 1 a person who catches fish for a living or for sport.

or

noun 1 a person ignorant of, oblivious to, or indifferent to the fact that he or she is inflicting pain by catching, suffocating, stabbing, and gutting fish; someone who is hooked on cruelty.

In light of a new study revealing that fish feel and remember pain, PETA Europe has sent a letter to the folks at Oxford English Dictionary asking that they change their definition of "fisherman" to the rather more accurate version above (that's the second one, in case you weren't sure).

Because a fish sea kitten has a nervous system just as humans do, struggles against death, and has lips that are sensitive to the tearing of flesh caused by hooks, PETA Europe considers the Oxford English Dictionary's current definition of "fisherman" a little--ahem--insensitive. Don't you agree?

Leave a comment below with your suggestion for a new, more accurate definition of "fisherman."

Posted by Shawna Flavell

We can never resist a good birthday party … and neither can our friends over at PETA Europe! Yesterday, Selfridges—a European department store that continues selling foie gras despite public outcry—celebrated its 100th birthday, and PETA Europe, along with former Miss UK (and current vegetarian) Brooke Johnston, joined the party by unveiling Brooke's new "Selfridges: Force-Feeding Is Cruel" billboard.

PETA Europe's touring billboard is slated to make the rounds of Selfridges stores across the UK this summer.

Brooke was on hand for a force-feeding protest too.

Happy birthday, Selfridges! While your employees were inside gorging on birthday cake, somewhere ducks were being force-fed until their internal organs ruptured.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

movies.about / CC

While the real Tony Blair is still keeping mum on the issue of skinning bears, Michael recently sent a letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown (the actual Gordon Brown, not an actor), calling for an immediate end to the killing of Canadian black bears for the Royal Guards' fur caps.

In his letter, Michael points out the UK's Ministry of Defence's unfulfilled promise to use an animal-friendly fake to replace the skins used for the caps and adds, "Not only is the purchase and importation of bearskins from Canada a deplorable waste of military funding, it is also a waste of animals' lives."

Yes! Michael, if you ever actually run for prime minister, count on my vote. (Well, you know, if I were British … and if prime ministers were actually voted for …)

Read Michael's letter and, if it bothers you that cubs are orphaned when their mothers are killed for hats, then please take action now!

Posted by Shawna Flavell

babble / CC

Right now, MEPs are considering a proposed law that could improve conditions for tens of millions of animals who are experimented on and killed in laboratories across Europe each year. In a vote that will take place next week, the politicians can change this proposal for better or for worse, so Gillian's help has come at just the right time.

Of course, this isn't the first time that Gillian has spoken out in behalf of animals. The award-winning actor has taken action for animals time and time again. Recently, she narrated a video of undercover footage taken inside rabbit fur farms—it was part of PETA's campaign to pressure Giorgio Armani to stick to his fur-free pledge.

Go, Gillian! Check out her letter. And please speak up for animals by pledging to be cruelty-free.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

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

batanga / CC

Recently, PETA's European affiliate wrote to the Pet Shop Boys to suggest that they change their name to the "Rescue Shelter Boys." It's got a nice ring to it, right? PETA Europe let the duo know that dogs and cats sold in pet shops come from breeders who often keep animals in cramped, filthy conditions and that many animals sold in pet shops suffer from inbreeding, genetic weaknesses, physical deformities, or behavioral disorders. By changing their name, the would-be-Rescue Shelter Boys could raise awareness about the cruelty of the pet trade at every tour stop.

Unfortunately, the Boys turned down the name-change proposal, but they decided to alert their fans to this important issue in another way—by posting the letter on the front page of their Web site! They even say, "The organisation PETA Europe, dedicated to establishing and protecting the rights of all animals, has written to Pet Shop Boys with a request they are unable to agree to but nonetheless think raises an issue worth thinking about."

As if you needed another reason to love the Pet Shop Boys besides "West End Girls."

Posted by Shawna Flavell

If you've been keeping up with your British celebrity chefs lately, you'll know that Naked Chef star Jamie Oliver has been pushing pork products on the public (try saying that three times fast). He's encouraging people to "save our bacon" by buying British pig meat instead of the cruel other kind.

Wait. What?

Now, we know that Jamie is aware of the horrors behind factory farming in Europe (he even has a campaign against it), but we're hoping he'll realize the obvious: That the best way to stop cruelty to animals is to stop eating animals—including British ones. Good thing we've got friends in the U.K. who are only too happy to educate Mr. Oliver on the horrors of all factory farms.

Check out these pictures from PETA Europe's Mother's Day demo (yes, across the pond they honor their mums in March), in which two very sexy, very pregnant volunteers portrayed a typical day in the life of a mother sow in front of Jamie's flagship restaurant, Fifteen.

These hot mamas have hearts as big as their bellies.

Happy Mother's Day, Jamie!

Pregnant sows are forced to live in gestation crates that don't even allow them enough space to turn around.

Mama pigs have their piglets taken away after only about four weeks.

I think Jamie got the message.

Posted by Lianne Turner

Racism, slaughter, skinning … this video has it all—all things inhumane and barbaric, that is.

In a shocking new video released by our pals across the pond at PETA Europe, some bear-skinners recently got their five minutes of fame when, unbeknownst to them, they were videotaped cutting the skin off a black bear and spitting out racial slurs that will have their own mothers dodging their phone calls this holiday season.

You can view this footage below, but please be forewarned: The images and language are graphic.

These pin-head hunters sell bear hides at the very same auction where the British Ministry of Defense buys furs to make the Queen's Guards' caps. Now, you might think that the Queen is simply unaware of the cruelty sewn into each cap, but that's hogwash. PETA Europe has joined forces with top British celebs such as Ricky Gervais and Lucy Davis about this issue. Even Pink has gotten into the mix, sending the Queen a letter expressing outrage over her support for the slaughter of Canadian black bears.

There is no excuse for racism and there is no excuse for the Queen to support the killing of black bears for their fur. The Ministry of Defense needs to stop dragging its heels and make the switch to faux. Until the change is made, the Queen's Guards' caps will be symbols of cruelty at its worst. One way to help is to send a message to Canada's Prime Minster and demand that he ban the practice of bear-baiting.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

worldproutassembly / CC

These animals never get a vacation. Day in and day out, they are confined to tiny cages, forced to dance around in tutus at the St. Petersburg circus, or left to live an unfulfilled life in an inadequate enclosure that is light years removed from their natural habitats. Europe offers so many great opportunities for tourists that your stay can be crammed full of cruelty-free memories. To make it easier on you, PETA Europe has put together a list of places to avoid like the Great Plague on your European vacation.

1. Running of the Bulls—Pamplona, Spain
   Every year, more than 40,000 bulls are taunted, stabbed repeatedly, and finally killed by the matador in front of a stadium full of onlookers. Before the bulls enter the ring, petroleum jelly is often rubbed in their eyes or they might be beaten with sandbags. And the Running of the Bulls isn't any more humane to these animals, who often crash into the walls when racing down the narrow street. Instead of paying to see these animals slaughtered, join the Running of the Nudes campaign!
2. Schwaben Park Chimpanzee Show—Baden-Württemberg, Germany
   The chimpanzee show at Schwaben Park is truly a house of horrors. The chimpanzees are forced to perform demeaning tricks on leashes and are often trained to perform with regular beatings or the use of shock collars. Instead of paying to see these animals perform confusing tricks that they don't understand, visit a non-animal theme park.
3. Donkey Rides—Beaches All Over the U.K.
   Sunning on the beach is great for us humans: We can take a quick dip or catch a bite to eat when we're too hot or hungry. But it's pure hell for donkeys who are confined to the beach and forced to cart children around in the hot sand. Some donkey-ride operators at beach resorts like Bridlington and Blackpool even keep the donkeys chained together at all times. Instead of taking a donkey ride, swim in the sea or build a sandcastle.
4. Berlin Zoo—Berlin, Germany
   This zoo might be known best as the home of Knut, the polar bear that the Berlin Zoo mercilessly paraded around in front of media cameras and throngs of visitors. More recently, however, zoo director Bernhard Blaszkiewitz has been accused of slaughtering the zoo's animals and selling their body parts to be used in Chinese medicines. Berlin is loaded with history; visit a museum or the great Berlin Wall instead!
5. Edinburgh Zoo—Edinburgh, Scotland
   In 2000, a number of endangered Arabian antelopes were bred and then destroyed by Edinburgh Zoo officials. Clearly, zoo officials don't have animals' best interests in mind. Instead of the zoo, we recommend visiting a loch, a castle, or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. And if you're a wildlife lover, go deer-spotting!
6. Mediterraneo Marine Park—White Rocks, Malta
   The Mediterraneo Marine Park uses bottlenose dolphins in performances and offers visitors the opportunity to swim with dolphins. Unfortunately, visitors are often unaware that these dolphins are captured in the wild or imported from conflict-ridden countries. A great alternative is to take a dolphin- and whale-spotting holiday that doesn't involve capturing or handling these animals.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky