Written by Alisa Mullins
It's not over yet, but Iggy Pop, Perez Hilton, Kelly Osbourne, Pamela Anderson, Sarah McLachlan, Diane Warren, and all the people who have spoken out, worn the PETA shirts, and appeared in our ads in the last year have brought us closer to the end of the Canadian seal slaughter. Just weeks before the annual slaughter is set to resume, Ryan Cleary, a member of the Canadian Parliament who represents one of the regions in which the seal slaughter takes place, has acknowledged that the tremendous outcry against beating and shooting baby seals has him questioning the future of the bloody massacre. Says Mr. Cleary: "Part of our history is also whaling, for example, and the day came when the whaling industry stopped. Now, is that day coming with the seal hunt? It just may be."
© Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Cleary's statement comes just weeks after Russia announced that it was taking steps to ban the import of Canadian harp-seal fur, a move that came after Pamela Anderson led an international appeal on PETA's behalf.
Polls have consistently shown that most Canadians oppose the seal slaughter, and as Cleary noted, the industry is an increasing liability for Canada that the country is having more and more difficulty defending.
Please click here to tell Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper that yes, the time has come to send the seal slaughter the way of whale slaughter and ban it before the next massacre commences this spring.
Written by Michelle Kretzer
Where can you see Bryan Adams rubbing elbows with Leo Tolstoy and Russell Simmons hanging with Leonardo da Vinci? Only on PETA's limited-edition postage sheet from Stamps.com—the sheet honors some of the most influential and recognizable vegetarians throughout history.
Bob Barker and Pamela Anderson—two of the celebrities whose faces will soon be crisscrossing the U.S. on envelopes—unveiled the new postage this morning at the Hollywood Post Office.
Addressing the swarm of clamoring reporters, Pam said, "I'm just happy to be here and happy to be associated with PETA. … [M]y mom is very proud of this." And the inimitable Bob Barker joked, "I was happy to do it when they told me I didn't have to die in order to [be on a stamp]!"
The postage sheets are available at PETA's online store, just in time to grace your holiday cards with a reminder to loved ones to think before they eat.
Written by PETA
Staking out towns throughout Ontario, Canada, PETA's sexy cops are after the robbers who stole the skin right off animals' backs.
If you're thinking that maybe it wouldn't be so bad for one of these arrestingly beautiful officers to read you your rights, think again. They're showing no mercy to people who buy fur ripped off live animals, leather from cows and other animals who are routinely hacked apart while still conscious, or wool, which often comes from sheep whose backsides have been mutilated.
Considering that these offenders only got tickets, they got off easy. Click here to check out what "TSA Agent" Pamela Anderson does to would-be airline passengers who are swathed in skin that isn't their own.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
Get ready to tap your feet—the two-hour season premiere of Dancing With the Stars airs tonight on ABC, and as usual, PETA pals are strutting their animal-friendly stuff.
Just a week after she unveiled her "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" ad, Elisabetta Canalis will make her Dancing debut, and she's rumored to be the early favorite. When asked if Elisabetta's PETA ad would help in the competition, her partner Val Chmerkovskiy said, "I don't know if it will help us, but I do hope it helps PETA. Before I found out that Elisabetta was involved with PETA, I was astounded how conscious she was about animal cruelty and how passionate she was about helping animals involved in any sort of mistreatment."
Fellow animal advocate Ricki Lake could be a serious contender too. She proved she has determination when she was arrested after storming Karl Lagerfeld's showroom to demand that the designer stop using fur. And spay-and-neuter advocate Metta World Peace (aka: "Ron Artest") might put his fancy footwork to good use off the court and pull off an upset.
Elisabetta, Ricki, and Metta World Peace are in good company. Previous DWTS rosters read like the guest list at a PETA fundraiser. Pamela Anderson, Cloris Leachman, Steve-O, Joanna Krupa, Kelly Osbourne, Lance Bass, Jennie Garth, Audrina Patridge, Belinda Carlisle, Holly Madison, Mario, Shanna Moakler, Karina Smirnoff, and even judge Carrie Ann Inaba all know that the most important steps you take are those that help animals.
