Los Angeles' STAPLES Center will become the city's vegetarian center when Morrissey plays there March 1. The music legend has asked that no "flesh as food" be served at his shows, but fans will have plenty of festive fare, including vegan sloppy Joes, vegan sushi, and grilled veggie sandwiches, to munch on while they rock out to "Meat Is Murder." And as an extra nod to animals, Moz also required that McCruelty shutter its doors for the day.

© StarMaxInc.com

Beyoncé took a page out of Morrissey's songbook when she wanted to drop her baby weight. Bey started eating one vegan meal a day, and she's kept it up. Maybe since she's eating fewer animals, she'll consider wearing fewer animals, too?

That's what PETA is asking the Buffalo Sabres to do. When the hockey team started awarding the "player of the game" with a fur coat, we wrote to the Sabres' owner, Terry Pegula, urging him to do away with these vile gifts as the team scrambles to reinvent itself as winners after the highly publicized firing of head coach Lindy Ruff.

Usually it's Canadian sealers that seals have to worry about, but recently two young women were caught on camera hitting and kicking seals who were resting on a California beach. People were outraged, and Ian Somerhalder, along with many others, took to Twitter to defend the seals as well as other animals:

Miley Cyrus is always full of sweet tweets, so of course, she and dad Billy Ray Cyrus were on board to compete in the Twitter for the Critters Celebrity Challenge, a Twitter competition that is raising money for several animal shelters and sanctuaries.

Soon Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith's household may rival Miley's in number of rescued dogs. The couple adopted two Labrador-shepherd mixes, a brother and sister. PETA helped welcome the pups to their new home with toys, treats, and a copy of Let's Have a Dog Party! 

Fellow screen legend James Cromwell has also had an exciting month. He was arrested while helping PETA disrupt a meeting at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to protest the school's painful and deadly experiments on cats. Then he joined awesome animal advocate Jane Velez-Mitchell on her show to publicize the school's crimes against cats even more.

To keep up with what all your favorite stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter. 

What's better than T-shirt time? "No T-shirt" time! And that's exactly what the throng of Jersey Shore fans got outside MTV's Times Square studios when Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino revealed his new PETA ad encouraging everyone to spay and neuter their animals.

Fans who couldn't make the unveiling still got to see Sitch's sweet tweet that revealed his ad and gave some love to PETA. And he wasn't the only one turning Twitter into an animal love-fest this week. Check out what these other celebs were doing to help with PETA campaigns:

Morrissey sings about how "Meat Is Murder," so, of course, he doesn't want any dead bodies around him when he's performing. For his appearance on The Colbert Report, Morrissey insisted that the entire building be meat-free for the day. And when, in true Colbert fashion, Stephen tried to rib Moz about his morals, the PETA pal had some zingers of his own ready. "Animals are nicer than humans," he deadpanned. "If you stick your grandmother in an oven, she will probably be tasty. But is that any reason to eat your grandmother?"

James Cameron might be about to make a titanic impact on the way the world eats. The director and newly minted vegan is challenging environmentalists to adopt a plant-based diet to save the planet. During a recent speech, he told the audience, "I want to challenge everybody here: If you're an environmentalist, I say, my challenge is, you can't be an environmentalist, you can't be an ocean steward, without truly walking the walk, and you can't walk the walk in the world of the future, the world ahead of us, the world of our children, not eating a plant-based diet."

And vegan Emily Deschanel is speaking up once again. Her show, Bones, dedicated another episode to animal rights, this time, to the cruelty of keeping exotic animals as "pets."

To keep up with what your favorite stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter. 

While every Morrissey show is darkly entertaining, every Ringling show, with its behind-the-scenes elephant beatings, is just plain dark. So when Moz played Boston right as Ringling was rolling into town, he gave his bandmates PETA's "Ringling Beats Animals" tees to wear and gave Ringling the big middle drumstick:

© FilmMagic

Morrissey knows that true great shows don't involve beating crippled elephants with sharp metal-tipped bullhooks to force them to act out confusing tricks. PETA just released a new video showing a Ringling trainer striking an elephant, who is already showing signs of arthritis, because she wasn't performing exactly as she was told to.

