When former congress member Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife pled guilty to using hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds to pay for personal items like fur coats and capes, elk heads, and taxidermied animals, it effectively put an end to what was once a promising career—not to mention dozens of animals' lives.

Now, in hopes of seeing some good come from this sad waste, PETA has asked the U.S. marshal to donate the furs to the homeless in Chicago instead of auctioning them off, as is reportedly planned.

Only people who are truly struggling to survive have any excuse for wearing fur. For every cuff, collar, piece of trim, or coat made from real fur, animals endured misery and died after being beaten, electrocuted, or even skinned alive. By donating the coats to the homeless, the U.S. marshal would underscore the importance of need over greed while giving back to the community in Illinois.

What You Can Do

We can't give these animals their lives back, but we can prevent more from being killed. Please go fur-free—and encourage others to do the same. 

The Newsroom star and staunch anti-circus activist Olivia Munn knows that in circuses, it's animals who pay the price, so she's asking Groupon to stop promoting cruelty with its discounted circus tickets. Groupon is selling out animals who are forcibly taken away from their mothers, have their spirits broken, are kept in chains, and are threatened with beatings if they don't perform night after night.

Photo: Hama Sanders/www.hamasanders.com Hair: Steven Lake for Exclusive Artists Makeup: Julie Cuomo Wardrobe: April Steiner for Exclusive Artists Elephant background: (c) iStockphoto.com/Bruno Buongiorno Nardelli

To add insult to cruelty, Groupon claims to promote only circuses with clean inspection reports, but the company clearly isn't doing its homework. In fact, most of the circuses that Groupon promotes have received multiple citations for violations of even the minimum protections of the Animal Welfare Act.

In her letter, Olivia asked Groupon CEO Andrew Mason to use his company's position as a mass retailer to influence positive change for animals who are abused by circuses:

Join Olivia in asking Groupon to give animals the "deal of the day" by halting promotions of cruel circuses.

Lea Michele is always helping animals win, and now it's Lea who's scooping up a trophy. At VH1's Do Something Awards, lovely Lea accepted the Do Something Award in the "TV Star: Female" category for her work with PETA and used her acceptance speech to remind the audience not to ride in cruel horse-drawn carriages. 

Over on NBC, America's Got Talent judge Howard Stern used his critique of a performer with a cockatoo to speak up for birds used for food. "I recently stopped eating turkey and chicken and all birds and now I know why," he said. "They seem to have some sort of intelligence and I don't want to wreck their lives, so I'm not eating them anymore. I'm not, like, a bird vampire."

The singer who recorded the jingle for Marineland is now raising her voice against the notorious animal abuser. After eight former trainers publicly revealed that the park forced animals to swim in water so filthy that it blinded them and caused pieces of their skin to fall off, Suzie McNeil is trying to have her voice removed from Marineland's commercials and is encouraging people not to go to the park.

Lady Gaga found herself the target of massive backlash from fans, animal advocates, and fellow celebrities when she reneged on her vow not to wear fur and draped herself in the skins of foxes and rabbits. Russell Simmons wrote Lady Gaga a letter asking her to reconsider her support of the fur industry: 

Olivia Munn, who starred in an anti-fur ad for PETA, tweeted, "When u see FUR, an animal was TORTURED for it. Watch this video & tell me if you think it's 'art'." As Olivia's fur-farm exposé makes clear, there is nothing artistic about skinning animals alive.

A host of other celebrities used their tweets to be sweet to animals:

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

Tonight on The Real Housewives of Orange County, viewers will see Vicki Gunvalson in fur for the last time. When she received a mink coat as a gift on last week's episode, PETA immediately sent her our video exposé of the fur industry narrated by none other than fashion guru Tim Gunn. 

As soon as she saw that her coat was made of animals who had been beaten, electrocuted, or skinned alive, Gunvalson refused to wear fur again. In a statement to Bravo TV's The Dish, Gunvalson revealed:

Gunvalson joins a growing list of celebrities, including Sharon Osbourne, Bethenny Frankel, Lea Michele, Eva Mendes, Olivia Munn, Joanna Krupa, and others, who publicly shun fur.

Gunvalson asks any Real Housewives fans who are still harboring fur in their closets to join her in donating it to PETA. 

