This just in: First daughter Malia Obama regularly reminds her dad about the plight of tigers, a species on the verge of extinction yet still exploited for human entertainment. It happens so frequently that first lady Michelle Obama told a group of kids visiting the White House that the family talks about tigers at least once a week and said, "I think, the Obama household, we're trying to save the tigers."

Let's hope that the Obamas make a stand for tigers right here at home by speaking out against the use of these magnificent animals in circuses. The first family would be appalled to know that their favorite animal is being whipped, crammed into cages in which they can barely move, and forced to jump through hoops and hop on their hind legs under the constant threat of punishment. Word to Malia: "Ringling hurts tigers!"

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

healthyschoollunches / CC

TV talk-show host Montel Williams' daughter Wyntergrace is a real peta2-type girl, and she rocks. She's only 14 years old, but she's heading to Washington, D.C., this week to ask Congress to change the Child Nutrition Act to require public schools to provide healthy vegetarian options to students.

Wyntergrace has also written a letter to Sasha and Malia Obama asking them to join the campaign and sign her petition. She points out that while they are lucky enough to attend a private school where healthy options are available, most kids standing in line in public school cafeterias have to pick from fat-laden hamburgers, high-calorie chicken fingers, and greasy pizza.

What ever happened to equality?

We hope that Sasha and Malia join Wyntergrace in her fight. Congress has needed to step up on this issue for a while, and the support of the first daughters might be just what our representatives need to make them stop dragging their feet.

Written by Liz Graffeo

hanscomfamily / CC

With the world worried about swine flu, we're ready to turn up the heat—by heading to the steps of the U.S. Capitol to re-create a real-life hog factory farm if our permit is granted. Along with audio of piglets who scream as they endure castration, tail-docking, and ear-notching without any painkillers, our proposed exhibit will include the following:

• A total of 3,500 1-gallon buckets of pig manure and urine to represent the 3,500 tons of animal waste that pollute our air and water every year, courtesy of each and every average U.S. factory farm (along with giant fans to ensure that everyone gets a whiff)
• Undercover video footage taken at a pig factory farm
• Three "pigs" in narrow metal crates to represent the 3 million mother pigs who spend their short, miserable lives churning out babies, unable even to turn around or take a single step in any direction

We've submitted the permit requests and asked to set up shop next week. Now, like the neighbors of the smelly hog farm in LaGloria, Mexico, that's in the news or the folks living next to that smelly hog farm in Tewksbury, Delaware, we're just holding our breath—and hoping to get our permit so that we can bring a dose of reality to Washington's visitors, residents, and lawmakers!

Keep your fingers crossed, and hopefully we'll see you at the Capitol!

Written by Karin Bennett

Dancing With the Stars—not only a staple of my DVR schedule but also a place to find some serious PETA reppin'. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba and celeb dancers Holly Madison and Steve-O have all starred in some intensely sexy ads for PETA, and even though our faves have already been kicked off, the cast has stepped it up a notch with this fantastic spoof of our "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" ad series. Check it out … it's almost funnier than the time Steve Wozniak attempted "The Worm":

Written by Christine Doré

Happy "Win It" Wednesday, everyone. This week, we're celebrating the launch of the new and improved Sea Kittens game, in which you can choose your own sea kittens, dress them up, name them, and share them with your friends.

It's super fun to create your own sea kitten, but it's pretty hard to cuddle with a computer screen (not to mention staticky). Luckily, our lovely merchandise team came up with a solution: the brand new "Sammy the Sea Kitten" plush toy!

Sammy enjoys playing Marco Polo, hanging out with his friends, and not being eaten.

How do you win? Go play the new sea kitten game and then leave us a comment describing your new sea kitten's wardrobe. Don't forget to name him or her. The three most inventive creations will take home the prize!

The contest ends on May 13, 2009, and we'll choose the winners on May 15, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Check back every Wednesday for new prizes. Good luck!

Written by Lianne Turner

examiner / CC

A recent article on UsMagazine.com notes that Octomom Nadya Suleman is considering adding another member to her brood.

No, she's not thinking about having any more babies (at least as far as we know). She's considering bringing a pig into her home.

Actually, into her home isn't quite correct. She wants to buy a pig, put a diaper on him or her, and have him or her live outside—because of the smell.

Pigs are intelligent, social creatures with complex needs. Throwing such a sensitive animal into a mix of 14 kids who won't understand him or her—and expecting him or her to live outside—is no way to treat a family companion.

So, we've written Nadya to ask her to reconsider her plans. Instead of adding another mouth to feed, we hope that she'll focus on the 14 that she already has.

And if compassion doesn't change her mind, hopefully the fear of pig flu will.

Written by Shawna Flavell

OK, well, that's pretty much all that these four lovelies from PETA Asia-Pacific were wearing outside the Manila Zoo, but they certainly drew the crowd's attention to their campaign to improve conditions for animals at the cramped, decrepit zoo.

The animals got a little time off from the gawkers, who instead turned their attention to the bikini-wearing beauties—and the issue of cruelty to captive animals.

She may be smiling for the cameras, but this gal knows that there's no happiness for animals at the Manila Zoo.

Thanks go out to these ladies and the rest of the team at PETA Asia-Pacific for their efforts to get the Manila Zoo to shape up its act.

Written by Karin Bennett

aact / CC

Thanks to global pandemonium revolving around swine flu, almost everything has ground to a halt in Mexico; schools in New York, California, and Texas have closed; Europeans are being urged to postpone travel to the U.S. and Mexico, and sore throat sufferers everywhere are dialing their doctors to ask, "Is it really just my allergies … or have I got swine flu?"

You know who's to blame? Yup, filthy factory farms. A headline in Vera Cruz's La Marcha points the finger at gi-normous pig-breeding farms operated by a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, the world's largest hog producer. Local residents reportedly believe that feces from the pig farms has contaminated the water and the air, spreading the virus to people. Another article in the Huffington Post quotes La Jornada newspaper, which points the finger at a factory farm in La Gloria, saying, "Clouds of flies emanate from the lagoons where Granjas Carroll discharges the fecal waste from its hog barns …." Yup, knew all that.

Because human consumption of meat is the sole reason that these factory farms exist, PETA has fired off a letter to Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard urging him to encourage residents to go vegetarian, noting that such an action could help prevent future outbreaks. We're also shipping emergency Spanish-language copies of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit" in case residents need helpful tips when making the shift.

If you live in the U.S., encourage members of Congress to stop the spread of these diseases by ending factory farming.

Written by Karin Bennett

The following is a guest post from peta2's Shan.

If you don't already track Blink 182's Mark Hoppus' every move through his Twitter page, allow me to fill you in on something awesome that one of our Blink-loving staff members spotted last week:

Ask and ye shall receive, Mark!

Mark made the compassionate choice to use a plastic prop rather than a real octopus for his photo shoot, so peta2 is giving him a Compassionate Citizen Award. He'll also receive a framed certificate and a card signed by peta2 staffers.

Octopuses are intelligent and sensitive animals who have been observed communicating with each other. They're able to grasp objects with their tentacles just like we can with our hands, and some have even been taught to unscrew jar lids in order to retrieve food inside.

Here's to Mark for showing that "all the small things" deserve compassion and respect!

Written by Shan Philips

He's hard on his opponents, but he has a soft touch when it comes to animals. Yep, that's how mixed martial arts champ Tito Ortiz rolls. Recently, the tender-hearted tough guy and father of twins (with none other than PETA princess Jenna Jameson) took time out from clocking clowns in the cage to take on dogfighting. In a hard-hitting new ad for PETA, Tito encourages people to stand up to the cowards who make canines do their fighting for them. Did I mention that we're also giving away autographed gear from Tito's clothing line? And while we're on the subject of kick-ass things, here's another behind-the-scenes PETA Files exclusive interview. 'Cuz, you know, that's how we roll:

Written by Amy Elizabeth