Moz and his band choose to perform—elephants don't. Tell Ringling that until it stops beating elephants, it can beat it, with your own "Ringling Beats Animals" tee. 

PETA News on Tumblr

Don't miss a thing: Follow PETA on Tumblr. 

Here's one of the most fun things that you'll see all weekend: Morrissey's version of a cat in the hat. 

The abuse that snake charmers inflict on snakes to make them "dance" is anything but charming, so PETA India offered a simple solution: Use fake snakes.

This is perhaps the most consequential quote of the animal rights movement. It never gets old.

Here's just a small excerpt from the eye-opening article "How I Failed as a Rescuer: Lessons From a Sanctuary," which is a must-read for those you know who may not understand the problems with "no-kill" shelters: "Here's what I know now, having worked at a shelter and in rescue: All animals deserve love at the end of their lives. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do is to provide a peaceful death. And a peaceful death comes from a human taking full responsibility for the life of that animal. I wish I had done that."

United Airlines' mistreatment of animals continue: A disabled veteran says airline workers abused his service dog. 

New Feature

George Brett's new PETA spot is so cool—and he wants dogs to be cool, too.

New Action Alerts

Tell 99 Cents Only stores that only stores without sense still sell glue traps.

And while you're at it, let Menards know about the suffering that glue traps cause small animals, too.

iStockphoto.com/GlobalP

How can a property management group require tenants to mutilate their cats? By calling it "declawing." Urge Bruce Tanski Construction & Development to stop requiring this cruel amputation.

Unless trainees at the Madigan Army Medical Center plan to spend their careers intubating ferrets, the center needs to prepare students to treat real children. Tell the center to replace animals with lifelike human simulators.

Thank you for speaking up for Diego, an aging military dog, and Logan Black, the soldier who wants to bring him home. The Air Force has now told PETA that Diego is ready to retire and that Black is at the top of the list to adopt him!

Scene and Heard

Have you seen PETA's new plan to put abusers at SeaWorld in a "SeaWorld of Hurt"?

How do you like to celebrate your birthday? How 'bout rockin' out and helping animals? That's what birthday boy Morrissey did: When his vegan tour stopped in San Diego, SeaWorld's hometown, on May 22, the longtime animal advocate gave all of his bandmates PETA's "SeaWorld Sucks" T-shirts to wear onstage.

Joe Scarnici/FilmMagic

Joe Scarnici/FilmMagic

Any SeaWorld folks who were in the audience should have ducked their heads if Moz played "You Should Have Been Nice to Me" or "Shame Is the Name." What else did they expect from the guy who never misses an opportunity to speak up for animals?

Rock out for orcas with your own "SeaWorld Sucks" tee.

Rihanna got busted by the fashion police for wearing a dress made of crocodile. Kelly Osbourne rocked for crocs by proclaiming that she's not down with people wearing crocodile skins. 

Over on one of our other favorite shows, Ellen, Carrie Underwood dished about how her hubby, hockey player Mike Fisher, is getting cozy with vegan cuisine. And since Ellen DeGeneres gave Underwood Vegan Cooking for Carnivores by her chef, Roberto Martin, we're betting things will really be heating up in the couple's kitchen.

Ellen, Portia de Rossi, and Roberto also veganized the Rachael Ray Show. While Roberto and Portia cooked, Ellen quipped that cheese is so heavy that if you skip it, "there is more room for cocktails!"

In the Philippines for a performance, outspoken vegetarian Morrissey (a few chords from Meat Is Murder, anyone?), urged  President Benigno Aquino III to send Manila Zoo's lone elephant, Mali, who has spent the last 35 years imprisoned, to a sanctuary that PETA has secured for her in the U.S.

Captivating actor Marion Cotillard is also against holding animals captive. On the orca training scenes that appear in her upcoming film, Rust and Bone, she said, "I've always had a repulsion going in a place where animals are in captivity."

Of course, celebrities were also tweeting for animals this week, including Jonah Hill and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino: 

To keep up with what the stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter.

Just two months after telling Ellen DeGeneres, "I want to be a vegan," Meredith Vieira has done it. After seeing her Ellen appearance, PETA rushed Meredith a copy of Sir Paul McCartney's slaughterhouse exposé Glass Walls, a vegetarian/vegan starter kit, and Tal Ronnen's The Conscious Cook to help her along. On The Chew, she told chef Mario Batali about why she made the switch: "I've done a lot of stories on the way food is, you know, processed in this country—animals—and it's very disturbing."

