What does Alec Baldwin never leave home without? No, not his iPhone—his PETA membership card, of course!

Alec knows that a PETA membership card is a great way to show your compassion for animals, and of course, all year long, your tax-deductible donation will work to save animals from suffering.

For just $16 a year—4 cents a day—you can put humane-education materials in classrooms, provide aspiring vegans with the tools they need to save animals every time they eat, and give doghouses to cold, chained dogs. You can place cameras in the hands of PETA's undercover investigators, spay and neuter dogs and cats, and send PETA's "Leopard Ladies" out on the road to educate shoppers about the cruelty of wearing fur.

And if you become a PETA member before the end of this month, you'll give animals even more—a donor has agreed to contribute $10 for every new member who joins in January. You'll also get a yearlong subscription to Animal Times magazine and a 2012 "Rescued" calendar packed with pictures of beautiful animals who were saved because of people like you.

We're aiming to start 2012 off with a bang—with 2,012 new members. Click here to become a card-carrying PETA member like Alec Baldwin today!

Telemundo host Natalia Villaveces' new PETA ad was unveiled in South Beach yesterday, and Spanish-language media, including People en Español and CNN en Español went a little, well, bananas.
 

 

Villaveces credits PETA's Alec Baldwin-narrated video "Meet Your Meat" with convincing her to switch to a vegan diet. "Once I made that connection between loving an animal and eating an animal is when things click[ed] in my brain," she says.

Want to help someone you know relate to who's on their plate? Send them a link to "Meet Your Meat" or post it on your Facebook page.
  

Written by Alisa Mullins

In honor of Father's Day, here are some fathers who are friends to the furry, feathered, and finned. We had way too many great dads like Kevin Nealon, Bryan Adams, Woody Harrelson, Iggy Pop, and Chad Ochocinco to choose from, so here are just a few of the fellas who make us glad for awesome dads:

 

• Ron Artest loves being a dad to his family, but he knows that dogs and cats are happier without their own brood of offspring and should always be spayed and neutered.
• Vegan dad Casey Affleck is starting his young sons out on a compassionate note, setting a great example by speaking out about the cruelty of the meat industry and lethal steel-jaw traps.
• Alec Baldwin is a proud pop who would never hop on a horse-drawn carriage.
• Tony Gonzalez and his wife could win an award for most beautiful parents, and this fur-free dad has a beautiful heart too.
• Happy first Father's Day to Carey Hart. He and his wife, Pink, seem like they'll be fun parents for their new baby girl, but they'll be pretty serious when teaching her about cruelty to animals.
• With a dad like Tommy Lee and a mom like Pamela Anderson, the Lee boys may grow up to work at PETA! We love any dad kind enough to give a homeless man $100 with the request, "Just don't buy KFC."
• Sir Paul McCartney obviously instilled animal-friendly values in his children, who are all vegetarian, including daughter Stella, who is also a cruelty-free fashion designer.
• Power dad Russell Simmons has been running with PETA for a long time, and he shows his children that being successful and being kind to animals go hand in hand.
• We're not the only ones celebrating fur-free father Amar'e Stoudemire. The Knicks captain is receiving a Father of the Year Award in New York City today.
• There's not a woodland creature who wouldn't love Forest Whitaker, and we're sure his kids think he's pretty darn great too.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

OK, so we didn't get to see a song-and-dance number featuring Steve Martin and vegetarian Alec Baldwin—who also narrated PETA's now-classic documentary Meet Your Meat—but we're still pretty happy about how the highly buzzed Food Inc./Cove face-off turned out.

The Oscar for Best Documentary went to frontrunner The Cove—the universally acclaimed examination of Japan's bloody dolphin trade and slaughter. And in one of the most inspiring moments of the night, Ric O'Barry proved that he'll stop at nothing to end the slaughter by displaying a sign encouraging people to get active for dolphins during his acceptance speech.

The win couldn't have come at a better time for captive marine wildlife, as Sea World and other parks come under increasing scrutiny for their abysmal record of injuries and deaths of both trainers and animals in the wake of last month's incident at SeaWorld.

On the red carpet, The Cove's director Louie Psihoyos put it best when he said, "One animal killing three people in one lifetime shows these animals are stressed, they don't belong in captivity. And when we capture them out of the wild and force them to do stupid tricks for our amusement, it says more about our intelligence than it does theirs."

 

 

Written by Logan Scherer

abview.files / CC

Bleary-eyed and barely out of bed, I woke up to this morning's Oscar nominations delightfully unsurprised. Every year, the nominees for the Best Documentary Academy Award manage to reflect concerns that stir Americans most, so I wasn't shocked to see that two of this year's five nominated films are The Cove—the critically acclaimed examination of Japan's bloody dolphin trade and slaughter—and Food Inc., the eye-opening examination of the nation's grossly inhumane and environmentally unsustainable production of meat.

