The NBA finals are upon us, and Los Angeles Lakers small forward Ron Artest is up to his old tricks—playing lock-down defense on Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics and bringing his patented passion and energy to a Lakers team that acquired him in the off-season for just that reason.

Artest may be vying for his first championship ring, but he's already got one accolade in the bag—PETA's Defensive Player of the Year award for defending dogs and cats against the animal overpopulation crisis. Through this eye-catching ad, the tough-as-nails Artest urges his fans to "have the balls" to spay or neuter their dogs:

This busy athlete also took the time to shoot a public service announcement for PETA, asking people to make a difference for animals by getting involved.

We wish Ron-Ron the best of luck in bringing home the title this year! Around the country, fingers (and paws) are crossed in thanks for his full-court-press for animals.

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

You unplug my game, you die. That appears to have been the mentality of a 21-year-old man in Staunton, Virginia, who, according to reports, has been accused of killing his girlfriend's kitten by hurling the tiny animal against a wall after the kitten disconnected the video game he was playing. This allegedly happened while his girlfriend's children watched.

People who hurt animals are bullies and cowards, because they vent their rage, insecurity, and idiocy on the smallest and most defenseless beings available. What's more, numerous studies show that animal abusers often turn their violence against human victims.

Please write a polite letter to Commonwealth Attorney Douglas L. Guynn asking him to vigorously prosecute the case:

The Honorable Raymond C. Robertson
Staunton Commonwealth Attorney’s Office
21 N. New St.
Staunton, VA 24402
540-332-3976

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post

Our investigator discovered these terrified hamsters at animal mill U.S. Global Exotics.

Validation came this week when PETCO settled a $1.75 million lawsuit filed by four California counties over the company's atrocious animal care record and deceptive consumer practices. The suit alleged that PETCO failed to notice or treat sick animals—and overcharged customers to boot! This lawsuit follows a 2004 case in which PETCO paid more than $850,000 to settle similar charges and was ordered by the court to implement a detailed daily animal care procedure in all its California stores. Guess it forgot.

Is anyone surprised? We've been filing complaints about PETCO's abysmal treatment of animals for years. But the mills that supply the birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, and other small animals to PETCO (and PetSmart) are also responsible for widespread animal suffering. PETA's undercover investigator documented horrific conditions in the enormous warehouses at Sun Pet Ltd., an Atlanta-based wholesale animal dealer that supplies these chains. And who can forget the dead, dying and diseased animals our investigator discovered at animal mill U.S. Global Exotics?

If PETCO is apparently incapable of providing decent care to animals right in its own stores, what hope do animals have at these awful mills that churn out animals as if they were disposable toys? Buyer beware: Go elsewhere!

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

Tourists in Washington, D.C., are getting some food for thought courtesy of PETA's art installation on the National Mall. The Diner, by political artist Greg Metz, is housed inside a 28-foot 1955 Airstream trailer. One side of this clever piece shows a re-creation of the Last Supper—with famous vegetarians throughout history, including Sir Paul McCartney, Pamela Anderson, George Bernard Shaw, and Gandhi, replacing the apostles—and the other side shows graphic images of factory farms and slaughterhouses. Imbedded in the Airstream is a TV screen that plays PETA's video "Meet Your Meat."

The Diner is getting lots of attention. Thousands of people are stopping by every day, and many leave with stickers and copies of PETA's vegetarian/vegan starter kit and our video "Chew on This: 30 Reasons to Go Vegetarian."

The Diner will remain on the National Mall at the intersection of 14th Street S.W. and Jefferson Drive S.W. through Sunday, so if you're in town, come by and say "Hi." But if you can't make it to the Mall before then, check out this Flickr page.

Written by Paula Moore

How do you plan to observe the third-annual World Day Against Speciesism on June 5? The day is designed to remind people that speciesism, like racism and sexism, has no place in a civilized society. Prejudice toward animals is no more acceptable than prejudice toward humans.

If a person truly believes that kindness is a virtue, how could it be possible to justify scalding chickens alive, forcing chemicals down rats' throats, keeping elephants in chains, or electrocuting foxes and stripping off their fur—all simply because they're "just animals"?

Animals are made of flesh, bone, and blood, just as you and I are. They feel pain and joy, just as we do; they form friendships, grieve for lost loved ones, communicate with one another, raise families, and use tools. But whether or not they are "like us," they deserve respect, compassion, and empathy. In the words of philosopher Jeremy Bentham, "The question is not, 'Can they reason?' nor, 'Can they talk?' but, 'Can they suffer?'"

If you need ideas for honoring World Day Against Speciesism, please check out PETA's Web sites listed above or visit our Action Center. Any one—or two or three—of the suggested actions will make a difference!

Written by Heather Moore

Last night, longtime PETA booster Sir Paul McCartney rocked the White House. He sang "Michelle" to the first lady, and played to a packed crowd of celebs (including fellow PETA pal Emmylou Harris). To cap it all off, President Obama presented him with the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

Of course, Sir Paul rocks on and off the stage. All about living la vida vegetarían, he's been a driving force behind the international "Meat-Free Monday" campaign. He's also urged Giorgio Armani to go fur-free, gone after KFC, and drummed up support for a worldwide boycott of McDonald's.

So congratulations, Sir Paul, and thanks for everything that you do for animals!

Via Vegetarian Star

Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanvernon/
CC BY 2.0

It's not often that we use the word "great" to describe anything involving vivisectors, but a recent development involving a petition filed by PETA and Madison-based Alliance for Animals against sheep experimenters at University of Wisconsin (UW)–Madison is just that: Circuit Court Judge Amy Smith has determined that nine individuals may face criminal penalties for conducting excruciating and deadly decompression experiments on sheep.

You might remember that PETA and Alliance for Animals joined forces to petition for prosecution after a district attorney shrugged off his own findings that UW-Madison had indeed violated state law using decompression to kill sheep. The D.A. apparently decided that it wasn't worth his time and effort to pursue charges.

After reviewing our petition, Judge Smith decided that animal experimenters are not above the law, determining "that probable cause exists to conclude that certain named individuals … violated [a state law prohibiting the use of decompression to kill animals], either directly or as party to a crime." That means that both the vivisectors and those who assisted them with their experiments may face criminal or civil prosecution. In her 24-page decision, Judge Smith also wrote, "[T]he University has apparently engaged in behavior resulting in the above-described animal deaths for years," and noted that "it may well continue to decompress animals to death contrary to law, unless I take action." She has appointed a special prosecutor to determine whether to bring charges against the nine UW-Madison employees.

Considering that this is possibly the second time that a judge has found probable cause for criminal charges—the first was PETA's landmark Silver Spring Monkeys case—it's no wonder that news outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and others are buzzing about this important development.

We'll keep you in the loop on future developments as they happen, but we—and animals—are depending your efforts to help stop animal experimentation.

Written by Karin Bennett

Back in the '80s, when many people still thought that PETA was a Middle Eastern bread, a funny actor from Oklahoma became our first champion in Hollywood and helped establish the organization as a household name. She was Rue McClanahan, the flirty "Golden Girl," and she became so active that she was PETA's honorary director for almost three decades.

I was still PETA's receptionist when I wrote to Rue and asked if she would star in our first anti-fur commercial. You can imagine my delight when I answered the phone to hear Rue say that not only would she do it, she had gotten Bea Arthur and Betty White to appear, too, and had even convinced the producers to film it for us free of charge on the set after one of their Friday-night tapings. From then on, Rue became a key PETA operative in Hollywood as well as a personal friend; she even let me use her dressing room as a makeshift office, as PETA had no office in L.A. back then. I left my post at the reception desk and started developing campaigns with high-profile personalities thanks in large part to Rue's enthusiasm.

Growing up in the country, Rue had always been shocked to see the glee that many people derive from hunting and fishing—and she had been mocked for her concern—so she felt relieved to get involved with an organization that made no apologies about defending all animals. After winning an Emmy, Rue did the talk-show circuit and always found a way to discuss her PETA activism, telling viewers, with that gracious smile, that not only was she anti-fur, she also opposed animal experimentation. In Salt Lake City, she took time off from the Touched By an Angel set to host PETA's video for a landmark factory farm cruelty case. In Las Vegas, she led a protest outside a furriers' convention. In Virginia, she launched PETA's mobile spay-and-neuter clinic. And in New York, she hosted a saucy PETA benefit at Chippendales. One muggy summer, she returned to Oklahoma, where PETA had filmed elephant trainers beating animals who were performing in the circus, to screen that footage at the state capitol and call on lawmakers to outlaw bullhooks.

When floods ravaged the Midwest, Rue flew to St. Louis to make appeals for people to include animals in their evacuation plans. She starred in public service announcements urging people to spay or neuter their animals and always to adopt from animal shelters rather than buying from pet shops or breeders (there were four shelter dogs at that shoot, and she took all of them home). She opened her house for a PETA benefit and told guests that "Rue" is French for "street" and that she always wished her last name had been "Walker."

But my favorite memory of Rue was when we traveled to New Mexico, where she helped push through legislation to outlaw cockfighting. When a reporter asked if there would be any naked protesters, she just smiled and replied, "It's not that kind of cockfight."

If animals could sing, I have no doubt that they'd serenade Rue with the Golden Girls theme song: "Thank You for Being a Friend."

Written by PETA Senior Vice President Dan Mathews

P.S. To make a gift for animals in Rue's honor, please visit our True Friends Memorials page.

Many Canadians are against their country's annual seal slaughter—the biggest massacre of marine mammals in the world—but the Canadian government has yet to put a stop to it. Not only is the government supporting the barbaric acts of bludgeoning and shooting baby seals, it is also spending taxpayer dollars to do so. Canadians, it's your home and your hard-earned money, and we need you to speak up for seals now.

The Parliament of Canada needs to hear from Canadians who don't want this massacre to go on. Let's keep the ice floes (and Canada's hands) blood-free, shall we? We've created a call log that you can use to ask your members of Parliament to support Senator Mac Harb's bill, which would end the barbaric seal slaughter.

Download the log here and get a "No Fur" pin if you get 10 of your friends, family members, or coworkers to make a brief call. When you've filled out a call log sheet, e-mail a scanned copy to ActionTeam@PETA.org or send it to the address below. Make sure to include your full name, address, and phone number along with the completed call log:

Action Team501 Front St.
Norfolk, VA 23510
USA

It's easy for the Canadian Parliament to ignore this bloodshed because it doesn't see its country's ice stained red. This is your chance to show Parliament the reality behind the massacre.

What was the grooviest thing about having hippie parents? Growing up listening to Donovan. Seriously, my mother almost named me "Jennifer Juniper." Instead she went for something more mainstream—Skylark.

And I'm sure he hears it all the time, but I'm not exaggerating when I say that I'm Donovan's biggest fan. Star-struck? Yes, consider me struck. What's even more striking is that this folk/pop legend lent his anti–seal slaughter anthem "Celia of the Seals" to this heart-wrenching new video:

Here's what the "Sunshine Superman" had to say about his song and putting an end to the war on baby seals:

Celia of the Seals, we know just how you feel. So for the love of Donovan, help us get the word out by showing this video to everyone you know!

Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth