When our friends at PETA Germany found out that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was scheduled to tour throughout Germany this November, they immediately got to work brainstorming ways to get the tour stopped. Since many Germans aren't familiar with the U.S.-based circus, PETA Germany staffers began educating people about Ringling's abysmal track record of beating and abusing animals in order to force them to perform tricks that to them are confusing and unnatural.

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Appalled by the idea that Ringling beats, chains, and cages elephants, tigers, horses, and many other animals, thousands of people contacted the managers of every arena where Ringling was scheduled to perform and expressed their concerns. And, guess what?

Ringling has confirmed that it will no longer be performing at all in Germany!

Want to get involved with putting an end to cruelty under the big top here in the U.S.? Use our automated form to urge the USDA and Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack to seize the elephants whom Ringling hauls around the country in filthy boxcars and forces to perform under the constant threat of punishment. The actions of caring people like you will make a difference for these elephants.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

… But PETA Germany's spunky supporters—including Jana from Germany's Big Brother—were still willing to brave the fall chill in Düsseldorf to call attention to Canada's seal slaughter.

Forget the fur—boots and scarves prevent frostbite just fine.

These gals and other caring people distributed postcards (which were addressed to the Canadian Embassy in Berlin) urging government officials to stop the slaughter. Hopefully, each passerby who picked one up put it in the mailbox.

Not quite ready to strip for the cause? Fear not—there are many other ways to call for an end to the seal slaughter.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

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Just in time for Oktoberfest comes a cow-friendly alternative to traditional Bavarian lederhosen, those Pinocchio-style knickers that are traditionally made of leather.* PETA Germany recently presented inventor Peter Kolb with a progress award for his swimwear designs that easily double as animal-free alternatives to leather lederhosen: yodel lay hee hoo (-ray), indeed!

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.

thesun.co / CC

Natascha Kampusch made headlines around the world when she was finally able to escape her kidnapper after being held for eight years in a dungeon in Austria. "I suffered from claustrophobia and I thought I was going crazy in there," Kampusch told Austria's ORF television after her escape. "I was very distraught and very angry."

Recognizing that her ordeal was chillingly similar to that of tigers, elephants, and other animals who are snatched from their native homes and loving families only to be caged or chained by circus trainers for the rest of their lives, Natascha has joined PETA Germany in calling for freedom for animals in circuses. She looks forward to the day when circuses will stop depriving wild animals of everything that is natural and important to them. Here's what Natascha had to say:

It is now up to [German agriculture minister Ilse] Aigner to decide whether social, intelligent, and beautiful living beings should continue to be humiliated because ruthless or naïve people keep them chained in cages—depressed, broken and limited to an [extent] that prevents them from living a normal life according to their needs. Animals, too, would run away if they could, just like I took my chance to escape. Because a life in captivity is a life full of deprivation.

Thank you, Natascha, for speaking out in behalf of so many animals whose cries for help have yet to be heard by German lawmakers. Hopefully, Minister Aigner is listening.

Posted by Karin Bennett

The whole world is coming out of hibernation for spring. What better time to get outdoors and get active for animals? There are all sorts of demos happening. Check 'em out!

This was a particularly moving demo in Calgary to fight the Canadian seal slaughter.

This demonstration took place outside the Canadian Consulate in Seattle.

These ladies are letting the world know that McDonald's scalds chicks to death!

Ladies taking showers to demonstrate meat's effects on the environment always get attention—and just in time for "Meat's Not Green" Week!

Did you know that the amount of water required to produce one pound of meat is the same as the amount used in six months of showers?

Check out what PETA Germany's doing. This pile of bodies doesn't even come close to the number of animals who are murdered for their flesh every day.

Can't get enough photos of demos? Well, stay tuned, because we're only too happy to share! In the meantime, why don't you upload a few photos of your own?

Posted by Lianne Turner

Stefan Bröckling with a rescued swan

Those rootin' Teutons at PETA Deutschland (that's Germany, for those who don't sprechen the language) are always up to something interesting. Here's one recent example of their work for animals.

Working with the Düsseldorf duck hotline (best duck hotline name ever, don't you think?), PETA Germany campaigner Stefan Bröckling has rescued four swans at the port of Neuss. The birds were sitting at the water's edge, totally exhausted, their feathers covered in what appeared to be cooking oil.

PETA Germany became involved after a Frau Münchs noticed an oily surface on the water and then saw eight swans with very wet-looking feathers—not at all typical for water birds—trying vigorously to groom themselves. And this wasn't the first time: Last year, at least six swans were affected in a similar incident there.

Ms. Münchs contacted local officials who gave her the ol' runaround before someone at the harbormaster's office finally admitted that a broken filter at an oil production company had leaked oil into the water. The office claimed, however, that the oil had since been removed and that they considered the situation to be under control, adding that the oil is supposed to degrade by itself in the bird's feathers.

Nice try, but we'd have to call Stier Scheiße (you will have to look that up) on that old line …

Or, as PETA Germany's Stefan put it: "That's simply wrong; the oil decomposes the protecting layer of fat within water birds' feathers and soaks in deeper and deeper as time passes. The feathers soak up water like a sponge; the swans lose body temperature and die in the end."

Stefan rescued four swans, but one had already died and the three other oiled birds are still missing. PETA Germany is now looking into filing a complaint for cruelty to animals against the oil producers as well as pushing officials to take the dumping of cooking oils more seriously.

It's a good thing that Ms. Münchs was vigilant and blew the whistle. If you want to know more about how to help wildlife, check this out.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

Always a bit of a wild child, PETA Germany definitely has a flare for the exotic. Just take a look at these anti-zoo, anti-circus "Exotic Animals Belong in Liberty" ads. They featured a menagerie of MTV Germany and VIVA music channel hosts painted as exotic animals (my fave is the contemplative tiger). They were recently published in the German TV magazine TV Digital. Way to go, PETA G!

Posted by Amy Elizabeth