Alec Baldwin—who, coincidentally, narrated PETA's iconic documentary, "Meet Your Meat"—is hosting this year's award show, so on March 7, I'm going to be sitting on my couch, waiting for him to give a gold statue to The Cove or Food Inc. with his best Jack Donaghy swagger. I'll be happy if either movie wins, although I am partial to The Cove. How about you? Which do you think will take home the gold?

Written by Logan Scherer

Ricky Gervais' comedic gold at Sunday's Golden Globes was almost enough to help me get over Jane Lynch's loss. The news that prompted my speedy recovery? Hearing that every nominee got a copy of our new DVD, "Glass Walls," in their gift bags. Narrated by Paul McCartney, who presented the Best Animated Film Globe to Up, "Glass Walls" goes inside slaughterhouses to show people what really happens to animals before they end up on dinner plates:

The only celebrity with a voice as delightfully inimitable as Paul's? Alec Baldwin, whose narration of "Meat Your Meat" remains iconic for proud PETA supporters everywhere and who took home his third (!) Golden Globe for his brilliant work on 30 Rock. At this point, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association should really just call the category Best Performance by Alec Baldwin and nominate Jack Donaghy's five best episodes.

Written by Logan Scherer

Mickey Rourke's ABC Ad

Ah, awards season. My favorite time of year. Last night I watched the Golden Globe Awards on pins and needles, and I've already begun my countdown to the Oscars. But the best part of the Globes last night wasn't Sacha Baron Cohen making everyone squirm in their seats while he rightfully hated on Madonna—it was Mickey Rourke's win for his role in The Wrestler and his moving and heartwarming thank-you speech.

While Rourke thanked his co-stars, his agent, and, yes, even Bruce Springsteen, the most memorable part of his speech was when he thanked his dogs and said, "Sometimes when a man's alone, that's all you've got is your dog. They've meant the world to me."

Well said, Mickey! I think we can all relate to that. It's about time for the furry, loyal companions who give so much love and adoration to their guardians to get recognized.

Another animal-friendly winner we love from last night was Alec Baldwin for his role in 30 Rock. Although he's been in roughly 5 trillion films and TV appearances that have all been brilliant, he'll always be our own special star for his fantastic narration of "Meet Your Meat."

Written by Christine Doré

Snow is great when you're watching it through your window with a soy hot chocolate, but imagine being in harness, dragging a cart full of tourists through slush and ice all day, without even a blanket—despite temperatures in the teens—and with nothing but iron between you and the pavement. Doesn't sound like such a happy holiday to me. And when you call the ASPCA, they mumble that they really can't do much. Go figure! That's why PETA supporters Alec Baldwin, Calvin Klein, Todd Oldham, Kathy Najimy, and our very own Golden Girl, Rue McClanahan, have joined together to sponsor our holiday ad calling on New York City to ban horse-drawn carriages!

You remember our Kristen Johnston ad in which she appears as Lady Godiva on a (fake) horse? That ad reads, "Don't get taken for a ride. Horse-drawn carriages are cruel." With help from our famous friends, our ads are going to appear on the tops of hundreds of NYC taxis throughout the holiday season!

It certainly helps to have kindhearted friends in Hollywood places, especially when you're defending those with no voices of their own. Hopefully, this will remind anyone looking for a ride that there are kinder alternatives! So remember, if you're lucky enough to be in New York for the holidays, make sure to save a horse and ride the subway!

 

Thanks to Alex, Calvin, Todd, Kathy, and Rue, you'll soon see this ad all over NYC.

Written by Lianne Turner

Photo Credit: Patricia Schlein

Last night was another red-carpet moment for animals. Alec Baldwin hosted the premier screening of Blinders—the latest documentary to give viewers a critical inside look at the inner dealings of the horse-drawn carriage industry. Director Donny Moss exposed the archaic industry for what it is—a living hell for horses. Forced to spend their days breathing in exhaust fumes, walking on hard pavement, and risking their lives because of weather extremes and idiotic NYC drivers that somehow passed their driver's tests, these horses are prevented from doing anything that is natural and important to them. Moss began to record the daily lives and living conditions of horses pulling carriages in and around Central Park after noticing the onslaught of recent injuries to horses in the carriage industry.

Says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk of the documentary, "From the stench inside the horses' minuscule stalls, where horses sleep standing up in piles of their own waste, to the hostile streets of Manhattan, where horses live a nose-to-tailpipe existence, Moss doesn't blink in documenting how horses live long after tourists' 30-minute rides are over."

Chrissie Hynde, Pink, and Lea Michele have all thrown their support behind a carriage-horse-free NYC; now it's your turn. Throw your blinders in the trash and jump on the bandwagon ... so to speak, of course.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky