twincities.decider / CC

Pretenders frontwoman and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Chrissie Hynde never has a frog in her throat when it comes to speaking up for animals. So when she heard about Brookstone's sale of cruel Frog-O-Spheres, she immediately fired off a letter to Brookstone CEO Philip Roizin.

In her letter, Hynde writes, "Foot massagers and grill equipment can live quite happily in boxes; animals cannot. Brookstone should rely on sales of innovative and cruelty-free gadgets instead of profiting from animal suffering."

I hear you loud and clear, Chrissie—and hopefully Brookstone will too.

Do you want your voice heard? While we can't help you become a famous rock and roll star, we can help you raise your voice for animals! Use our form to send an e-mail to Brookstone urging the company to pull Frog-O-Spheres off of its shelves immediately.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

P.S. On second thought, maybe we can help you with the rock star part.

The Pretenders' world tour landed in Salt Lake City on Sunday—and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Chrissie Hynde was happy to use the occasion to launch her PETA campaign urging McDonald's to require its suppliers to upgrade to less cruel slaughter methods. In addition to using her stage as a platform to advocate a McDonald's boycott and tossing campaign T-shirts to her audience, Chrissie unveiled her brand-new "i'm hatin' it" ad at a Salt Lake City McDonald's today. Check out some of the action below, and then head to KSL-TV to see how it played on the news:

That spectacular artwork you see there is soon to be on billboards across the country—starting with Chrissie's hometown of Akron, Ohio. Lucky Akron! First it gets its own vegan restaurant, now this awesome billboard …

Posted by Amanda Schinke

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The most recent celebrity requests to pop up during my Internet perusing left me giddy instead of scratching my head. Sir Paul McCartney, Chrissie Hynde, and Morrissey are making animal-friendly "front of stage" demands during their summer tours. Sir Paul has ensured that meat-free options are available for fans at his shows, two of the Pretenders' recent shows offered only vegetarian fare for concertgoers, and Morrissey requires people working his shows to abstain from meat.

I can think of a handful of celebrities who could learn a lot from these three about using their clout to help animals rather than hurt them.

Posted by Karin Bennett

kensharp / CC

When PETA pal Chrissie Hynde learned that the organizers of her band's summer tour included a date at the Weesner Amphitheater—which is located at the Minnesota Zoo—the staunch zoo opponent wasn't pleased.

Then she learned that animals from the Minnesota Zoo's petting zoo are routinely sent to livestock auctions.

Chrissie has never shied away from an opportunity to speak up for animals who are being exploited, so she fired off an e-mail to the zoo director, Lee Ehmke, in which she wrote:

"I am disappointed to learn that the zoo sells its petting zoo animals to slaughter at the end of the season. How can a zoo invite children to touch and play with and express joy over animals for their uniqueness, only to turn around and sell those very animals to slaughter?"

Well, the zoo didn't agree to stop shipping off once-petted goats and sheep to slaughter. Instead, it canceled Chrissie's show!

You better bet she'll have some choice words about it to share with Pretenders fans.

Posted by Karin Bennett

You know what I like best about the summer—besides grilling veggie dogs until they turn black?

Summer concerts!

I'm especially excited this year because The Pretenders are going on tour and PETA has first dibs on their upcoming tour dates.

To find out where you'll have a chance to see PETA pal Chrissie Hynde live and in-person this summer, keep reading—but first:

Check out the awesome, one-of-a-kind PETA T-shirt that Chrissie designed for her summer tour wardrobe.

Here's that sneak peek at a few of The Pretenders' summer dates. Enjoy! And, hey, maybe I'll see you in Central Park this August.

8/10, New York, New York
8/14, Washington, D.C.
8/18, Chicago, Illinois
8/22, Denver, Colorado
8/26, Vancouver, British Columbia
9/3, Los Angeles, California

Posted by Amanda Schinke

One of the animals' greatest friends (and one of my heroes), Chrissie Hynde wants you to be in a new Pretenders video.

Ever the activist, Chrissie has found a way to promote animal rights issues—specifically, what happens to animals who are killed for leather—and promote her new song at the same time. The Pretenders are looking for one lucky fan who also happens to also be an animal lover to appear in the official fan video for their new single, "Boots of Chinese Plastic."

