"It's the triumph of fake fur … because fake fur changed so much and became so great now that you can hardly see a difference."
—Karl Lagerfeld on his show at Paris Fashion Week

In a recent interview with the Telegraph, notorious fur pimp Karl Lagerfeld, the head designer and creative director for Chanel, spills about the triumph of fake fur. Lagerfeld's remarks have us hoping that it's the beginning of a new era for his fashion line. My favorite sound bite? "You cannot fake chic, but you can be chic in fake fur."

Written by Logan Scherer

botheredbybees / CC by 2.0

Yes, you've read that correctly, and no, the headline wasn't ripped from The Onion. In a joint press conference this morning, the Australian Meat Industry Employees Union and the World Society for the Protection of Animals agreed that the live export of sheep who were once abused for their wool is destroying the nation's economy.

Every year on the grueling journey from Australia to their slaughter in the Middle East, millions of sheep endure weeks, and sometimes months, on extremely crowded, disease-ridden ships with little access to food or water and through all weather extremes. Many sheep fall ill, become stuck in feces and are unable to move, or are trampled to death by other sheep. Those who survive are dragged from the ships, are thrown into the backs of trucks and cars, and eventually have their throats cut while they are still conscious.

Hopefully, this surprise support from Australia's meat industry will mean less suffering for sheep. And who knows, maybe the next shocking headline we'll see will read, "Australian Meat Workers Oppose Meat" (considering the energy, land, and resources wasted by the production of meat—a guy can dream, can't he?).

Written by Logan Scherer

Less than a month after Tilly, an orca at SeaWorld in Orlando, attacked and killed his trainer, yet another story has emerged about captive animals who lash out against their imprisonment. In an upcoming episode of Fatal Attractions, a new Animal Planet miniseries about fatal attacks by exotic "pets," a woman named Julie Burros talks about how the black leopard she bought for $1,800 through a classified ad in a magazine nearly ripped her scalp off. While Burros escaped with her life, the leopard wasn't so lucky—he was shot and killed by police officers. Perhaps most shocking of all is that Burros says that she would "love to do it again" (by which we assume she means buying another leopard as opposed to nearly being decapitated).

Couple this with the story of the zoo patron who lost two fingers to a black bear, and this apparently needs to be repeated: There's a reason why they call wild animals "wild." That's where they belong, not locked up in a cage in a zoo, in a concrete swimming pool in a theme park, or in someone's backyard.

Written by Alisa Mullins

There's only one rule at Vosges Chocolate's Exotic Candy Bar Library: Once you've checked out your selection, it's totally yours to keep. And with fancy vegan chocolate flavors such as Creole and Black Pearl, we have a feeling that the shelves will be empty in no time.

Want a collection of your own? We're giving away one of these edible libraries to the reader who comes up with the best animal-friendly literary mash-up. (Seriously—if Jane Austen and zombies can successfully join forces, then so can animals and literary classics!) My compassionate mash-up? To Save a Mockingbird!

Start wiggling your inner bookworm, and then enter by posting your re-imagined title in the comments section. The contest ends on March 24, 2010, and we'll pick the winner on March 26, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Written by Logan Scherer

vibesource / CC

You can imagine how delighted we were when Russell Simmons received the "I Am Hip Hop" Icon award on last night's BET Hip-Hop Awards. The Icon award is presented to an individual who has made "notable contributions of outstanding significance to the hip-hop community," according to CNN, and Russell definitely fits that description! He was specifically recognized as a "philanthropic inspiration to other artists." Oh, yeah—we can testify to that!

Russell has lent his tremendous star power to many worthy PETA causes. He's stood up for dogs and against dogfighting, he's a vegetarian who wants to kick KFC's bucket, and he spoke out against foie gras last year.

So, not only is Russell generous to the five charities he personally heads—that's right, five—he's always got time to help animals.

So congratulations, Russell! You are one icon well deserving of an award.

Written by Amanda Schinke