Written by Michelle Sherrow
Here's one thing that dog and cat people can agree on: Jennifer Aniston and Jay Leno's conversation on The Tonight Show about their rescued animals and the importance of adoption was the bee's knees.
You can catch fellow adoption advocate Carrie Ann Inaba on both the tube and YouTube when she launches her Web show, Crib Cat, which will feature cats who are up for adoption. We're sure she'll play fair and not give special consideration to PETA pal Martina Navratilova on this season of Dancing With the Stars.
Carrie Ann is also using Twitter to encourage people to save animals' lives. Here's what she and other celebs are buzzing about:
Dave Navarro recently asked his Twitter followers to make donations for a new mobile SNIP clinic for PETA. Watch for the inked, never minked, celebrity on Spike's new season of Ink Master.
Photo: Frank W Ockenfels 3 | Hair and makeup: Sarah Maxwell | Background graphic: © iStockphoto.com/Alexandr Labetskiy
When Meredith Vieira stopped by Ellen, she said she was interested in going vegan—and scored herself a "Glass Walls" DVD, a cookbook, and some other animal-friendly loot from PETA.
PETA also sent vegetarian GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan an on-tour care package that included PETA's Vegan College Cookbook and a list of vegetarian restaurants in the cities that he and the band are hitting.
Brit band The Wanted has crept up to number two on the U.S. iTunes charts, and singer Jay McGuiness crept up to number one on PETA U.K.'s Sexiest Vegetarian poll last year.
The smart money is on Timothy Bradley Jr. to come out number one in his upcoming fight against Manny Pacquiao. The boxer is training vegan to get in prime sparring shape.
To keep up with celebrity animal news, follow @PETA on Twitter.
Like everyone else, I'm sure, I went nuts when we were treated to not one, but two performances by Sir Paul McCartney at the Grammys. But someone else got an even bigger treat.
PETA Director's Circle member Ady Gil, whose digital video equipment company helped with the show, was standing backstage when Paul came out of his dressing room. Ady proudly held up a copy of Glass Walls, the meat-industry exposé that Sir Paul narrated for PETA, which Ady always keeps at the ready to hand out. Sir Paul spotted Ady holding the DVD, smiled, and motioned for him to come over and chat, thrilled that Ady constantly carries and distributes Glass Walls. The two talked about animal rights, and Ady walked away with an autograph, a great picture, and a fond memory.
Why not order some copies of Glass Walls and distribute them yourself? You never know where The Cute One might pop up. You can also send a link to Glass Walls to a friend on the fence about meat or post it on your Facebook page.
Note to self: Next year, attend Grammys. Bring copy of Glass Walls.
Written by PETA
With a terse dismissal, the State Fair of Texas denied PETA's application to display our own version of a 4-H booth at the upcoming event. Fair officials must not want visitors to know that the cows, sheep, goats, and chickens 4-H participants have spent countless hours bonding with will ultimately make their way to a blood-soaked killing floor, just as most animals raised for food do.
Our four "H's" stand for "hellish for animals," "hazardous to the environment," "heart attack–inducing," and "hypocritical for teaching kids to care about only certain animals and to disregard others." We planned to screen Glass Walls and hand out free copies of our vegetarian/vegan starter kits.
I suppose that, to paraphrase Jack Nicholson, the State Fair of Texas can't handle the truth. But we think their patrons can—or at least their hearts can.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
Audiences are flocking to see the new thriller Contagion for its exciting action scenes and big-name celebrities, but the film's storyline is more true to life than many people may realize.
As the recent swine and bird flu outbreaks have amply illustrated, deadly diseases that originate on factory farms easily spread to humans. Just last month, three children in Pennsylvania were diagnosed with a new strain of swine flu that the state's Department of Health believes they may have contracted from animals at an agricultural fair. And the World Health Organization is concerned about a true pandemic this winter.
Filthy conditions on severely crowded factory farms are the perfect breeding ground for deadly contagious diseases. Considering that factory farms breed swine flu, avian flu, MRSA, mad cow disease, and E. coli, not to mention cruelty to animals, isn't it time that we ditch diseased dinners in favor of healthy platters of plants?
PETA will be distributing leaflets about the dangers of factory farming at theaters showing Contagion across the country. To get involved, contact our Action Team.
When the earthquake hit Washington, D.C., yesterday, thousands of people evacuated the Smithsonian museums and streamed onto the National Mall where, ever so conveniently, they were met by PETA's Glass Walls exhibit. In the aftermath of all that shaking, the exhibit staffers gave away more than 500 vegetarian/vegan starter kits and "Glass Walls" DVDs narrated by Sir Paul McCartney!
While the East Coast quake gave PETA's outreach efforts a boost, you don't have to wait for the next act of nature to see the powerful Glass Walls display. Visit the exhibit across from the Museum of Natural History most days from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through September 4.
Written by Heather Faraid Drennan
Multiplatinum recording artist Adele can melt hearts with her soulful voice, but her actions are saving lives. The singer told Britain's Radio 1 that she is leaving meat out of her repertoire.
Like many of her songs, Adele's inspiration came from love. "Whenever I am about to eat meat, I always see my little dog's eyes," she said.
Adele is quite right, of course: Cows, pigs, turkeys, chickens, and other animals killed for food feel pain and fear, just as dogs and cats do, and it doesn't make sense to love one yet eat the other.
To help Adele along her veggie journey, PETA U.K. has sent her a care package, including a vegetarian/vegan starter kit, Sir Paul McCartney's "Glass Walls" DVD, a few of our favorite cookbooks, and some delicious vegan treats!
Join Adele and countless others who are embracing vegetarianism. Sign PETA’s Pledge to Be Vegan for 30 Days and make animals' hearts sing.
In honor of William and Kate's wedding, PETA is sending the royal couple "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue."
We chose some favorite movies and a book that each have an important message about compassion for animals. For "something old," we've chosen three classics: Disney's family anti-fur film 101 Dalmatians; Bambi, with its anti-hunting message; and the classic about the suffering of horses, Black Beauty. For "something new," we're sending the dolphin-hunting industry exposé The Cove.
We're letting the couple indefinitely "borrow" from PETA's library a signed first-edition copy of the seminal animal rights book Animal Liberation by Peter Singer.
© Starmax
Finally, we included two films that may make William and Kate "blue," but that have touched the hearts of countless viewers and inspired them to make simple changes in their lives that have a big impact on animals. They are PETA's slaughterhouse exposé Glass Walls, narrated by Sir Paul McCartney, and the documentary I Am an Animal: The Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA.
We hope the couple finds these gifts illuminating, inspiring, and even challenging—much as marriage can be.
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
Were you excited to see PETA's remake of Groundhog Day? Sorry! We were just joking (or "Joseph King," if you'll pardon the pun). We would love to free Punxsutawney Phil (and make it so that you didn't have to listen to "I Got You Babe" 50 times in a row), but for now, we'll have to settle for singing the praises of fun, animal-friendly films like Hop. We do have quite a few Hollywood supporters, though, so you never know what might happen in the future.
Here are some other April Fools' Day jokes we liked:
Happy April Fools' Day!
PETA U.S. staffers aren't the only ones who are excited that the coming year marks 10 years of activism by PETA India. Just in time for PETA India's birthday, Sir Paul McCartney has sent a letter to India's prime minister asking him to declare January 12—the day of PETA India's inauguration—an annual "meat-free day" across the country.
Sir Paul narrated PETA's hard-hitting "Glass Walls" video, which shows how chickens and turkeys are confined to filthy sheds by the tens of thousands and forced to live in their own waste and how pigs on factory farms remain conscious while their throats are cut. "Were it shown in every school, the next generation would grow up vegetarian, I have no doubt," says Sir Paul.
If you're not already vegan, why not make 2011 the year that you "come together" with PETA and Sir Paul by giving animal-based foods the boot?
Written by Paula Moore
I'm such a map geek that I study the road atlas for fun. But I was equal parts intrigued and disturbed by the latest map that I laid eyes on: Food & Water Watch's Factory Farm Map. This interactive online map shows which areas of the U.S. have the most animal factories, and it also allows you to filter the results by the types of animals who are raised and killed for their flesh, milk, or eggs.
Wherever they are, factory farms lead to animal suffering, environmental destruction, and a lower quality of life for everyone. We can help keep factory farms out of our communities by showing our friends and families the many benefits of going vegan and why everyone would be vegetarian if slaughterhouses had glass walls.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
Follow PETA on Twitter!