Anyone out there know of a gadget that makes rotten retailers stop selling live frogs and snails in tiny prisons? Anyone?

Didn't think so. That's why we're calling on you to drop whatever you're doing right now and tell gadget magnate Brookstone to stop selling Frog-O-Spheres ASAP!

Despite complaint after complaint, Brookstone—a company that apparently has a heart of stone—is continuing to "package" frogs and snails together in pitiful plastic prisons and sell them to customers who don't have a clue about how to take care of these extremely delicate animals.

A distraught Brookstone employee has sent us undercover photos and horrifying details confirming that frogs and snails are sold with little regard for who will care for them:

"Most parents will exclaim right in front of me that they are not going to help the child to care for these living creatures. Then when I offer to sell them the additional food they will tell me flat out that the frogs won't live that long. It kills me that these frogs that can live to be 15 years old [won't] even last 1 year as a pet in a controlled [environment]."

The whistleblower went on to describe how animals are forced to languish and suffer on Brookstone's shelves without any veterinary care:

"We did have a frog that had a growth on its bottom. We eventually transferred that aquarium to the stock room and the frog died. No vet was called …. There is absolutely no policy or [veterinary] contact in my store for sick frogs. … [W]hen they do die we are told to "flush" them. … The snails die even more frequently. We have a bag full of over 15 snails that have died in the last month."

But, hey, no worries—if Kermit dies before his 30-day warranty is up, Brookstone will replace him for free! So long as you have your receipt, just flush and replace.

Let Brookstone know that these frogs aren't just a drop in the bucket. Please take action now!

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

cularis / CC

There's been a big stink in the news lately. The animal activist group PETA posted a billboard in Florida with a photo of an obese woman in a bikini with the tag line, "Save the Whales, Lose the Blubber: Go Vegetarian." A lot of overweight people were offended. I'm a fat person, and I thought it was funny. If I had my choice, I'd rather see PETA's scantily clad model campaign, but I don't mind a good chuckle at the expense of a fellow fat person.

I wasn't offended, though I was intrigued by the premise. Could I lose the blubber by going veggie? It sounded like a challenge to me, so I'm going to take the challenge.

Yep, for 30 days the meat-loving columnist will forgo the bacon and buffalo wings, which means that some pigs and chickens will be spared from winding up on his plate.

Our advice to Mr. St. John? Stay away from dairy foods too. Seriously, you could gain 2 pounds just by looking at cheese fries.

Posted by Karin Bennett

What does PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk think about Michael Vick’s return to the NFL? We’ll let her tell you:

Posted by Shawna Flavell

hyscience / CC

The results of an evidence-based review showed that a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease. Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than nonvegetarians. Furthermore, vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates.

Need more proof? Check out the following recent studies:

• According to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition, people with type 2 diabetes who consumed 40 grams of soy protein isolate per day for nearly two months saw significant reductions in both their LDL cholesterol and the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol. This is just the latest in a long list of studies showing that soy lowers cholesterol—the FDA even permits companies to boast about the cholesterol-lowering effects of soy on their product labels.
• In more soy news, an amino acid found in higher concentrations in soy and other vegetable proteins can lower your blood pressure.
• In addition to clogging your arteries, a low-carb diet makes you stupid—at least that's the conclusion of a recent study at Tufts University in Boston. Scientists there found that young women performed worse on mental acuity tests after just one week on the Atkins diet and other low-carb diets. D'oh—you could've aced that chemistry final if only you'd had a V8!
• Speaking of V8, a Mayo Clinic study has found that eating lots of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables may reduce your risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Bad news for people who hate broccoli—taking antioxidant supplements doesn't have the same effect.
• A study at Oxford University backed up these findings and even went a bit further, concluding that vegetarians slashed their risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, and other blood cancers by 45 percent.

So, how's about we mosey on over to VegCooking.com and get started fixing up a mess of cholesterol-lowering, artery-unclogging, cancer risk–slashing, brain-boosting veggies, shall we?

Posted by Alisa Mullins

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

ocpets.freedomblogging / CC

Common sense steers most adults clear of certain threats, like smoking in bed, eating rancid leftovers, and leaving the kiddies in the car while you chug beers and ogle strippers. A man in Florida apparently didn't get the memo on that last one.

Yes, we're disgusted. But are we surprised? Not really, because PETA and KIDS AND CARS, an organization we teamed up with last year, both receive countless complaints regarding dogs and children who are left unattended in hot cars.

According to KIDS AND CARS, hyperthermia—a rapid and often fatal rise in body temperature—is the third-leading cause of death in children in vehicular incidents that are unrelated to traffic.

And PETA receives alarming reports of dogs who succumb to heatstroke within minutes when people fail to realize how little time it takes for a car interior to heat up. On a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a car can climb to 97 degrees in just 10 minutes. Dogs can only cool themselves by panting, so they can quickly succumb to heatstroke and suffer brain damage or death.

Rolling down the car windows slightly does not offer adequate relief.

Please remind everyone you know that it's always best to leave the children and the dogs at home with the A/C (and a sitter) on "errand days" as well as "stripper nights."

Posted by Karin Bennett

Sex sells, but if you think it's only ladies who bare all to bring attention to the plight of animals—think again. Feast your eyes on some of the sexy male celebrities who've spiced up PETA's campaigns by stripping, and then name your favorite in the comments section below.

Grab some ice water, because it's about to get very hot.

Am I allowed to admit that Jamie Bamber's ad is my favorite? Which one is yours?

• Fans of bear bare skin were left seeing stars (and not much else), thanks to Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber, who took it off for bears killed for their fur.
• Vroom, vroom! Motocross rider Carey Hart sported his tattoos—and not much else—in our anti-fur ad.
• Steve-O's "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" ad is how I learned that "Your Name" is inked on Steve-O's butt.
• Owain Yeoman's pro-vegetarian ad is sure to drive any girl "mental."
• Adult film star Ron Jeremy's enormous … um … fan base grew even bigger after he appeared in a provocative PETA spay-and-neuter ad.
• Pulses everywhere pounded when The Young and the Restless star Kristoff St. John exposed his sexy skin in our "Be Comfortable in Your Own Skin" ad.
• Forget oysters! Everyone knows that a sense of humor is a better cruelty-free aphrodisiac. Case in point: comedian David Cross, bare-assed in our "Wear Your Own Fur" ad.
• Neon hair never looked so hot as it did on former basketball champion Dennis Rodman, who scored a slam-dunk with his "Think Ink, Not Mink" ad.
• Bad-boy rock superstar Tommy Lee is looking very good in our "Ink, Not Mink" ad.
• Are you ready for some hardcore action? Agnostic Front and Disasters frontman Roger Miret's Kentuck Fried Cruelty ad should fix you right up.

You're welcome.

Posted by Karin Bennett

Click for a larger version

What an award. Their parents must be so proud. :(

To check out the archives of past strips, click here.

The U.S. military has declared war on animals by burning, stabbing, and shooting them in unnecessary training exercises, and it's time to fight back! Animals need you to enlist in the army of animal lovers willing to speak out against these cruel exercises. If you go above and beyond the call of duty for this mission, you'll be in with a great chance to win an iPod shuffle.

Enlist Now
Join the battle for animals by signing our Facebook petition to end military trauma training on animals.

Recruit Your Friends
Click "Ask Friends to Sign" on the petition page to recruit your friends to this cause. The more invites you send out, the more people you will recruit. Tell them how live pigs are shot, stabbed, and burned; live goats have their legs broken with bolt cutters and cut off with shears; and live monkeys are poisoned with harmful chemicals.

Go Home Victorious
The individual who collects the most petition signatures by September 10, 2009 wins the iPod Shuffle. We'll announce the winner on September 14, 2009.

Share the petition on your Facebook wall and everywhere else you can. The harder you fight, the larger the impact you'll make, and the greater the chance is that you'll go home with an iPod in hand.

Please take action today for all the monkeys, pigs, sheep, and other nonhuman victims killed in military training. Humane, responsible training is essential in our effort to work toward a peaceful world. Learn more about this campaign at PETA.org/trauma.

Heads up: By entering the contest you're acknowledging that you've read and agreed to our privacy policy and terms and conditions.

Good luck, soldier!

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.

Recently, members of PETA Asia-Pacific and Animosa stripped down to their daisies and took to their coffins outside the Giorgio Armani store in Taipei.

In 2007, Armani vowed to stop using fur, but several months later, his collection was full of rabbit fur.

PETA Asia-Pacific wanted to remind the designer that the pelts, ripped from the bodies of rabbits who kick and scream before they are hung upside down and decapitated, are indeed fur—and that fur is dead.

Posted by Karin Bennett

blog.chron / CC

In his more than four decades in the Senate, Kennedy proved to be a strong voice for the protection of animals. Animal-friendly legislation championed by Sen. Kennedy included bills to curtail the overuse of antibiotics on farmed animals, end commercial whaling and the illegal trade in whale meat, prevent the slaughter of horses in North America, validate non-animal methods for testing products and chemicals, and raise the penalty for forcing dogs, roosters, and other animals to fight to the death from a misdemeanor to a felony.

In recent years, Sen. Kennedy's own dogs, Splash and Sunny, were constant presences to Capitol Hill, and Kennedy authored a children's book from Splash's viewpoint called My Senator and Me: A Dog's-Eye View of Washington, D.C. In the wake of evacuations following Hurricane Katrina, during which people were often forced to leave beloved companions behind, Sen. Kennedy co-sponsored the PETS Act, calling for disaster plans to include animals. "I wouldn't leave the house without Sunny and Splash," he said. "It's no surprise that so many people in New Orleans flat-out refused to be rescued if they couldn't take their pets with them."

As a tribute to this extraordinary man, let us keep his love of animals alive and carry on his legacy of helping them by practicing kindness and compassion toward all animals every day. For more information and ideas, please visit HelpingAnimals.com.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Snubs by Missouri cities have PETA's "Ella PhantzPeril" statue singing the blues.

Poor Ella PhantzPeril. Everywhere she tries to go, she gets a chilly reception, even though she is drop-dead gorgeous and was designed by renowned New Yorker cover artist Harry Bliss.

First, Kansas City gave her the cold shoulder when we tried to arrange for her to take up residence in a city park for a month to coincide with a visit from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The city banished her because of her "political" message. Now, St. Louis has said she is unwelcome because she is an "advertisement."

Since all we want to do is remind the public about the abuse that elephants endure while constantly traveling and performing in circuses, separated from their families and their natural environment, we are crying "foul."

We say that both rejections sound an awful lot like infringements on free speech, and we're not taking them lying down.

Keep checking back, and we'll be sure to let you know when Ella finds a home.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

dailymail.co / CC

Also this week, the fat hit the pan over PETA's pro-vegetarian billboard in Jacksonville, Florida, which read, "Save the Whales. Cut the Blubber. Go Vegetarian," and led to the PETA website where people could download our free "Vegetarian Starter Kit" as well as take the "30-Day Veg Pledge." There wasn't a peep about the advertisements for meals that spell death to one million animals per hour and that contribute to our nation's ever-expanding waistlines. There were no angry phone calls and blog messages about the audacity of the purveyors of the chicken and cheese that is turning humans into blubbery masses, or..."whales."

America's obesity epidemic calls for tough love à la Dr. Phil and America's Biggest Loser, not more coddling and mock shock over a billboard pointing out that the majority of fat people need to have some discipline and remember that being fat means being a bad role model to our children, many of whom are now so fat themselves that "teeter-totter" has come to describe their wobbly gait. Only three percent of the population has a medical condition that genuinely prevents them from losing weight. The rest of the obese people hiding behind them are obese because they shovel in food and haven't a clue (or don't want to have a clue) about a healthy diet. They haven't listened to or perhaps haven't heard the polite admonitions from health experts (real ones) urging them to eat their fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, nuts and beans. So America is getting fatter, largely because we don't realize that killing animals and squeezing the cheese out of them, perhaps especially the cheese, is slowly killing us too.

A study published last year in the journal Obesity found that if current trends continue, nearly 90 percent of adults will be overweight or obese by the year 2030 and the number of overweight children will double. This is a serious health crisis: Research has shown that higher body mass index is associated with a greater risk of premature death from all causes. For example, according to the American Heart Association, obesity contributes to heart disease, America's number one killer. What's more, one out of every six health-care dollars will be spent on costs related to our growing girth.

Going meat-free can make a huge difference. Studies show that vegetarians are, on average, 10 to 20 pounds lighter than meat-eaters and that a vegetarian diet reduces our risk of heart disease by 40 percent and adds seven or more years to our lifespan. A study published in The American Journal of Medicine found that people who eat a low-fat vegan diet (no meat, no eggs and no dairy foods) lose about a pound per week--even without exercising or counting calories.

PETA's billboard was fueled by a healthy respect for all the animals who are raised cruelly and killed in painful ways as well as for our own species's potential to be kind and healthy. I read the communiqués from fat people who said "thank you" and from those who told us where we can go. To all the people considering gastric bypass or tummy-tuck surgery or who tried a low-carb diet and only got constipation and bad breath in return, I say, just try it: Choose the oatmeal with Silk soy milk instead of bacon and milk; the bean instead of the beef burrito; and the mushrooms, tomatoes and peppers instead of the meat balls. All animals would thank you for it if they could, and I'm betting that you will feel better, both inside and out.

Posted by Ingrid E. Newkirk

At my house, we turn Scrabble into "Vegan Scrabble" by tripling points for animal-friendly words. Instead of seven measly points, "t-o-f-u" is suddenly worth a whopping 21 points. It can get a little heated, and game night at my house often goes like this:

My husband: "Applesauce?! I've never baked in my life! How am I supposed to know applesauce can be an egg replacer?"

Me: "Well, you should try baking once in a while. You'd learn a lot—and improve your Scrabble game."

My husband: "And you should try not cheating once in a while."

Me: [Feigning shock] "Well, I never …"

Veganopoly to the rescue!

veganstore / CC

In a vegan twist on an old classic, players try to succeed in the restaurant biz instead of becoming the main course. My husband will no longer be able to claim that I have an unfair advantage on game nights.

Luckily for you, I can't enter "Win It" Wednesdays or I'm certain somehow I'd be the winner of the Veganopoly board game we're giving away. But you can win it. Simply list the ways in which your vegan diet has improved your health. We'll select one winner who offers the most complete and compelling list of reasons to go vegan.

The contest ends on September 9, 2009, and we'll choose the winning entry on September 11, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Karin Bennett

wonkroom.thinkprogress / CC

It's a given that cows on factory farms are forced to live most of their lives in feces-filled holding pens, and it was so nice of Tyson to share that crap with everyone who relies on the Missouri river for drinking and bathing water.

And if you think this is an isolated case, think again. In 2002, a Cargill-owned hog farm was fined $1 million for illegally dumping animal waste, and Smithfield Foods, the world's largest hog producer, has been fined $12.6 million for polluting the Pagan River, just to name a couple of examples.

Of course, water pollution is just one of the many ways that factory farming wreaks havoc on the environment. Don't even get us started on greenhouse-gas emissions, deforestation, and wasted fossil fuels.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

KFC has just started test-marketing a new "sandwich" that is sure to have customers beating down its doors (sarcasm alert).

I'm going to ignore for now that countless pigs, cows, and chickens will suffer for this sucker (and I'm betting that the "secret" in the sauce is crushed ducklings).

Instead, I'm going to bring to your attention its nutritional value—or lack thereof. While KFC won't release the Double Down's fat and calorie stats, there's plenty of speculation. The Vancouver Sun's educated "guess-timate" is that "this one menu item can be estimated to supply more than the daily recommended allowance in fat (124%), saturated fat (117%), cholesterol (105%), sodium (125%) and protein (194%), as well as 61% of your daily recommended calorie intake" and "compares closely to the fat, salt and calorie totals of three McDonalds Big Macs put together …."

In other words, eating a Double Down makes Russian Roulette look like child's play.

What happened to KFC being the "better-for-you option for health-conscious customers"? Its carcinogenic grilled chicken wasn't much better, but this oozing pile of grease just screams, "We're out to kill you." Keep up the genius marketing, KFC. You're doing our job for us.

Posted by Karin Bennett

The folks at PETA Asia-Pacific are pros at cranking up the heat to deliver sizzling-hot demonstrations and ads. So I can guarantee that this sneak peak of the upcoming "All Animals Have the Same Parts" ad, which features Filipina model, singer, and vegan Geneva Cruz, is sure to have you turning your thermostat down a few notches.

"For me, being vegan is not about the diet. It's really about my love for all creatures," Geneva says.

Geneva and PETA Asia-Pacific want to remind people that animals are made of flesh, blood, and bone, just as humans are. It's just as wrong to kill a pig, cow, or chicken for your dinner as it would be to kill your tennis partner or the kid next door (even if he does play Metallica a smidge too loud).

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Tourists are flocking to Kiryat Yam, Israel, in hopes of spotting a mermaid who has reportedly been seen frolicking during sunset swims, and the Town Council is offering a $1 million reward for anyone who can provide a photograph that proves Ariel's kin are kicking back on local beaches.

If it's a photo of a mermaid they want, we'd be happy to oblige. We're offering to run our stunning "Make a Splash—Go Vegetarian" ad, which makes the case that, like mermaids, fish sea kittens, lobsters, crabs, and other animals of the sea deserve to be treated with compassion and respect.

If you would shun a plate of poached mermaid, why not let Nemo and his buddies off the hook too?

Posted by Alisa Mullins

parentdish / CC

Now I may be a bit biased—I am the TeachKind coordinator, after all—but this is a program that no educator can afford to miss. Our TeachKind Web site offers free lesson plans and materials, including books, DVDs, videos, magazines, comic books, posters, stickers, and more. And as if that weren't enough, we offer step-by-step advice on how to combat issues involving cruelty to animals, and we have a new program that helps educators form effective animal rights groups at their schools.

I could go on about TeachKind for hours, but if you have any questions, e-mail us at Info@TeachKind.org. And if you know any teachers, be sure to tell them about TeachKind and encourage them to sign up for our Teacher's Network, which features new lesson plans, ideas for incorporating animal rights issues into the classroom, and information about exciting contests and giveaways.

Oh, and because you're probably wishing that you had become a teacher right about now, check out this video to get you through to 5 p.m.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

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

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

livesets.nu / CC

He could have stopped there, but it seems like Moby keeps coming up with ways to win my animal-loving heart.

In a recent blog entry, Moby goes the extra mile for animals and the planet by calling out "environmentalist" Al Gore over his refusal to ever mention that animal consumption is the leading cause of climate change. Moby says:

i asked al gore about why he didn't mention this in an 'inconvenient truth' (as animal production is responsible for more greenhouse gases than every car, bus, truck … plane, boat on the planet COMBINED). he answered honestly, basically saying that getting people to drive a hybrid car isn't that difficult. getting people to give up animal products is almost impossible. i appreciated his honesty. so i guess i'll be talking about climate change tomorrow, and i guess i'll have to mention the most inconvenient of inconvenient truths, that you can't talk seriously about climate change and global warming without looking at the role of animal production (animal production being responsible for 24% of greenhouse gas emissions and also the #1 cause of deforestation in the rainforest).

Gore should have named his movie Sorta-Inconvenient Truths if he didn't want to cover the environmental destruction that his meaty diet causes.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

supercoolpets / CC

It's every animal guardian's worst nightmare, and it allegedly happened recently to Carmen Valverde of Lima, Peru, and her dog, Tomas.

After Tomas was stolen, a neighbor of Carmen's who works at the teaching hospital in the University of San Marcos recognized him while looking in the surgery room in which the school routinely dissects dogs.

The neighbor alerted Carmen and, wearing a lab coat, Carmen was able to sneak into the facility at the university and rescue Tomas, who was already sedated and strapped down for dissection.

While the school claims that it only dissects "dogs [who] don't have owners," after Tomas' story was made public, at least one other guardian found her missing dog in the same laboratory.

We're following this case and will keep you posted on any developments.

This problem isn't limited to Peru. Animals suffer in laboratories no matter where they come from, but laboratories that are willing to pay for animals provide an incentive for unscrupulous people to get animals wherever they can—often from our streets and yards. "Bunchers" may drug animals, pose as animal control officers, or answer "free to a good home" ads to get puppies and kittens to sell.

You can help end this nightmare by doing the following:

• Never give animals away "free to a good home."
• Never allow animals outside without supervision.
• Persuade schools to replace training on animals with superior non-animal methods.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

columbia / CC

Brookstone store employees—many of whom are straight out of high school, not vet school—are the sole caretakers of these animals while the Frog-O-Spheres are in the stores. According to Brookstone's head honchos, the only time these frogs receive any "care" is when employees briefly peer into the Frog-O-Sphere to check on the animals' condition. After performing these spot checks, employees are instructed merely to write down whether the frogs are "expired," sick/injured, or healthy. Despite any store's claim that it has a veterinarian on file (per the Frog-O-Sphere SOPs), sick or injured frogs never receive medical attention. Instead, these animals—who are sensitive to sound and even minimal changes in temperature—are merely stashed in the back of the store until they either die or recover on their own.

Turns out this is illegal—in the Garden State, at least.

We did some digging and discovered that pet shops in New Jersey are required to provide veterinary care for sick or injured animals and must be licensed with the township in which they're located—both are details that Brookstone seems to have missed.

After we brought this to the attention of NJ authorities, PETA received word from across the state that inspectors were on the case (PETA quickly confirmed that a Princeton-area Brookstone has no license on file, and alerted local health authorities, who immediately issued a cease and desist order to the store.). The state's Office of Animal Welfare has also taken an interest in this matter because Brookstone was informed about the various permits that were needed before its stores even began selling these tiny torture chambers, but the company failed to obtain them.

Click here to tell Brookstone that it's time to stop selling living beings at all its stores.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

Pop quiz—Tokyo's bustling Shibuya Crossing is famous for:

1. The statue of Hachikō, a dog who used to wait at Shibuya Station every day for his guardian to return from work.
2. Its appearance in scenes from the Bill Murray/Scarlett Johansson movie Lost in Translation.
3. Being the home of one of the busiest Starbucks coffeehouses in the world.
4. Being the site of a recent PETA Asia-Pacific Lettuce Ladies demonstration.
5. All of the above.

All of you who answered "e" would get a big, sloppy wet kiss from Hachikō if he were still with us, but since he isn't, you'll have to content yourselves with a pretty picture of the Lettuce Ladies in action:

Posted by Alisa Mullins

What happens when a demented Ronald McDonald sits down with one of television's most befuddling interviewers? Visitors to Will Ferrell’s FunnyOrDie.com are finding out today. A bizarre PETA video just debuted featuring Martin Short’s Jiminy Glick character grilling a "fried" Ronald McDonald (Andy Dick) about the company’s slaughter practices.

While I'm excited about PETA's first FunnyOrDie exclusive (so much so that I'm going to get down on my knees and beg you to vote "Funny"), I'm even more thrilled that The PETA Files has the exclusive on the bonus feature.

So gather your senses after watching the full-length on FunnyOrDie and check out this little "bonus feature" for some more outré commentary from Ronald "They're Just Animals" McDonald.

Now doesn't that just make you want to head over to Facebook and join our "Not eating McDonald's" fan page?

Posted by Joel Bartlett

Our controversial "Save the Whales" billboard caused quite a stir after it was erected in Jacksonville, Florida. Now it's being replaced with the following billboard:

Ever since placing our original ad, which showed a woman whose "blubber" was spilling out of her swimsuit, we've been inundated with calls and e-mails of support from people who want to take our 30-day Pledge to Be Veg. Oregon mom-of-six Ali Bond-Smith is one of the many motivated people, and here's what she has to say:

Many feel the billboards were cruel to the obese and uncalled for on PETA's part. I think what happens in the lives of 'meat animals' is cruel. … I'm ready to take your 30-day no-meat challenge. ... I'd be willing to weigh in before and after a month of no meat and indeed see if losing the meat has helped me begin to lose the blubber.

Since it has been proved that vegetarians weigh about 10 to 20 pounds less than meat eaters do and that a vegetarian diet can lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and a slew of other ailments, Ali's going to make an enormous impact on her health, as well as on the lives of animals.

We can't wait to be there with her each step of the way.

Stay tuned for updates on Ali's progress. In the meantime, those of you who would like to follow Ali's lead can take our 30-day Pledge to Be Veg now. Please also try out these low-fat vegetarian recipes and contact us at HealthyWeightLoss@PETA.org for support and guidance.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

Seeing as my brain is beginning to suffocate, it seems that taking a pause from work to surf the Interwebs is completely justifiable if I turn it into Internet soup. Right? OK, here goes:

• I need this as a bumper sticker.
• I just found the perfect bouquet to send to Ringling's CEO!
• If not for the tortured bulls, can't Colombia just ban bullfighting for the sake of jackasses?
• Lobster catchers in Maine have begun hunting each other. Maybe now Mainers will more easily relate to who's on their plate, eh?
• A bear and a fur hag walk into an Aspen fur shop…
• I just threw up in my mouth a little. Audi has hit a new low.
• Ending on a high note, I'd like to introduce the few of you who have yet to hear of her to my new homegirl Nora (hint: she's a famous piano player ;).

Thanks for letting me use you all as an excuse to shirk my work! Catch ya next time. :)

Posted by Missy Lane

While some PETA India members in Calcutta faced cop trouble at a demonstration outside the Calcutta Zoo earlier this week, others hit the streets in Delhi to help residents brush up on their ABCs: animal birth control.

Professor Pup calls class to order.

Delhi, Bangalore, and other parts of the country are facing a critical animal overpopulation crisis that has left dogs and cats living in misery on the streets. Did you know that one female dog and all her puppies can produce a whopping 67,000 dogs in six years if none of them are spayed or neutered?

The solution to animal overpopulation in India—and the rest of the world—is simple: Always spay or neuter your companion animals.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

Kids love animals—so if anyone told them the truth about what goes on behind the scenes, they would have to be dragged kicking and screaming to circuses like Ringling Bros.

Over at PETAKids.com, we recently asked kids what they thought about circuses, and the results were too cute not to share!

"I feel sad for those elefants. The circus people should get in bad trouble! We will never go to a circus with animals in it." Donna Rhoades, age 5, Conway, Missouri

"[I] think people that put elephants n circus acts are so dumb and stupid and one day every thing is gonna come back for what they did grrrr!!!." Dalila Solorio, age 11, Baja, California

"My mom talked to me about the cruelty that happens to the animals at the circus, when they were in my town. I decided I would rather not go, than know that I was watching them harm the animals!" Sydni Denman-Moyer, age 6, Villa Hills, Kentucky

"Circuses that abuse animals make me SO sad. Elephants don't belong in a circus; they want to be with their families and live in the place they were born. People who abuse animals should be ashamed and sent somewhere to think about what they've done!" Bea Kubasik, age 4, South Portland, Maine

"What the Ringling Bros do to the Elephants it should be done back to them. Ex. poking them with it Bullhook." Emilie Daniel, age 11, Ontario, Canada

"I think circuses are very bad because animals can die there and they take babies away from their mamas. I never go to circuses." Francis Ménard, age 7, Québec, Canada

"I don't think it's right that they abuse animals like that because the animals are alive and they have feelings. I just wish the circuses would be banned for life. [PETA] thank you so much for trying to help these animals." Isabel Simon, age 7, San Diego, California

"I think someone should put the circus people in a circus and let the animals go!" Xavier Finch, age 10, Lincoln Park, Michigan

"I think if they're mean to any animal they should go to jail. No one should go to the circus" Michael Cioffi, age 6, West Haverstraw, New York

"[I] think abusers are losers!!!!" Lupita Mesa, age 12, Stockton, California

If you want to educate your kids about why elephants, tigers, bears, and other animals shouldn't be forced to perform cruel, unnatural tricks at the circus—but don't want to show them the disturbing undercover footage—order our Circus Activity Booklet.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

Our favorite naked vegan has written a new book, The Kind Diet, which comes out in October. The book is all about living a vegan lifestyle, and Alicia had some great things to say to Health about the benefits of eating cruelty-free:

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"You can hear your needs and desires more clearly. You're just more juicy—there's just this lightness that happens."

"Once you're informed, then you can be really gentle and kind to yourself, by giving yourself all the gifts life has to offer—like mental clarity and vitality—all while making the planet better."

"It's weird to be 32 now and feel and look younger. What saved me was my love of animals. Right after I first made the switch to a plant-based diet, people were literally telling me, 'What have you done? You're sparkling.'"

I think I'm going to print myself a T-shirt. It'll either read, "Sparkling, Juicy Vegan" or "Juicy Like Alicia." Decisions, decisions …

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Since we posted our action alert about Brookstone's boneheaded decision to sell live frogs and snails who are confined to minuscule "Frog-O-Spheres," we've heard from lots of people who've confirmed our worst fears about the likely fate of these animals.

Brookstone has admitted that they aren't screening potential "Frog-O-Sphere" customers, and their woefully inadequate recommendations for care—changing the water twice a year and feeding the frogs twice a week—are leading to snap decisions by unprepared people, as is likely the case with the person who posted this comment on Brookstone's Web site:

"[T]he snail died in about a week (but really, who cares?). And the recommended 2 pellets a week is not enough (the frogs are so hungry they don't move to conserve energy). When I started tripling their recommended meals, they became very active and cool. … Hopefully, they'll last until I can buy a pet snake and feed them to it."

People who are a bit more kindhearted have been flooding PETA with calls and e-mails about frogs and snails getting sick or dying, while callers to Brookstone's customer service department who complain that their frogs appear to need medical attention are merely told to put the frogs in a separate bowl. Those who call about dead frogs and snails have been told that they should throw the corpses in the garbage and that new animals can be shipped or picked up at their nearest location. As a testament to Brookstone's level of care, "replacement" animals are sent through the mail and handed to customers at the stores in plastic sandwich bags.

Other well-meaning folks are asking whether they should release the frogs into the wild, but putting non-native species into area waterways and habitats can wreak havoc on local ecosystems.

The continued sale of Frog-O-Spheres poses a clear threat to these vulnerable animals. Please add your voice to those of people who are demanding that Brookstone stop selling live animals once and for all.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

Last week, vegetarian Carmen Cusack walked into the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles looking to change her license plate to read "ILVTOFU."

Dreaming of kung pao tofu, barbecue tofu sandwiches, and tofu tacos, Carmen was ready to educate everyone she shares the road with about the benefits of a vegetarian diet.

Well, it seems that the guys over at the DMV had a rather naughty interpretation of Carmen's message ("I-LV-TO-F-U").

Florida is the second state this year to reject an "ILVTOFU" license plate. Instead of risking rejection here in Virginia, we've taken a different tack.

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If we can get 350 people to prepay just $10 for one of these stylish new "vegetarian" license plates, they'll be put into circulation in April of 2011!

If you live in Virginia, what are you waiting for? Let others know about how much you love tofu by sending your application to the Virginia DMV today.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

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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

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So, naturally, when we heard that a prison in McLeansville, North Carolina, was slated for closure, we quickly dispatched a letter to Governor Bev Purdue to ask for her help in turning the soon-to-be-mothballed slammer into the world's first pig empathy museum.

The new museum would be a win-win: It would provide much-needed jobs, plus it would help people better understand pigs and the suffering that factory farms cause them. Visitors could then put what they've learned into practice by enjoying meatless "riblets" or other vegetarian fare, and the kids would take home one of our "Animals Are My Friends" T-shirts.

We think that once people get to know pigs—when people see that pigs are smart, sensitive, and generally adorable—they won't stand idly by when innocent oinkers are treated like hardened criminals.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

This week at the summit of North American leaders, President Obama discussed his stimulus plan, which is aimed at improving the U.S. economy. It includes a "buy American" clause that requires projects funded with stimulus money to use only American goods.

Guess who's up in arms?

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Prime Minister Harper is concerned that if America switches to products made in the US of A instead of buying those made in Canada, his country will suffer a significant financial blow.

That's exactly what we've been saying!

By boycotting Canadian maple syrup—one of Canada's major revenue sources—consumers can help pressure the government to end the annual seal slaughter.

You heard the prime minister—buy American! But before you head out to the supermarket, check out these pictures from our latest demonstration outside the Canadian Consulate in Denver, Colorado:

Posted by Liz Graffeo

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

Just like the Beach Boys, we wish they all could be California girls—because California girls put on one heck of a protest! Check out these Left Coast ladies in action outside Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California:

Credit also goes to the California boys who attended the protest, including Scott Adams, a retired paramedic who used to teach trauma training courses (without using animals, of course). As he told a reporter for North County Times, "If I hadn't taught trauma, I probably wouldn't have formed such a strong opinion. They could use human cadavers; that would more closely mimic what they're trying to teach."

If you want to see for yourself what the protesters are up in arms about, check out the graphic photos that PETA has obtained of pigs who were stabbed, mutilated, and killed by Deployment Medicine International, the military contractor that conducts trauma training exercises for Camp Pendleton. After viewing the photos, please send an e-mail urging the government to stop stabbing and shooting animals and start using non-animal alternatives in all trauma training exercises.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on this Win It Wednesday. The winner of the GurglePot is Tara. Congratulations!

There are some words that are just fun to say. "Gurgle"—it's a whimsical word for a sound that gets my attention, whether it's my belly telling me it wants chocolaty goodness or my coffee pot signaling that my morning salvation is ready.

That sense of whimsy guides this week's "Win It" Wednesday and its prize, the GurglePot. It's a stoneware vase shaped like a fish sea kitten that "gurgles" when it's used to pour.

Who knows if a humuhumunukunukuapua'a really gurgles under water? Who cares?

domestikatedlife / CC

We have one GurglePot to give away, and you can win it by giving us a sea kitten–friendly word that you think is the most fun to say.

The contest ends on September 2, 2009, and we'll choose the most whimsical entry as our winner on September 4, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Karin Bennett

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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

As promised, here are the photos from PETA India's protest yesterday outside the Calcutta Zoo. You'll probably remember the protest because of a certain police officer's arrest "Fail."

This protest is just one of PETA India's many actions to help animals in captivity—check out this latest ad.

Hmm … looks like somebody's out of uniform!

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Last week, Elizabeth Carlisle appeared in court to face cruelty-to-animals charges for allegedly drowning two rabbits while she was working at a Petland store in Akron, Ohio. On the day of Carlisle's arraignment, local PETA members and other outraged members of the community stood outside the courthouse calling on Akron's chief city prosecutor, Douglas J. Powley, to prosecute Carlisle to the fullest extent of the law.

The maximum penalty for each cruelty-to-animals charge is six months in jail—totaling a year in prison if Carlisle is found guilty.

Two peaceful protesters were pushed by members of Carlisle's entourage as they left the building.

Want to get involved? Use this form to urge Petland to end rabbit sales immediately.

This incident is just one example of the abuses animals suffer in pet stores nationwide. For nearly 30 years, PETA has fielded complaints regarding sick or unwanted animals who were cruelly disposed of by pet store employees, all because the cost of caring for or treating the animal exceeded the animal's "price tag." This trial offers an opportunity to send a strong and desperately needed message to the pet-store industry: Pet stores have no business selling animals.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

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We already loved Kathy Freston for her wonderful books, Quantum Wellness and The Quantum Wellness Cleanse, which promote a vegan diet as part of a healthy lifestyle. (Even Oprah tried the cleanse!) Now we have yet another reason to love Kathy: Her animal-friendly fashions have earned her a spot in Vanity Fair's 2009 International Best-Dressed List.

And that's not all. Kathy also defines her personal style as "cruelty-free" and her cause as "animal protection." Favorite shoes? Why, Stella McCartney, of course!

"Best-dressed" Kathy Freston is yet more proof that nobody has to die for fashion. Just wait—I'm sure we'll see a whole slew of cruelty-free fashion mavens on 2010's list.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

My "case of the Mondays" went up in smoke as soon as I read about a capless, clueless cop who landed himself in hot water during a PETA India protest outside the Calcutta Zoo.

The officer, Assistant Commissioner Anil Kar, wasn't about to interrupt a smoke break to make an arrest. Instead, he held his coffin nail* (see note below) in one hand—and in the other, he held PETA India's own Chiranjeet Karar, who was decked out in a police uniform and monkey mask and was encouraging people to boycott zoos because they incarcerate and exploit animals, not to mention that Indian zoos are extremely substandard and that animals are frequently denied basic care.

The multitasking officer didn't realize that smoking on duty is a no-no (Yes, Rule 13 of the Police Regulation of Calcutta states that police officers in uniform are forbidden to smoke on the streets), as is abandoning various parts of his uniform.

(*Or is it "coughin' nail?" I guess either one works, right?)

Posted by Karin Bennett

The following is a guest post by Amy from the VegCooking blog:

For most of us, summer is fading fast, but for residents of Jacksonville, Florida, bikini season lasts all year. What does the Sunshine State's endless summer mean for PETA? Our phone lines ring off the hook with reports of "beached whale sightings." Good one, guys.

Luckily, we know the secret to getting—and maintaining—a killer beach bod. Did you know that vegetarians are 20 to 30 percent leaner than meat-eaters? So, to help residents and tourists "lose the blubber"—and hopefully to deter prank callers—we're launching a brand-new billboard urging people to go vegetarian:

Posted by Liz Graffeo

It's hard for me to think of anyone who can think bigger than PETA Prez Ingrid E. Newkirk. It's not surprising then, that you can find a number of her videos on BigThink.com. Go ahead and check out her insights on a wide range of animal rights topics, including getting our message out in the media, PETA's tactics, the use of graphic images, and more.

A quick taste: If you ever have those days when you just feel like taking the day (or week) off from working for animal rights, you'll appreciate what she has to say about the importance of gittin' 'er done:

If watching Ingrid's Big Think videos only whets your appetite, you can also order her latest book, The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights.

Posted by Karin Bennett

If there is anything I learned from Saved by the Bell that could help save an animal, it's that oil can equal death for waterfowl.

This knowledge was recently put to quick use by some PETA Foundation staff members. They were walking by the San Francisco Bay when they noticed a seagull struggling to say afloat. The bird had become covered in grease while foraging for food at a nearby rendering plant.

The bird's feathers were matted by the grease, and his natural ability to float had been destroyed, so time was not on this guy's side. So PETA Foundation staffer Jaci Kassmeier didn't think twice before stripping to her skivvies and plunging into the freezing water to save him from drowning.

All cleaned up, the gull is now resting at a local wildlife rehabilitation facility where his other rescuer, PETA Foundation staffer Kelle Kacmarcik, is a volunteer.

Dogs and cats are not the only ones who need us to take action when we see them in danger. When wild animals' natural environments are turned into urban areas, the animals are forced to adapt—and it's often to their detriment. All too often, animals are hit by cars, are caught in traps, or fall victim to human carelessness.

Of course, knowing what to do when you encounter a wild animal who needs help is vital to ensuring that the animal receives necessary care and that you are kept out of harm's way. Please read our tips on what to do if you think a wild animal needs your help, and always take injured wild animals to an animal shelter, veterinarian, or wildlife rehabilitator who knows how to deal with their injuries. Never attempt to care for a wild animal yourself.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

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The hip swimwear and clothing company Bonobos has shown that it's a champion for chimpanzees by pulling from its Web site a video that featured a chimpanzee cavorting in swim trunks.

Once Bonobos gave it some thought (maybe after its staff filled up on what must be their favorite brain food), it didn't seem like such a great (ape) idea to support an industry that captures baby apes and keeps them isolated in cages. The company realized that ads making apes look cute and clownish misrepresent these wild animals, who often end up dumped in roadside zoos when they get too large and strong to manage.

Here's what the company had to say:

"At the end of the day, we made Big Chimpin' with the best intentions—but we were also a little naive, and we're not afraid to say so. One of our missions as a company is to help out our friends in the Congo who are working so hard to improve the situation there, so in using a real chimp in our video, we were actually doing ourselves a disservice as well."

And what brought about the company's change of conscience? People like you!

"We thank everyone who wrote to us out of concern for Suzy's safety and dignity. In the end, it's because of your thoughtfulness and willingness to speak up that we learned so much!"

Three cheers to Bonobos! It's one more company—like Sprint Nextel, Gap, and SEGA—that has realized that apes do not aspire to be models or actors (even if they do seem cuter and more intelligent than some former child stars).

Posted by Heather Drennan

Less than a month ago, we sent requests asking permission from the Louisville Department of Public Works to place our crippled-chicken statue, which was designed by renowned cartoonist Harry Bliss, on public property.

I should clarify—we submitted six separate applications, asking for our statue to be placed at six different locations, to nix any issue of public versus private property. We were pretty confident that we'd covered all the bases.

We've finally received a response. Apparently, Louisville has placed a 45-day moratorium on issuance of the very type of permit we requested.

Coinkydink? Methinks not. I suspect that Louisville officials and KFC don't want any attention drawn to the horrible abuse that millions of chickens suffer at the hands of KFC's suppliers.

Click here to read our response.

Posted by Karin Bennett

Always one to lend a helping hand flipper, our American Maple Syrup Campaign "spokesseal" was itching to get behind the wheel of a tractor to help out one Green Bay, Wisconsin, farmer who was eager to show his support for our Canadian maple syrup boycott.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's … a seal driving a tractor?

As part of our relentless efforts to stop the Canadian seal slaughter, our seal is traversing the U.S. and urging people to choose maple syrup made in America as a way to put pressure on the Canadian government to stop the cruel killing of baby seals in Canada.

I've always wondered—does one need a driver's license to drive a syrup tractor?

So, where are you buying your syrup these days?

Posted by Karin Bennett

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At that time, we called for the racing industry to eliminate, at a minimum, some of its most abusive practices, including permanently banning the use of whips.

In an encouraging sign, California's Del Mar Racetrack has just announced that it has officially banned the use of hard leather whips and will only allow softer riding crops on the track. These softer crops will not sting or leave welts on horses like traditional hard leather whips do.

All whips should be banned outright, but considering that this reform comes on the heels (hooves?) of similar improvements by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, it seems that the industry is getting the message that "business as usual" won't fly anymore.

Of course, while these are steps in the right direction, the racing industry is still far from humane. Young horses are still forced to race before their bones are fully mature, horses are pumped with drugs so that they can run while injured, and "retired" racehorses are still sent to slaughter—and these are just some of the many abuses that horses endure in the racing industry. The only way to stop the cruelty altogether is to end horse racing once and for all.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

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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

With the news that Cuba's toilet paper is nearly wiped out, number one on our to-do list is to offer President Raúl Castro a supply of PETA's pro-vegetarian T.P., which points out that slaughter methods in filthy slaughterhouses mean that feces can be found on almost every bit of meat.

Now there's some crucial info for him to digest while he takes care of his presidential business.

Posted by Karin Bennett

PETA and millions of decent football fans around the world are disappointed that the Philadelphia Eagles have chosen to sign a man who hanged dogs from trees, electrocuted them with jumper cables, held them underwater until they drowned in his swimming pool, and even threw his own family dogs into the fighting pit to be torn to shreds while he laughed. What sort of message does this send to young fans who care about animals and don't want to see them be harmed?

PETA certainly hopes that Vick has learned his lesson and feels truly remorseful for his crimes—but since he's given no public indication that that's the case, only time will tell. At this point, all Eagles fans can do is cross their fingers and hope that they won't ever have to explain to their sons and daughters what a "rape rack" is and why their favorite player was using one, as Falcons fans once had to.

Posted by Dan Shannon

Update: Many people have asked us how to complain to the NFL. You can send an e-mail to the NFL through its official contact form here. You can call the main office of the Philadelphia Eagles at 215-463-2500, and you can find mailing addresses here.

Thanks to Richard Cohen for his Washington Post piece in which he asks if some sports reporters have a special key on their typewriters for "He's served his time."

Michael Vick has indeed served his time, and that entitles him to walk free in our society. And as he walks, he can remember how lucky he is to have been able to afford an army of high-priced attorneys who got him a plea bargain so that he wouldn't be charged with all the many abuses and crimes that took place when he purposely built a major gambling operation and the grounds on which to house it. He can remember how lucky he is to have been charged only with maiming and killing some dogs, although his carefully designed fighting operation went back at least 8 years. Serving his time entitles him to live in one of his big houses, but it doesn't mean he's sorry.

Did you see this video of Vick's homecoming? Did you see any remorse in his eyes? As the champagne flows, does he look ashamed about the deeds he's done? Vick shows as much remorse for the dogs he abused as he did his first night out of prison, when he went to a strip club. Perhaps that's why the video, in which his eyes are blurred and his speech is slurred, has been pulled from YouTube by its poster, and the original version can no longer be found on the Web.

This is me holding the "Dogs Deserve Justice" sign outside the courthouse in Richmond, Virginia, during Vick's sentencing.

So, Vick can no longer just blame a lack of parental guidance or bad influences in his youth. And the last USDA report blew out of the water his protest that he has always loved his "pets," but didn't see that the "pits" were also deserving of respect. That report reveals that Vick enjoyed throwing those "pets" into the ring with the fighting dogs and laughed as they were torn apart.

We gave the man the benefit of the doubt, but he tested positive for marijuana on the day he was taking an empathy course. Then, weeks before he was set to go to jail, he went into a pet shop in Newport News, Virginia, and bought a bulldog. Frankly, nothing sat right. We worried that "I'm sorry" might just be words in the wind. We didn't want his empty words or his money (offered and rejected). We wanted him to take the latest neurological test that's now being given to violent offenders—a test that can tell if the part of one's brain that registers empathy is active. He wouldn't do it. That's when we said, "So long."

Michael Vick may deserve to walk free, but he doesn't deserve to be a football star or a hero to children, and no group has any business helping him do so. We thank Richard Cohen for remembering the dogs Vick personally electrocuted, held underwater in a swimming pool, strung up like hammocks, and slammed into the ground until their backs broke.

Posted by Joel Bartlett

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Something else that would make the The Zookeeper a bummer? If it used exotic animal "actors" to portray its animal characters, who are voiced by stars such as Cher, Adam Sandler, and Sylvester Stallone.

PETA has written letters to the film's stars asking them not to work with animal "actors" and pointing out that Birds & Animals Unlimited, the company that has been contracted to supply animals for the film, has a long list of USDA violations. Not only that, but exotic animals who are used as involuntary "actors" are routinely subjected to cruel training methods that can include being beaten, shocked with electric prods, drugged, and deprived of food in order to coerce them into performing acts that are stressful, confusing, and even painful to them.

Movies like The Chronicles of Narnia and King Kong have exclusively used computer-generated imagery, animatronics, and other technology instead of trained animals—and they ended up being blockbusters. We are suggesting that The Zookeeper use these modern techniques as well—or simply use footage of animals who already live at the Franklin Park Zoo.

As PETA's own Debbie Leahy said, "When it comes to exotic animal characters, the best casting choice is to 'fake it.' Even under the best of circumstances, captivity can be hell for exotic animals."

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Dear Guys,

Wearing Axe's new leather-inspired "Instinct" fragrance will not get you mobbed by a horde of horny honeys swooning over the smell of cow hides.

There's nothing sexy about smelling like or sporting rotten animal skins. (And yes, we have sexpert Pamela Anderson backing us up here.)

To prove that point, PETA is creating a much more realistic, slaughterhouse-inspired leather scent:

Ah, the essence of blood, guts, urine, feces, and fear—all bottled up.

Believe us, if you show up for a date wearing "Instinct," leather, or even our own "Eau D' Abattoir," our first instinct will be to slam the door in your face.

Our advice? Pleather yourself, pronto.

Love,

The girls from PETA

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

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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

Click for a larger version

Do you think that last one is a question on Petland's employee application?

To check out the archives of past strips, click here.

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

theage / CC

Great news for all you PETA Files readers down under: Australian fashion designer Alannah Hill has agreed to stop using rabbit fur in her collections.

Good on ya, Alannah!

The girly-chic designer had a change of heart after hearing from thousands of PETA Asia-Pacific supporters who got fired up about fur after watching video footage that documents disgusting conditions on a Chinese fur farm.

Alannah joins the ranks of compassionate designers like Stella McCartney, Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole, and Tommy Hilfiger, who have all sworn off fur.

Hopefully, other designers (Armani, are you listening?) will soon follow suit.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

But you, McDonald's, with that scary clown pimping your packages of abused and bruised chickens—you always ensure a very unhealthy, unhappy meal.

For this week's "Win It" Wednesday, we're giving away 10 of PETA's spoof "Unhappy Meals." Each "meal" contains a "blood"-filled packet with a message urging Mickey D's to "Ketchup With the Times," a paper cutout of a menacing Ronald McDonald with PETA's parody "i'm hatin' it" logo, a "bloody" plastic chicken, and a "McCruelty" T-shirt wrapped up to resemble a sandwich. It's a chicken defender's best weapon in the campaign to wipe out the fast-food giant's suppliers' worst abuses of countless birds.

Score yours by telling us about the vegetarian meal at your favorite fast-food joint or other restaurant that makes your belly the happiest.

The contest ends on August 26, 2009, and we'll choose 10 of the most tempting vegetarian meals on August 28, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you'll be agreeing to both by commenting.

Good luck!

Posted by Karin Bennett

Late last year, one of PETA's fieldworkers answered a request for a PETA dog house, and she spotted Buxton—then just 8 weeks old—hobbling down the road by himself. When she went to pick him up, he screamed in pain and wet himself. It turns out that his harness had become embedded and had caused deep gashes under his arms and across his chest—the wounds reeked of infection and were oozing pus.

Knocking on neighborhood doors didn't turn up anyone who knew the pup, so PETA's fieldworker, Misty, rushed him to an emergency veterinary hospital where the harness was cut away and his wounds were treated. The vet estimated that the harness had been cutting into Buxton's body for at least two weeks.

Following a lead, our field staff eventually did find Buxton's "owners"—a mother and son—and they told us to keep him. We filed charges against them, of course, and in April, Catina Beasley and Calvin Holland were found guilty of cruelty to animals. They have both been permanently barred from owning animals, and Holland was ordered to pay a $100 fine and nearly $400 in restitution for Buxton's medical care.

As for Buxton? Here he is with his new family:

Buxton has traded in his old harness for something more fitting.

Of course, not all dogs are as lucky. Our case workers are deluged with calls. Animals are poisoned, beaten, starved, and neglected—some have even have their mouths duct-taped shut for "barking too much." Cats and dogs are put into microwaves, dismembered, sexually assaulted, hanged, set on fire, bludgeoned, buried alive, and otherwise tortured and killed. Please do something to help, and be an advocate for them all. Being heartbroken doesn't cut it. If you suspect that an animal is being neglected or you witness cruelty to animals, don't hesitate: Report it to your local law-enforcement agency immediately and follow up until it's resolved.

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

Beach bums everywhere agree that Puerto Rico's beaches are heavenly, but the island will become hell on earth for thousands of monkeys if a massive primate-breeding facility is approved.

PETA is taking no time off in our efforts to shoot down the proposal by Bioculture, a company that breeds and sells monkeys to foreign laboratories, where they will suffer abusive handling, months of confinement in metal cages, and forced dosings of toxic chemicals (remember Covance, anyone?). The latest efforts include working to get our new billboard erected in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

There's more to come, so stay tuned.

Posted by Karin Bennett

Hey D.C.ers, this one's for you. Tomorrow morning, when you're picking up that cup o' joe and morning paper before catching the Metro, look out for our sleek new "Vegetarian Starter Kit" stands. They are popping up all over the city—at last count, there were more than 50.

So grab the latest copy of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit." Alicia Silverstone, Russell Simmons, and animals everywhere will appreciate it, and we're sure you will find someone to pass it on to at work or play. Won't you now?

Posted by Shawna Flavell

As a result of budget slashes in Los Angeles, 15 fire trucks and six ambulances will be collecting dust instead of responding to emergencies. That news got our wheels turning.

Faster than a team of strapping firemen could slide down a pole and hop into their non-decomissioned truck, we had an idea. PETA's sexy "nurse" should grace the side of the one of the ambulances in our "Bypass Heart Surgery—Go Vegan" ad, which would be seen all over Los Angeles.

The L.A. Fire Department gets money for the ad, an ambulance gets back on the road, and residents get the lifesaving message that a vegan diet can help prevent heart attacks—and even reverse existing heart disease. Everybody wins!

Posted by Karin Bennett

news.com.au / CC

In case you were wondering, Trashley Trollsen is as wretched as ever. She was most recently caught in an article on Marie Claire's Web site exclaiming, "Crocodile is my fa-vorite!"

Yeah, I love crocodiles too. That's why I don't think people should wear them.

Posted by Joel Bartlett

homeschoolingaddkids / CC

Dogs can learn, on average, between 250 and 165 words, depending on which study you read. They have basic math skills (and can even call us out when we add incorrectly), and they're skilled problem-solvers. Perhaps they are more like 20-year-olds.

Come to think of it, this might explain why Lassie always had to save Timmy from falling down wells.

If you really want to get inside another animal's head, allow me to direct you to New Orleans, where a virtual-reality exhibit allows humans to experience what it must be like to have the heightened senses of sight and hearing that other species enjoy naturally.

The exhibit allows visitors to see in ultraviolet light, as birds do, and hear the ultra-low frequencies that whales and other animals communicate in every day.

It looks as if Mark Twain was on the right track when he said, "It is just like man's vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb because [he or she] is dumb to his dull perceptions."

Posted by Jeff Mackey

OK, she's not really naked in the interview below, but I did see her naked on the subway. And so can you! Proving that she's oh-so-comfortable in her own skin, the stunning star of Big Momma's House and Are We There Yet? recently bared it all on the subway for PETA's latest "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" ad. And let me tell you: Nia Long + subway + naked = one of PETA's sexiest ads to date. What made the alluring actress get onboard our anti-fur campaign? Well, let's let Nia tell you for herself in this PETA Files exclusive interview:

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

nab / CC

Bob Barker never imagined that he'd be writing a blog post for CNN at the age of 85—but he's determined to help free a group of bears who are languishing in desolate concrete pits on an Indian reservation in Cherokee, North Carolina. Bob met with the Tribal Council in July to plead for the bears' release, and he has now turned to the blogosphere to get others involved:

I told Chief Hicks that I'm not an expert on bears. I'm an expert on giving away refrigerators. But I can tell you that these bears are not properly housed or fed. Cherokee has a rich cultural history and much to be proud of. The cruel bear displays are a glaring blemish on the area, and I hope that the members of the Tribal Council for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will open their hearts and do the right thing by shutting them down.

. . .
Until then, my heart and my conscience won't allow me to do anything but ask people to stay away from Cherokee and voice their support for allowing the bears to retire to a sanctuary.

Please join Bob by contacting Principal Chief Michell Hicks of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and urging him to close Cherokee's bear pits immediately.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

The following is a guest post from peta2's Marta.

Can a group of 11- to 14-year-olds from San Diego get people to eat less meat? The Sandy LEGO Beachbots can! The Beachbots build LEGO robots for competitions (where they sometimes give out vegan pizza), and they've also launched an initiative called Kids Keep the Earth Cool to persuade people to eat less meat by showing them the connection between animal agriculture and climate change.

We're really impressed with what they're doing and had to learn more. Check out what Brennan (one of the Beachbots) had to say:

How did the Sandy LEGO Beachbots come about, and what do you guys do?
We do First LEGO League, which is an international LEGO robotics competition. FLL involves building and programming a LEGO robot to do certain missions. These missions are based around a certain theme, and the teams competing also have to do a project on this theme and present a presentation to the judges. We have been doing this for six years now, with various team members.

Tell us about your robot design and how you incorporate veganism.
Our robot design itself isn't really related to vegetarianism—that is our solution to this year's project! The theme this year is climate change. Some of our team members (including me) were already vegetarians, so we decided to do our project on how vegetarianism relates to global warming.

How long have you been vegetarian? Do you have a favorite vegetarian recipe?
My sisters and I have been vegetarians since birth—our mom, the coach, is also a vegetarian. A favorite recipe? I don't know—there are tons of great recipes out there. One of my favorites is the vegetarian lasagne my mom makes.

Do you have a recommendation for people who are not quite ready to make the full transition to vegetarianism yet?
If you aren't ready to completely give up meat, reducing your meat consumption still has a huge effect! If you reduce your meat consumption by only six meatless days a month, it has the same affect as switching from a sedan to a hybrid vehicle.

Are there any other animal rights issues that are important to you?
I personally am opposed to the use of animals … in any way [that] harms them. There are much better ways to do things that do not involve hurting or killing the other inhabitants of this Earth!

Isn't Brennan awesome? Check out the Web site that he and the other Sandy LEGO Beachbots made—www.kidskeeptheearthcool.org.

We love what the Beachbots are doing so much that we're giving them a Compassionate Kids Award. As the Beachbots say, "Eating a bean burrito instead of meat helps save the world!"

Posted by Marta Holmberg

dietsinreview / CC

Seriously, all the cool kids are going vegetarian these days—and with great results. Just as our friend Mike White did, trainer Bob Harper from The Biggest Loser went vegetarian for his health—and his cholesterol count dropped 100 points.

You heard that right: 100 points!

Over at Ecorazzi, they're sayin' Bob went vegetarian after reading Skinny Bitch. I really should start lending my copy to more people.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Photo © Bryan and Carla Wilson
Adam and Eve speak out for chickens in their first-ever protest in behalf of animals.

You didn't think we meant the couple from the Garden of Eden, did you? Naw. Another young pair, who just happen to be named Adam and Eve, joined other caring individuals in Orlando to school residents about McCruelty McDonald's. The fast-food giant refuses to improve conditions for millions of chickens, many of whom suffer broken bones or die in vats of scalding-hot water—while they are still conscious—on their way to becoming McNuggets.

Photo © Bryan and Carla Wilson
One passerby had picked up a copy of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit" earlier in the day. The double-whammy of print and protest made an impact—he mentioned his eagerness to explore vegetarianism.

Photo © Bryan and Carla Wilson
This band rocks, don't you think? Find out how you can get in on the action.

Posted by Karin Bennett

• As if dairy products couldn't get any nastier, Coke is now bottling warm and fizzy cow nipple juice.
• Watch this heartwarming story and then pour out warm fuzzies on the first doggie you find.
• Hunter killed by wasps. Um, I'll just let you draw your own karmic conclusions.
• We told you that the Wienermobile should be laid to rest.
• Lookit! First, sea kittens, now, sea piggies.
• Check out Animal Planet's adorable message against eating meat.
• I wish my church did this.
• Call the bobbies! There's a hampstah in me floorboards!
• What a great PETA demo idea! Check out this human glue trap.
• The next time someone calls you a "birdbrain," tell 'em, "Thanks."
• And just to joke about the obvious …

Thanks for sampling from this month's schmorgisborg of Internet goodies. See you next time!

Posted by Missy Lane

famouschicken / CC

Because a lot of nonvegetarian Americans are buy-curious about faux-meat products—and because factory farms wreak havoc on the environment—we've decided to offer consumers a rebate on their first taste of that faux goodness. For the first box of chickenless cutlets or nuggets that non-vegetarians buy, we're going to send them a $1 rebate and include a free copy of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit."

According to Environmental Defense, if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the carbon dioxide savings would be the equivalent of taking more than a half-million cars off U.S. roads. Our Cash for Cluckers program should inspire everyone to come out and try environmentally friendly products—such as those made by Boca and Lightlife—which offer the spot-on texture and flavor of chicken flesh, minus the animal suffering.

Want in on PETA's Cash for Cluckers program? Read the following rules and then head to the supermarket to explore the faux-chicken section—and remember to save that receipt!

Cash for Cluckers: Rules

• Receipts must be dated between August 6 and September 30, 2009, and must be received by PETA by October 5, 2009. Send your receipts to the following address:

  Cash for Cluckers
  PETA
  501 Front St.
  Norfolk, VA 23510

• Refund requesters must be U.S. residents.
• The product must be vegan faux chicken (no eggs, dairy products, or other animal-derived ingredients). Entries must include a statement that the entrant was not yet a vegetarian at the time of the purchase and had never tried faux chicken before.
• Limit one rebate per household.
• Open to the first 5,000 entries.

Neither Boca Foods nor Lightlife Foods are affiliated with or otherwise endorse, sponsor, or support this promotion.

Posted by Karin Bennett

posh24 / CC

You may have read about PETA friend and former Miss USA Shanna Moakler and her ex-husband, Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, taking their kids to the circus a couple of weeks ago—but that was before she saw the recently released footage from our undercover investigation at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. As Shanna explains:

My family and I attended the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus a couple weeks ago, and I believed—as I know many do—that the circus would treat its animals humanely. I was so deeply saddened when I saw PETA's video showing the horrific abuse the elephants suffered at the hands of Ringling trainers. I took for granted that people were doing the right thing. I hope everyone watches the video at PETA.org. With this new knowledge, we can draw attention to this issue, make changes, and ensure that animals big and small are properly cared for. No amount of entertainment is worth allowing the torture of other living beings. We will never attend another Ringling Bros. show.

Well said, Shanna! Readers, if you haven't yet seen the video Shanna mentions, head on over to RinglingBeatsAnimals.com to watch it and find out what you can do to help stop animal abuse at Ringling.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

theglamourouslife / CC

The internet is abuzz after Paula Abdul's shocking announcement that she won't be appearing on the next season of American Idol. With her plans for what's next up in the air, we've reached out to Paula and asked her to join the PETA crew as a celebrity judge for our next Cutest Mutt Alive contest.