CNBC's Jim Cramer isn't just mad about money—now he's gone mad for vegetarian cuisine. In the wake of the "pink slime" debacle, Cramer announced on Squawk on the Street that he is going vegetarian, just like his doctor and his daughter.

There will soon be less to see of Seattle Seahawk Deuce Lutui. He went vegan to lose weight and improve his performance in the coming season.

Sexiest Vegetarian alum Leona Lewis finds the song formerly called "Theraflu" by the tool currently called "Kanye West" "awful." She tweeted, "Heard that awful Kanye W song talking about minx dragging on the floor. What an awful thing to be proud of! I take all my love for him back!" She then tweeted a picture of an adorable mink and the words "Lil minx <3."

Leona's celeb pals joined her in sticking up for animals on Twitter this week:

After learning about Walter, a severely abused dog who was starved and then thrown out of the window of a moving car, Ashley Judd is picking up the tab for his medical expenses, visiting him every day, and updating her Twitter followers on his condition. "This never should have happened to Walter, and through his story, we can make sure that it never happens to another animal again," she said.

Rock legend Morrissey wants to help make sure that no more sheep are mutilated in a cruel process called "mulesing." While touring in Japan, Moz reached out to Tokyo-based international clothier Uniqlo and asked the company to stop sourcing wool from Australian farmers who still mules sheep.

To keep up with what the stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter.

The Rock and Roll of Fame's Class of 2012 has been announced, and animal-friendly stars will be boogieing in. The Red Hot Chili Peppers earned a spot, but we're wondering if this honor could top the Sexiest Vegetarian of 2008 title that Anthony Kiedis snagged. We'll call it a wash. Guns N' Roses was gunning for a spot and rose to the occasion too. We hope the awards ceremony will be fur-free, since Duff McKagan will be in attendance.

What Morrissey said about having his handsome mug on the new PETA postage really rocks: "I am delighted beyond words to be a PETA postage stamp. The rise and rise of PETA is the rise of common sense in modern society. Join the aims of PETA and join a better world."

Other celebs are rocking the Twitterverse with their awesome animal-friendly tweets:

We love what Eliza Dushku said about Forks Over Knives, the documentary that is changing the way Americans eat. Maybe Emily Blunt watched it? She was spotted at the California vegan restaurant Café Gratitude.

We've been watching adorable Fivel Stewart sporting our "Adopt, Don't Buy" tee on the YouTube channel that she shares with brother, Booboo. Guess respect for animals runs in the family.

Never one to shy away from speaking up for animals plainly and forthrightly, Morrissey urged fans who were upset about the tragic bombing and shooting rampage in Norway to consider the animals who face needless, terrifying deaths every day. Before launching into "Meat Is Murder" during a concert in Warsaw on Sunday, Morrissey told the crowd, "We all live in a murderous world, as the events in Norway have shown, with 97 dead. Though that is nothing compared to what happens in McDonald's and Kentucky Fried sh*t every day."

It's easy to be horrified by someone else's cruelty, but what about the cruelty that we're responsible for? As PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk points out, "Morrissey dared to speak his mind, but if we are honest about it, it makes absolute sense to suggest that instead of crying and waving roses in the air, a more effective way to show repulsion at needless carnage is to go vegetarian and to stop supporting slaughter oneself—even if only for one day a week."

We can't stop all the senseless violence in the world, but everyone can say no to bloodshed and suffering every time we eat simply by choosing plant-based foods. Please help make the world a less murderous place—get started by ordering your free vegetarian/vegan starter kit today.  

Do PETA staff secretly play backup for Morrissey, or did all his bandmates wear our McCruelty shirts?

© Sus Lew

 
Moz and his group's stage wear at their York, U.K., concert was music to chickens' ears. And we're betting that after the audience chowed down on Morrissey's meatless fare and rocked out to "Meat Is Murder," they won't be committing a "drive-through" anytime soon.

To be a flock star like Morrissey, grab your McCruelty tee from the PETA catalog.
 

Written by Michelle Sherrow