Andie Nordgren / CC by 2.0

Congrats to PETA pals Kyra Sedgwick, Jane Lynch, and Edie Falco for their well-deserved Emmy wins last night. Another big winner was HBO's Temple Grandin, a film about the life of an extraordinary person who has helped reduce the suffering of millions of animals and advocated for autism education. Helping animals is its own reward, but winning a gold statue has to feel good, too!

Written by Jeff Mackey

Last fall, a jury found Sholom Rubashkin, former Agriprocessors CEO, guilty on 86 federal financial fraud charges. Now, a judge in the case has announced that Rubashkin will be sentenced to 27 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $31 million in restitution!

This is the culmination of a long, sordid history of financial crimes at the plant as well as violations against humans and animals dating back to PETA's original undercover investigation in 2004.

This undercover investigation exposed that Agriprocessors was hacking out the tracheas and esophagi of cattle immediately after the kosher slaughter cut, when the animals were still conscious and able to feel pain. Many animals remained conscious for prolonged periods, some even struggling to their feet in agony three minutes after their throats were cut, their organs dangling from their necks.

Dr. Temple Grandin, the world's leading slaughterhouse expert, called this "the most disgusting thing [she'd] ever seen." The USDA agreed with PETA and cited Agriprocessors for "engaging in acts of inhumane slaughter." Sholom Rubashkin tried to defend these egregious methods, but PETA undercover investigations in both 2007 and 2008 caught his facilities again performing dressing procedures on conscious animals. Dr. Grandin said, "The undercover video clearly showed that when they think nobody is looking, they do bad things in this plant."

At least Sholom Rubashkin will not have the opportunity to harm any more animals for the next 27 years.

Written by Shawna Flavell

shawnsavior / CC by 2.0

You may remember that a couple of months ago we blogged about Daniel Bryan, an up-and-coming vegan wrestler in the WWE. Bryan was making waves and had even defeated one of the WWE's top superstars, The Miz. But in a controversial decision that has outraged fans, stars, and wrestling legend Shawn Michaels, Daniel Bryan was fired from the company.

Now, there's a grassroots movement to bring him back, and PETA is tossing our name in the ring in support. Check out the letter we just sent to WWE CEO Vince McMahon, and send a polite comment to the WWE asking it to bring Daniel Bryan back!

Written by Chris Holbein, manager of PETA's Special Projects Division (and resident WWE super-fan)

Actor Seth Rogen has played freaks, geeks, and police, but in my opinion his recent "role" reading the children's book The Story of Ferdinand (commonly called Ferdinand the Bull) to a group at The Colburn School in Los Angeles was his best yet. This book is about a bull named Ferdinand who reasonably wants to smell the flowers instead of being stabbed to death in a bullfighting arena.

Of course, back in 1936 when the book was written, sensibilities were of the "kill 'em and hang 'em on the wall" variety, so author Munro Leaf didn't go into detail about how bulls who are used in bullfighting are beaten and sometimes have their horns shaved (to keep them off-balance) before they are let into the ring. Because this is a book for kids, Leaf also didn't mention that bulls are repeatedly stabbed with knives (called banderillas) until they are dizzy, weakened from blood loss, and suffering agonizing pain. Even though the goal is to kill the bulls, they are often still conscious when their ears and tails are cut off as trophies and they are dragged from the ring.

There's no question that bulls would rather be doing anything other than becoming victims of bullfights. Take a minute to speak up for bulls by signing this petition to end the Running of the Bulls.

Written by Jennifer O'Connor