Good luck, Elisabetta, Ricki, and Ron! We'll be rooting (and voting) for you.
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.
I've seen a lot of vile sights in my days, but few were as dark and twisted as the beating of helpless baby seals for their fur ... If Norway has nothing to hide, there should be no problem with making this process public. —Iggy Pop
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.
Before Pamela Anderson, before Eva Mendes, before Dennis Rodman, there were the Go-Go's. The iconic ladies of pop-punk weren't just pioneers for women in music, they were also animal rights innovators, as the first celebs to proclaim that they would rather go naked than wear fur.
Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine, Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, and Charlotte Caffey were music to animals' ears when they launched PETA's "naked" ad campaign in 1991.
Today, as the Go-Go's are being honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, PETA would like to celebrate them, too, for getting our "rather go naked" campaign go-go-going and inspiring people all around the world to follow their beat. What will you do to celebrate being fur-free?
A horse pulling a carriage in New York City collapsed to the ground twice yet was right back waiting at the curb before her driver was challenged by the woman who had been riding in the carriage at the time and who caught most of the horrifying incident on her cell phone. See the woman's emotional confrontation with the driver here (warning: graphic language):
PETA pals Chrissie Hynde, Pink, Lea Michele, and Pamela Anderson have all called for these cruel and dangerous rides to be eliminated. New York City Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito has introduced a bill (Intro. 86) that would phase out the industry and replace it with electric-powered antique cars or "green" horseless carriages. Carriage drivers would be given first dibs.
Please never patronize these cruel rides, and e-mail City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to let her know that you support Intro 86.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
Pamela Anderson was as perplexed as we were to learn that despite Denmark's recent ban on cruel fox-fur farms, some in the country's royal family still wear fur. Perhaps the Queen is harking back to her girlhood, when fur was integral to the royal robes, but since she enjoys all the other trappings of a modern life, it’s time to lay cruel stodgy fashions to rest. Pam penned a letter to Queen Margrethe II explaining that all fur means animal suffering:
Undercover investigations into fur farms have shown cruelty to animals across the board, from Denmark to the United States. Most fur comes from China, where animals—including dogs and cats—are bludgeoned and even skinned alive for their fur, as seen in this short video. Minister Eva Kjer Hansen of Denmark stated, 'Mink breeders break animal welfare rules. And that is unacceptable.' Animals trapped in the wild are no better off: Many suffer for hours and even chew off their own limbs to escape.
Hopefully, Queen Margrethe II will join the scores of leading ladies, including Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni, who refuse to wear fur. Until she does, we have a feeling she hasn't heard the last from Pam.
In honor of Culinarians Day, we've whipped up a list of some of our favorite vegan celebrity chefs, chefs who cook for celebrities, and cruelty-free restaurants where you might just catch celebrities chowing down. Tasty! Check it out:
One lucky reader can win the Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook. For a chance to win, just leave a comment telling us who your favorite vegan celebrity is.*
Written by Colleen Twombly-Borst
A new bill making it illegal to buy, sell, or possess steel-jaw traps (a common torture device used to trap animals for their fur) has passed in Taiwan. Pamela Anderson and PETA Asia-Pacific sent a bouquet of flowers to legislator Ting Shou-chung, who proposed the motion and was instrumental in pushing it through.
Thanks to the hard work of Ting Shou-chung, Taiwan has officially joined the 88 nations that have completely banned steel-jaw traps ... It warms my heart to know that Taiwan will no longer allow dogs, cats, and wild animals to die slow, painful deaths in these cruel traps.
Animals caught in steel-jaw traps struggle in excruciating pain to get free as the jaws cut into their flesh, often down to the bone. Some animals, especially mothers desperate to return to their babies, will attempt to chew or twist off their trapped limbs. Animals may struggle for hours and even days before they finally succumb to blood loss, exposure, frostbite, or dehydration. All this before they are killed, usually for their fur.
Shockingly, these cruel devices are still legal and in use in the United States. Take a stand against them by signing PETA’s fur-free pledge today.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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