Because Paula is a veteran at picking the (soy) cream of the crop from a slew of qualified contenders, she's obviously the perfect choice to be our judge. I bet you're thinking, "Hey, doesn't Simon Cowell already work with PETA? Why not get him to judge the contest?" Simon is an avid animal activist, but the hard truth that he doles out may be a little too honest for these lovable mutts. We need someone who can let each pup down easy. Obviously, Paula's the right woman for the job. So, Paula, what do you say?

Posted by Liz Graffeo

After much anticipation, the new music video for Modest Mouse's "King Rat" was released this week—and it was worth the wait. The video, which was directed by Heath Ledger, is great not only for its artistry (I am always in favor of a touch of the Gilliam) but also for its message. It highlights cruel (and illegal) whale poaching by depicting a boatload of whales who capture and slaughter a pod of humans.

Our friends at ecorazzi have the whole story, but this wasn't Heath's only foray into whale protection. Heath was also a member of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society advisory board and, according to ecorazzi, had expressed "extreme interest" in playing the role of Captain Paul Watson in a film about the captain's life and work.

Because so many people have already been touched by this video, we're presenting Heath—care of The Masses, who finished the project he directed—as well as Isaac Brock and the rest of Modest Mouse with Compassionate Artist Awards for opening so many eyes to the violent reality of whaling.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

people / CC

Doggone it, I knew there was a reason why I love Kyra Sedgwick. Oh, sure, she's an outspoken dog rescuer and an amazing actor, and she's married to hunky Sexiest Vegetarian Alive contender Kevin Bacon. But what really sent her into the hero stratosphere was this letter she sent to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg today asking him to improve the living conditions for the elephants who are being forced to perform by Ringling in Coney Island this summer and requesting that he forbid Ringling from ever returning to Coney Island.

She's not asking for much, just little creature comforts like not being chained up for hours on end and not being whipped in the face or jabbed by bullhooks. Doesn't seem like a lot to ask, does it? Read Kyra's letter for yourself and see if you agree.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

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

PETA Files readers were outraged by yesterday's story about an Akron, Ohio, Petland employee who allegedly drowned two rabbits in the store's back room. Our readers are not alone, and thanks to the overwhelming public outcry, the store where Elizabeth Carlisle was photographed holding two sopping-wet, dead rabbits by the scruff of the neck has been permanently closed.

In other good news, Elizabeth Carlisle has been charged with cruelty to animals and is scheduled to appear in court later this month. We have written to the authorities and are urging them to throw the book at her—hard.

While it's great that this particular hellhole has been shut down, Petland still has a lot of cleaning up to do. PETA receives many complaints alleging abuse and neglect of animals in Petland's stores. Here are just a few examples:

One person claiming to be a former Petland employee writes, "[I] used to work at a Petland … and [I] can totally relate to this picture … The stores … have puppies dying all the time, due to not having water and food. [T]he kennel techs are untrained and underpaid and they get back at the company by not taking care of the animals! … [A]ll Petlands should be shut down or the animals should all be taken away. [A]ll they care about is money, money, money!"

Another writes, "I used to work for Petland … I ended up being let go, because I refused to … [p]ut dying hamsters, parakeets, … kittens, [and] small puppies in plastic bags and put them in the freezer, and let [animals] breed rampantly. I also got in trouble for … wasting company money by cleaning animal cages that were out of customer sight …"

And yet another writes, "I opened the freezer once and there were frozen snakes in there. I asked what they were … They said they weren't paying the vet to treat [the animals], so they put them to sleep in there. Rats and mice, hamsters and gerbils, and other small critters were always committing cannibalism, because of lack of food, and not having enough space."

Petland is unable to monitor all its employees all the time, which means that other animals are bound to suffer as a result. We would like Petland to stop selling animals in all its stores, but if the company isn't willing to make that leap immediately, what it can do right now is stop selling rabbits in order to ensure that these small, vulnerable animals are spared death at the hands of people like Carlisle.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

Freeda Fish has transformed into Sammy the Sea Kitten.

Lookin' fierce with her new do, Freeda Fish—er, I mean Sammy the Sea Kitten—has hit the road and is handing out plush sea kitten toys across the country to children visiting aquariums. She wants the kiddies (and their parents) to know that sea kittens, like land kittens and puppies, are sensitive, intelligent animals who feel pain and deserve respect—and who definitely shouldn't be cruelly confined to aquariums, violently killed for food, or painfully hooked for "sport."

So far, kids have been eager to embrace Freeda's new persona, but who do you prefer—Freeda Fish or Sammy the Sea Kitten?

Posted by Liz Graffeo

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

ci.arcadia.ca / CC

That's one way to stick it to those dip sticks at Ringling!

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on this Win It Wednesday. The winners of the dog windows are Michael Essi and Nicole Linklider. Congratulations!

How much is that doggie in the window …

… loving his view of the neighborhood?!

Regular walks are essential to a dog's physical, mental, and social well-being, but chillaxing with you in your shady yard is nice too. Now those breaks in the backyard can be a lot more entertaining for Fido, thanks to the Dog Window, which offers curious dogs a window to the world beyond the privacy fence.

Sure, you could order one today from PETA's Catalog, but wouldn't it be more fun to win one? We've got two to give away, and you can score yours by describing the perfect day, from start to finish, from your dog's perspective.

The contest ends on August 19, 2009, and we'll choose the two comments that really get tails wagging as the winners on August 21, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Karin Bennett

Why not list five or ten? In honor of World Breastfeeding Week, we're doing everything in pairs. So, come take a walk down Mammary Lane as we revisit some of our most titillating pro–breast milk moments from the past couple of years:

4. "If It Was Good Enough for Jesus" billboard. Mother's milk is the best thing for every baby. 'Nuff said.



3. While we're on the subject of being Religulous, WWBMD (What would Bill Maher do) if we asked him to do a funny ad for our "Dump Dairy" campaign? Here's the answer.



2. Ben and Jerry's breast milk ice cream. We wrote to this ice cream icon asking it to ditch the dairy products and use breast milk instead. While our dream of having flavors called "Breast Milk Brittle" and "Baby Mama Milk Shake" never came to fruition, we did manage to get people thinking about how bad cow's milk is for their health.



1. "Milk Gone Wild" video. It was banned from the Super Bowl, but it lives on years later in the viral world of YouTube. This sassy spoof shows how udderly gross and wrong it is to exploit underage heifers.

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

Update: The Petland store has closed, and the employee has been charged with cruelty to animals. Click here for details.

Warning: disturbing image.

This photo was taken in the back room of a Petland store in Akron, Ohio, and posted on Facebook by Elizabeth Carlisle, who can be seen grinning as she holds two dead, soaking-wet rabbits by the scruff of the neck—rabbits she just drowned while on Petland's time clock. On Carlisle's Facebook page, she confirmed a friend's guess that she had drowned these two rabbits and wrote, "[T]he manager took the pic for me. [S]he reminded me that there were people outside as [I] was swearing at them to just hurry up and die but then she was so kind as to take this picture."

These horrific deaths followed what was apparently an equally horrifying life for these rabbits. Other comments Carlisle posted made it clear that the rabbits were drowned after sustaining agonizing injuries when they were allowed to "attack and eat each other." The rabbits suffered from "deep wounds all over," "an eye missing," what Petland staff "suspected was a broken jaw," and paralysis from the waist down—injuries that would not have occurred had these animals been provided with proper care and supervision.

Undercover investigations have revealed time and time again that companies that breed and sell animals are concerned about profits, not animals' well-being. We are urging Petland to think long and hard about what this incident makes clear: The company has no business selling any animals.

To prevent future incidents like this one, please, never buy from pet stores and urge Petland at the very least to stop selling rabbits.

Click here to take action against Petland.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

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

… now that Russell Simmons has shown her just how cruel the fur industry is. After Russell showed Brooke the video footage from our investigation of Chinese fur farms, she had some great stuff to say.

My personal fav:

popcrunch / CC

"I'd be happy to have my five minutes with one of those animal abusers in a dark alley …"

Dude, have you seen her dad? If he didn't teach this girl how to Atomic Leg Drop some punks, I'd be surprised. Furriers best be watching their backs.

You can read the rest of her blog entry over at Global Grind.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

flickr / CC

As one of PETA's resident experts put it, "I wish every Jew in the world would read this article."

'Nuff said. Read it.

Posted by Joel Bartlett

Remember this?

Hot, right? Well, we have one more stellar Jenna ad to add to her ever-growing body of work with PETA. The super-sexy star just shot a new TV ad in support of our McCruelty campaign, and it will be hitting the airwaves this fall!

In the 30-second spot, Jenna says, "If you ask chickens, there's no such thing as a 'Happy Meal.' Chickens killed for McNuggets are dumped onto conveyer belts. Their fragile legs are slammed into metal shackles. … Spinning blades meant to cut their throats often tear through their wings or bodies instead. Many birds survive this terrifying, painful process, only to be scalded to death in defeathering tanks. There's a less cruel method of slaughter that renders chickens unconscious, but McDonald's chooses to allow birds to be mutilated and scalded instead."

Stay tuned!

Posted by Shawna Flavell