Mali, an Asian elephant imprisoned at the Manila Zoo, was only 3 years old when she was torn away from her mother and shipped away to live in captivity.

For more than 30 years, Mali has spent her days alone in a barren enclosure with only a small pool for entertainment and relief from the heat. Mali paces her small area incessantly or stands in one spot with her trunk to the ground. Mali has reportedly walked to the edge of her enclosure, reached out her foot in the hope of going farther, and even after feeling empty space, stepped back and repeated this movement, evidence of her boredom, loneliness, and frustration. In their natural habitats, Asian elephants have homes ranges that are between 25,000 and 60,000 hectares, but the entire Manila Zoo measures only 5.5 hectares. Even if Mali's enclosure were doubled or tripled in size, it would still be completely inadequate.

PETA Asia-Pacific has just released a report that documents Mali's bleak existence. The report includes a letter from Carol Buckley, who has more than 35 years of professional experience in the care and management of Asian elephants and who operates The Elephant Sanctuary—the largest rehabilitation and living center for former captive elephants—where she has offered Mali a permanent home.

If swift action isn't taken to save Mali and the many other animals locked up at the Manila Zoo, they may meet the same fate as Sisi—the orangutan who died of cancer last year at the facility. Please sign PETA Asia Pacific's petition requesting relief for the animals at the Manila Zoo and urge everyone you know to do the same.

Posted by Logan Scherer

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

Indonesian bachelor Sumanto really digs older women. Digs them up, that is. Yes, I'm talking about corpses, not cougars.

news.ninemsn / CC

According to news reports, Sumanto dug up a grave and feasted on the flesh of an old woman's corpse for a "cheap and tasty meal." Fresh out of prison after serving time for this crime, he's promised that his people-eating days are over, vowing that he now just wants to "taste love" (I wonder if that's what he'll put on his Match.com profile). While his neighbors are giving him the cold shoulder, the kind folks at PETA Asia-Pacific are willing to offer him a hand in kicking corpse cuisine for good.

Instead of turning over a new grave, they're suggesting that Sumanto turn over a new leaf and go vegetarian. Like humans, animals are made of flesh, blood, and bone. They have the same capacity to love, and they experience fear in the face of death. When animals die, their families grieve too. To help with this transition, PETA Asia-Pacific is sending Sumanto a copy of The Compassionate Cook, PETA's first vegetarian cookbook, which is chock-full of "cheap and tasty" meals that won't cost him or anyone else an arm and a leg.

I highly recommend the Mock Chopped Liver, a dish that tastes so much like the real thing that it could fool even the most die-hard cannibals.

Posted by Amy Elizabeth