Sharon Osbourne told Intermix to get fur out of the mix when she helped Fur Free Los Angeles with a demonstration outside the store. And the host of The Talk isn't all talk—she donated her old furs to PETA several years ago and has been an anti-fur advocate ever since.

Miranda Cosgrove might not be a real talk show host yet, but she does play one on TV. The iCarly star is iCompassionate to animals, telling US Weekly that she never lets anyone kill bugs (she takes them back outdoors) and that she threw a birthday party for her cat.

When Chaka Khan made like a feline, appearing on American Idol in a sultry catsuit, her slimmed-down physique had people wondering what her secret was. Now the legendary singer is spilling the beans (in addition to eating them): She went vegan for her health and dropped 60 pounds in the process.

And two of the sexiest stars alive are teaming up in the summer's sexiest movie, Magic Mike, but Channing Tatum and Olivia Munn are also teaming up to end Ringling's abuse of animals, joining thousands of people in asking the Atlanta City Council to pass a proposed bullhook ban:

While the City Council passed only a partial ban this time, it will be voting on a full ban again soon. 

Last night, the Stand-Up for Animals PETA benefit show at the famous Comedy Store on L.A.'s Sunset Strip was funnier than a barrel of animatronic monkeys.

Bill Maher, Jane Lynch, Carol Leifer, Jeffrey Ross, Marc Maron, and host Fred Willard—in other words, some of the most talented comedians in the world—came together to raise money for PETA and kept the packed house laughing until the audience's sides hurt. 

Guests included Pink, Carey Hart, Olivia Munn, Cloris Leachman, Jorja Fox, Christian Serratos, Renee Olstead, Elisabetta Canalis, Emily Osment, and Moby, many of whom tried valiantly not to do spit takes with The Comedy Store's delicious vegan snacks while laughing at Jeffrey Ross' hysterical poem to his cat or Carol Leifer's explanation that she had to go vegan because being a Jewish lesbian wasn't enough.

Bill Maher quipped, "Before PETA was around, you know, you could f-ck with animals any way, anybody, anytime, anywhere, and now you can't. That's a pretty big change in the world. That's a big achievement. … Animals will not be ignored. They're the Glenn Close of species."

And with all the funds raised by the end of the night, PETA can make sure that animal abusers won't be laughing for long.

If being on Maxim's Hot 100 list is verifiable proof of hotness (and, of course, it is), these lovely lasses are steaming:

Photo: Hama Sanders/www.hamasanders.com  Hair: Steven Lake for Exclusive Artists  Makeup: Julie Cuomo  Wardrobe: April Steiner for Exclusive Artists  Elephant background: (c) iStockphoto.com/Bruno Buongiorno Nardelli

2. Olivia Munn: Working to end the abuse of animals in the circus, the fur industry, puppy mills, and the horse-drawn carriage industry, Olivia Munn proves there's no "hot list" or animal rights issue that she can't conquer.

Photo: (c) Andrew Southam for WelssArtists|Styling: Estee Stanley for Starworks Artists|Hair: John D for Starworks Artists|Makeup: Kayleen McAdams for The Wall Group|Manicure: Carla Kay for Cloutier Remix

14. Lea Michele: Lovely Lea Michele is a triple threat: She sings, she acts, and she advocates for animals. From her vegetarian diet to her refusal to wear fur to her rescued animals to her campaign to get horse-drawn carriages out of New York, Lea always hits a beautiful note for animals.

(c) Jim Jordan

16. Charlize Theron: She might be playing the wicked queen in Snow White and the Huntsman, but Charlize Theron is a noble defender of animals killed for fur and those in animal shelters waiting for homes.  

Photo: Don Flood

29. Eva Mendes: She would rather go naked than wear fur, and whether it's for Maxim or PETA, Eva Mendes always shows that everyone looks better in their own skin.

Photo: Robert Sebree  Hair: Davy Newkirk for Tracey Mattingly  Makeup: Jennifer Pitt for Tracey Mattingly  Wardrobe: Britt Bardo for Magnet  Wing design: Mia Gyzander Costumes

35. Yvonne Strahovski: If she looks angelic in the Maxim.com gallery, it's because Yvonne Strahovski is an angel for animals. She and her rescued pups are doing their part to end the animal overpopulation crisis. 

