It's easier for us to think that the horrors of the fur trade—the electrocution, poisoning, and live skinning—happen overseas in faraway places like China and Norway, not in the States. But one PETA supporter sent us these photos taken at a fur processor in Mount Ayr, Iowa—gruesome evidence that the fur industry is still alive and kicking here in America, even if its victims aren't.

If you needed a reminder of why not to buy or wear fur—and to educate anyone you see wearing it about the cruelty involved—here it is. You're welcome.

Iggy Pop had a few choice words for Norway's minister of foreign affairs before his performance in Bodø this week, expressing his disgust at the government's support of the Canadian seal slaughter.

A single company in Norway—which has received funding from the Norwegian government for years—buys a whopping 80 percent of Canada's seal pelts. Norway is also joining Canada in contesting the European Union's ban on seal product imports, and both countries want the hearings on the issue to be held behind closed doors.

Iggy Pop, along with Joan Jett, Sarah McLachlan, Pamela Anderson, and many others, has called for an end to Canada's seal slaughter, and you can too.

 
Written by Michelle Sherrow

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.  

While U.S. residents watch and worry about the oil spill, a different kind of oceanic nightmare is brewing, one that will cause immense suffering and death for countless whales for many years to come.

On June 20, the International Whaling Commission will meet in Morocco to vote on a proposal to lift a 24-year international ban on commercial whaling for Japan, Norway, and Iceland—the three countries that have pretty much thumbed their noses at the ban. The Obama administration backs the lifting of the ban. Anyone who knows anything about the history of the ban—which has slashed the killing from somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 whales a year to between 1,200 and 1,700—is outraged that the president is going back on his election pledge to strengthen a ban and instead throwing the country's might behind lifting it.

We know some fascinating things about whales: Humpbacks create "bubble-netting" by blowing a stream of bubbles to surround their prey, and females form long-lasting friendships with each other. Many people know that sperm whales have the biggest brains of any living being, but did you know that they're able to dive more than a mile? Or that they communicate by clicking? Or that some scientists believe that sperm whales "are so self-aware that they might have begun to evolve a concept of religion."

We also know that if the whaling ban is lifted, whale families will be torn apart as more are slaughtered. Act now to help animals: Politely tell President Obama that you oppose the cruel slaughter of sentient beings. Then prove it by going vegan if you haven't already.

Written by Karin Bennett