To enter, all you have to do is make a YouTube video for the song and show them your "boots of plastic" while you sing your little heart out. Pretty easy, huh? Click here to get all of the details from the woman, the myth, the legend herself.

How cool is that? Being flown to L.A. to appear in a video, just for spreading the word about animals who are killed for fashion—which is something most of you are doing anyway, right? Not a bad deal. And it's not every day that you get the chance to be in a video with an icon. My only problem with this is that I can't enter. But I'm not bitter … honest. Good luck!

The Pretenders are hosting a party, and you're invited—a listening party, that is! Their new album, Break Up the Concrete, comes out today, and they're so excited for everyone to hear it that they're putting it up on their Web site in its entirety! So before you head over to your favorite music vendor, you can check out the Pretenders' new album online with Windows Media Player or QuickTime.

And hey, if you want to win your very own hard copy of Break Up the Concrete—or even a signed Fender Telecaster guitar—you can enter to do that as well!

Rock on, Chrissie and the Pretenders! We love your new album, and we know the rest of the world will too!

Posted by Amanda Schinke

© AP Photo/Lisa Poole

Hey all you animal-loving Pretenders fans! Do I have a treat for you! As you probably know, Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders is not only a complete rock star in every sense of the word, she's also an incredible animal rights activist. We've reported many of Chrissie's actions on the PETA Files—such as leading protests in NYC against horse-drawn carriages, helping draw much-needed attention to the Australian wool boycott, and voicing her anti-leather stance when a company tried to name a leather bag after her (gross! I know, right?)—but that's really just a small sample of what this great woman has done in the name of animal rights.

Chrissie is front and center again with the upcoming release of the new Pretenders album, Break Up the Concrete, due out October 7, and in the middle of a whirlwind of press, she made sure to give PETA an exclusive Q&A and an early release of two of her new tracks (which can be found here). Without further ado ... I give you Chrissie Hynde:

Dan Mathews: Tell us about some of the highlights of your life as an animal activist.

Chrissie Hynde: I like the way that question is worded because I consider myself an animal activist first and my music as more of a hobby that gives me a platform to fight for animals. The big highlight was when I first walked into the PETA headquarters and looked at all the files of cases you've won and all the activity and campaigns planning. Having been a fairly dour vegetarian since 1969 when nobody really gave a shit about animals, it was the first time I ever felt optimistic about the movement really succeeding.

I also loved getting up at 4 a.m. after the first big PETA gala in Washington D.C. in the early 90s to go on a hunt sabotage. I like being on the front lines, though I'm not really on the front lines as I've never personally busted into a slaughterhouse. Those I admire most are the PETA investigators who infiltrate. At another PETA gala I was changed forever by James Cromwell's speech in which he said "You can't call yourself a true environmentalist unless you're vegan." That attitude is finally sinking in and people are realizing what they eat determines how responsible a citizen they are. I recently saw him in L.A. and jumped up and thanked and hugged him and made a huge fuss … but I don't think he knew who I was!

The thing I'm most proud of is going after the Gap and getting them to stop buying leather from the horrible black market in India. I love all animals but my main focus has always been cows, so it was a joy to go to jail with Ingrid after the Gap protest and have it succeed. I love Ingrid and always urge her to take a break once in a while; I even made her come over to my house in London to chill out and watch a movie.

Dan Mathews: What are your observations about PETA's often provocative way of doing things?

Chrissie Hynde: PETA is my favorite organization because there is such a great spirit of adventure in all the campaigns. We're all in this because of the horror stories out there but PETA manages to tackle the issues with such a winning spirit, even when all odds are against us.

Dan Mathews: You opened a vegan restaurant, Vegiterranean, in your hometown of Akron, Ohio, which has been a runaway success. Any plans to expand?

Chrissie Hynde: Yes! If a small Midwestern town can have a line out the door at a vegan restaurant, it can work anywhere. Times are definitely changing all over. I'd like to expand to Las Vegas so tourists from all over the world can see how great vegan food can be, and of course in L.A. I've read that Freedom Tower in New York City, the new development where the World Trade Center once stood, is looking for a notable restaurateur. I'd like to throw my hat into the ring. There's been so much horrific blood and guts and violence there that it'd be fitting to open a cool restaurant where no mangled, burnt bodies are on the menu.

Posted by Christine Doré