Maxim's Hot 100 is so full of compassionate cuties that we don't have room to do them all justice here, but check out the list for yourself to see sexy and sweet gals Mila Kunis, Emma Stone, Olivia Wilde, Kellie Pickler, Kristen Bell, JWoww, Miley Cyrus, Sarah Hyland, Emmy Rossum, Ashley Greene, Lake Bell, Miranda Kerr, Selena Gomez, Anne Hathaway, and Kristen Stewart. 

Is Vince Vaughn a valorous vegan? It's sure looking that way. While filming Neighborhood Watch in Atlanta, he ate mostly vegan foods, and his mom bragged about his healthy lifestyle on The Marilyn Denis Show. We sent the funnyman some cookbooks to give him some delicious new meal ideas.

Maybe Vaughn will be the next Phil Collen of Def Leppard—vegetarian for 30 years and proud of it!

Designer Vivienne Westwood also has a lot to be proud of. Not only does she keep fur-bearing animals out of her designs, the newly minted vegetarian also keeps animals off her plate too.

Sexy vegan Jared Leto is a fellow fur foe. Here's what he and other celebs have been buzzing about on Twitter:

The cast members of The Real Housewives of Miami will need to rethink their furry wardrobe choices with animal defender and supermodel Joanna Krupa joining the show.

Photo: www.SebreePhoto.com | Hair and Makeup: Tony Yates | Styling: Joline Towers

Motorists cruising down L.A.'s Beverly Boulevard might get a little distracted when they spot Olivia Munn's sexy new "I'd Rather Go Naked than Wear Fur" billboard, which The Daily Show correspondent unveiled in person today in Los Angeles.  

"When you think about even that little tiny trim of fur on your gloves or on your collar, that is still coming from an animal that had to endure so much pain just for you," says Munn. "There's nothing good about pretending like you don't know."

Munn, who is currently shooting the new HBO series The Newsroom and the Steven Soderbergh movie Magic Mike, sat down with PETA for an exclusive video interview, which you can watch here.

Munn is also the host of PETA's brand-new video exposé of fur farms in China, the world's leading fur exporter. "As a proud person of Chinese descent, it broke my heart to learn just how terribly animals suffer and die on Chinese fur farms and that there are no penalties for this abuse," explains Munn in the video, which reveals conscious raccoon dogs writhing in pain as workers rip the skin off their bodies. Rabbits scream as workers slit their throats and cut off their heads. Dogs and cats—some of whom still wear collars—are crammed into tiny cages and thrown off trucks.

Please "like" and tweet Olivia's new video so that all your friends can learn why they should leave fur on its original owners' backs.

Courtesy of Lelah Foster

Having a celebrity as the face of an animal rights campaign has helped PETA achieve huge victories. For instance, vocal protests by Sir Paul McCartney and Alicia Silverstone helped convince NASA not to blast squirrel monkeys with harmful doses of radiation. Celebrities such as Olivia Munn and Sarah Silverman have helped publicize Ringling Bros.' cruelty to animals, which recently resulted in the largest U.S. Department of Agriculture fine in circus history. And with the help of Lea Michele, the suffering of horses in New York City's carriage trade is garnering attention.

Michelle Cho, the senior manager of communications, dishes about what it's like behind the scenes of some of PETA's most visible work:

What is one of the most exciting things happening right now with PETA's work with celebrities?
So many professional athletes are enthusiastic about getting involved. Tony Gonzalez, Chad Ochocinco, Chase Utley, Gilbert Arenas, Amar'e Stoudemire, Willis McGahee, Lance Briggs,  Chris Andersen, and many others are allowing us to reach legions of sports fans about animal issues. 

What is one of your favorite celebrity stories?
When I first met Steve-O six years ago, I was interviewing him about elephant abuse that he had witnessed as a student at Ringling's clown college. I recall him saying that he didn't think vegetarianism was possible for him. Then began the phone calls inquiring about feathers, leather, wool, and even animal products in chewing gum! And just two years later, he had an "aha moment" in which he decided that he didn't want to contribute to the unnecessary suffering of animals and went vegan. He is one of the most inspirational people I've ever known, and I'm so proud to call him a dear friend.

Is Hollywood more animal-friendly than it used to be?
Definitely. Thanks to the Internet, we disseminate a lot more information, and it's reaching powerful people. Major ad agencies are pledging never to use great apes, filmmakers are using computer-generated imagery rather than using live animals, and TV shows and movies are including animal rights–related storylines. The support of so many influential people in show business can only pay bigger dividends for animals in the future.

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