Written by PETA
Harry Morton, owner of popular Mexican eatery Pink Taco, had reason to be pink in the face following the public outrage generated over the restaurant's decision to paint a donkey pink and tie her to the sign of his establishment at a busy shopping mall for hours in the blazing Los Angeles heat as part of a Cinco de Mayo marketing promo. PETA compadres including Pink, Stephanie Pratt, Lo Bosworth, and Lea Michele tweeted their disgust at the restaurant’s promotion. PETA immediately wrote to Morton, reminding him of a pledge that he made to PETA back in 2008, when he used the same stunt at the restaurant’s opening.
PETA has received the following statement from Morton, reaffirming his pledge never to use animals in promotions again: “…Pink Taco has agreed not to use animals at our events and promotions and we are looking forward to…discussing how we can work together in the future.”
We hope that this time his pledge is sincere. The message that nobody accepts animal exploitation has been made loud and clear thanks to PETA’s awesome supporters who acted quickly and gave a voice to Pinky the donkey. Together, we make a difference!
Written by Michelle Sherrow
Celebrities took to Twitter yesterday to make a huge splash for seals. We asked compassionate celebrity supporters to tweet a message to their fans telling them that the Canadian commercial seal slaughter had begun and including a link to our "It's Time to End the Seal Slaughter" donation page. So many of them responded that our Twitter page looked like an A-list party.
Supporters who spoke up for seals who are bludgeoned and sometimes skinned alive for their fur include Ellen Degeneres, who also posted it on her blog, Pink, Sophia Bush, Daniella Monet, Jayde Nicole, Lea Michele, Vida Guerra, Alicia Silverstone, Dave Navarro, Stephanie Pratt, The Veronicas, Bill Maher, Ian Somerhalder, Diablo Cody, Sasha Grey, and, of course, Honorary PETA Director Pamela Anderson.
Get in on the action! Tweet this link to your Twitter followers: http://bit.ly/gNMLOJ. Or go to our donation page to help stop Canada's barbaric seal slaughter.
Rock icon and animal defender Pink recently fired off a letter to President Obama asking him to find out why the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has closed three investigations into serious allegations of cruelty to animals by the Ringling Bros. circus without taking action. The investigations expired because of the statute of limitations—a delay caused by the USDA, the very department that was supposed to be investigating Ringling!
PETA is challenging the Office of General Counsel to reopen these investigations because the following animals suffered and died while in Ringling's "care":
Five years ago, while still serving as a senator, Barack Obama asked the USDA on PETA's behalf for an update on these pending cases and was assured that appropriate action was being pursued.
The lack of action in these investigations is particularly troubling since government officials have already been found to be in cahoots with Ringling.
We're also calling on the USDA to seize four elephant traveling with Ringling right now who are suffering from painful arthritis. Please don't wait to speak out for these animals—they need you now.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
The ever-awesome Pink has just released a new video, "Raise Your Glass," which is filled with both cool and disturbing animal imagery, including a row of women producing breast milk that's being consumed by a calf. (Pink isn't afraid to knock fans out of their complacency!) The video also features an anti-bullfighting segment in which Pink shows a matador how it feels to have someone come at you with a sword.
It's little wonder that Pink's video is so cutting-edge and thought-provoking. After all, it was directed by another PETA friend—the fabulous (and vegan!) Dave Meyers, who directed our sizzling Alicia Silverstone public service announcement.
Watch the video and tell us what you think about Pink's unique way of getting the animal rights messages across.
The prestigious Telly Awards "honor the very best local, regional, and cable television commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions." And guess who just won four—yes, count 'em, four—Tellies this year for outstanding public service announcements (PSAs)? You got it: PETA!
Eli Roth's spot about the link between animal abuse and violence against people took the bronze in the Public Service category.
Both our Thanksgiving PSA, reminding viewers that the holidays can be murder on turkeys and our too-hot-for-TV "Veggie Love" ad took silver awards in the Nonprofit Campaign category.
