Written by PETA
Get ready to tap your feet—the two-hour season premiere of Dancing With the Stars airs tonight on ABC, and as usual, PETA pals are strutting their animal-friendly stuff.
Just a week after she unveiled her "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" ad, Elisabetta Canalis will make her Dancing debut, and she's rumored to be the early favorite. When asked if Elisabetta's PETA ad would help in the competition, her partner Val Chmerkovskiy said, "I don't know if it will help us, but I do hope it helps PETA. Before I found out that Elisabetta was involved with PETA, I was astounded how conscious she was about animal cruelty and how passionate she was about helping animals involved in any sort of mistreatment."
Fellow animal advocate Ricki Lake could be a serious contender too. She proved she has determination when she was arrested after storming Karl Lagerfeld's showroom to demand that the designer stop using fur. And spay-and-neuter advocate Metta World Peace (aka: "Ron Artest") might put his fancy footwork to good use off the court and pull off an upset.
Elisabetta, Ricki, and Metta World Peace are in good company. Previous DWTS rosters read like the guest list at a PETA fundraiser. Pamela Anderson, Cloris Leachman, Steve-O, Joanna Krupa, Kelly Osbourne, Lance Bass, Jennie Garth, Audrina Patridge, Belinda Carlisle, Holly Madison, Mario, Shanna Moakler, Karina Smirnoff, and even judge Carrie Ann Inaba all know that the most important steps you take are those that help animals.
Good luck, Elisabetta, Ricki, and Ron! We'll be rooting (and voting) for you.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
Clubbing seals in Canada is cruel, senseless, and shameful. But clubbin' bunnies—specifically those celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Playboy Clubs all over the world—that's a reason to celebrate. After all, many Playboy Playmates have shed their bunny ears and tails for PETA's campaigns. Behold:
All right, mates: Play "Name Your Favorite Ad" in the comments section.
Written by Karin Bennett
Grab your shades, dear readers. The lineup of stars you're about to see featured in our new "Save the Seals" ad series is shining super-bright. Ready?
A wide range of celebs, from Perez Hilton and Animal Collective to Kelly Osbourne and Brody Jenner, donated their time and donned our new baby seal T-shirt, designed by Lavish Lint, to support PETA's efforts to stop Canada's bloody seal slaughter.
Want a chance to win your own limited-edition "Hug Me, Don't Club Me" tee? OK, dumb question—of course you do. Simply tell us your most fantastic idea for a slogan for our campaign to stop the seal slaughter. We'll choose the entry with the biggest "wow factor" as the winner.
The contest ends on November 4, 2009, and we'll pick the winner on November 6, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!
We've just found out that a 155-acre estate in Horn Lake, Mississippi, that formerly belonged to Elvis Presley has been put up for sale. Since home is where the heart is, fans are eager to get their hands on Elvis' "honeymoon ranch." Unfortunately, buyers may be all shook up when they find out that since Elvis left the building premises, it has been turned into a cattle ranch.
I guess you could just sit right down and cry, but we have a better idea for salvaging Elvis' former home. While the ranch is on the market, PETA would like to rent it and transform it from a heartbreak hotel for cows into a "Don't Be Cruel" (to cows) education center for kids.
Kids deserve to know that the animals who are turned into hamburgers and blue suede shoes are living, thinking, feeling beings who deserve more from life than to end up on a dinner plate. In the U.S., more than 41 million cows are killed for the meat and dairy industries every year. You'd have to have a heart of stone to be unmoved by their suffering.
So, Mr. Cattle Rancher—I beg of you—will you take us up on our offer? It's now or never*.
Written by Liz Graffeo
*I've put the titles of nine different Elvis songs in this post—how many can you identify?
Those of you who still need convincing that fish sea kittens are smarter than a 5-year-old should check out today's New York Times. Molecular biologist and geneticist Sean B. Carroll writes about recent studies indicating that fish who inhabit coral reefs can learn to differentiate between targets marked with different designs and colors in order to obtain food. Other studies of coral-reef fish in their natural habitat show that fish are more drawn to "dummies" that closely resemble beneficial "cleaner fish" than to dummies with similar coloring but different markings.
If you can stand the cuteness, check out this photo of a teeny-tiny damselfish poking a target marked with an asterisk with his (or her) teeny-tiny nose.
Of course, it comes as no surprise to us here at Sea Kitten Central that fish are smart cookies. Previous studies have shown that fish have long-term memories and can learn to avoid nets by watching what other fish do. "[T]hey are capable of learning quickly," says Dr. Chris Glass, director of marine conservation at the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences in Massachusetts. Dr. Phil Gee, a psychologist at the University of Plymouth in the U.K., says that fish can even tell what time of day it is: Dr. Gee trained fish to collect food by pressing a lever at specific times.
Still not convinced? You leave me no choice but to unleash … goldfish soccer.
Written by Alisa Mullins
Our cup runneth over with the latest season of Dancing With the Stars. As if last season, which featured spunky octo-vegetarian Cloris Leachman, weren't enough, this season we have two PETA supporters to root for.
How can we be expected to choose between Steve-O—star of "Rather Go Naked" and "Ink, Not Mink" ads as well as a video testimonial about the abuse of animals in circuses—and "girl next door" Holly Madison, whose naked ad and PSAs raised more temperatures than a flu outbreak?
We need your help with this one, dear PETA Files readers. Post a comment below letting us know which animal-friendly hoofer you think has earned the most PETA props.
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!