It is no surprise that every year, both deserving and not-so-deserving souls pop up on the Queen of England's honors list. In some quarters, certain OBEs are known as "other b****'s efforts," while others are simply regarded as sales awards, as is the case for much disliked Vogue editor Anna Wintour. Given Wintour's reputation as a pelt pusher with a habit of accepting free furs, her new OBE has quickly been dubbed "other beings' efforts."

Wintour will receive further recognition from PETA for her tireless work promoting an industry in which foxes, minks, and chinchillas are confined for months to crowded, filthy cages before being suffocated, gassed, or genitally electrocuted. We are sending Wintour a certificate entitling her to a brain scan to identify the arrested development of her mirror neuron, the part of the cerebral cortex that allows a person to experience empathy—or not.

Posted by Ingrid E. Newkirk

scienceblogs / CC

The 4,500-plus songbirds who become temporary inhabitants at Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals wildlife centers will now be receiving free tuition and room and board. According to this BBC story, babies who are taken in for treatment need a chance to learn songs so that they can socialize with their peers once they are released. Because birds learn songs from their parents, growing up at a rehabilitation facility would mean no knowledge of birdsong—until now.

The solution is as simple as a CD recording of birdsong and a small boombox. The babies learn to mimic the songs that they hear in the center, which are real recordings from the wild—exactly what they're supposed to be learning. Upon completed treatment and release (read: graduation from Songbird U.), they're ready to go chat it up with friends and family outside the center, saying such cute things as "Food? Now?" and "Mate? Now?"

I always find it heartwarming to come across very elaborate efforts to care for some wild species, which, for some reason or another, ends up at rehabilitation centers. As contradictory as it may seem given the huge animal industries that exist today, rescue and rehabilitation efforts demonstrate just how much humans are capable of caring for animals—both as individuals and as species.

Posted by Sean Conner