And my favorite, PETA's "Stolen for Fashion" ad featuring the voices of Pink and Ricky Gervais, also won Nonprofit Campaign silver:
Check it out, and then tell us which PETA PSA is your fave.
Written by Paula Moore
PETA pal Pink recently tweeted that she had "… the BESTest day" with her "amazing sexy hubby," Carey Hart, riding around on beach cruisers and watching the circus. Not to worry, though—our girl Pink would never attend the kind of circus that tears baby elephants away from their mothers and beats them with bullhooks. Pink's tweet continued: "Not the real circus people. No animals, just people. That look and behave like animals. On acid. Tis' a colorful world." We should all take a cue from this compassionate couple and support one of the many circuses that leave animals in peace and feature only amazingly talented—and, most importantly, willing—human performers!
Via Vegetarian Star
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker is vegetarian once again, and as he explained in an interview with Radio Big Boy, "almost full blown vegan."
We're pumped for Travis's evolving compassionate lifestyle (and we'd like to point out that "Full Blown Vegan" would be an excellent album name). It's also great that he's getting his dad in on the action—as Travis explained, "My pops, he's a Vietnam vet, hard-core, old-school—he used to make fun of me 'cause I didn't eat meat … Now after being on tour and going to some of the spots, he's at home trying to find vegan spots in that area."
As for Travis's decision to start dumping dairy foods? "Once you find out all the crazy stuff with dairy," he says, "you'd probably second-guess it too, man."
We couldn't have said it better ourselves.
Written by Amanda Schinke
I really hope that Michelle Obama was able to take in Pink's sold-out show at the D.C.-area Patriot Center last night.
Before launching into "Dear Mr. President," Pink showed some love for the current missus: "Let's get political for a second. Since we're near D.C., I have to give a shout-out to Michelle Obama, who has announced that she is officially fur-free. I love an animal-lovin' first lady!"
Even when she's on the road, hard at work, our pal Pink is never too busy to give props to people who are doing their part to protect animals.
Written by Shawna Flavell
It's that time again—"Win It" Wednesday! What's the prize this week? It's our brand-spanking-new "Mean People Wear Fur" T-shirt, in honor of our equally brand-spanking-new "Stolen for Fashion" PSA.
"Stolen for Fashion" follows an alligator and a bunny (voiced by Pink and Ricky Gervais, respectively) as they confront the people who stole their skins. It's the first and only animal rights video using CGI (computer-generated imagery), so it's pretty special, just like these awesome T-shirts.
The tee comes in milky red and black amethyst, so if you win, you'll have to let us know which color you want, in addition to the size.
How do you win? Leave us a comment letting us know why you think people should only wear their own skin. The three people who post the most creative answers will each take home a "Mean People Wear Fur" T-shirt.
The contest ends on March 25, 2009, and we'll choose the three most creative comments on March 26, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Check back every Wednesday for new prizes. Good luck!
Written by Lianne Turner
We predict a hit with ABC's new sitcom Better Off Ted, which premieres tonight (check local listings for times). I mean, with a story line that revolves around in vitro meat, as it does in the first episode, how could the show fail?
The premise of Ted, which sounds sort of like a cross between The Office and Big Bang Theory, is that smart and successful, if somewhat nerdy, employees are forced to use their powers for bizarre, if not downright unethical, endeavors by a soulless corporation. They are asked to weaponize pumpkins (which doesn't sound all bad, really) and to create uncomfortable, scratchy office chairs (some chairs do seem to have gone missing from the PETA office). They even cryogenically freeze a company scientist for a year as part of an experiment (now that's the kind of animal testing we can get behind—just kidding, c'mon).
But back to that in vitro meat. We can't help but think that the show's creators were inspired by PETA's call to scientists to develop a commercially viable lab-grown meat by 2012. As an incentive, we're dangling a big, juicy carrot in the form of a $1 million prize. Hey, we already have lab-grown candy—how big of a leap is from it Pop Rocks to test-tube T-bones?
Written by Alisa Mullins
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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