Written by PETA
Lambert? Nope. Gokey? Sorry! We're all about Noop Dog here at PETA!
Devastated as I was when Anoop Desai got voted off American Idol this week, my day perked up when I discovered that our friends over at PETA India have approached Anoop to ask him to work with them. They sent a letter asking the R&B singer to join the Indian Animal Birth Control (ABC) campaign to "implement humane methods of controlling companion animal populations in slums" in India.
If Anoop agrees, he'll be joining Idol judge Simon Cowell in the effort to end the animal overpopulation crisis. Plus, America might see Anoop's compassion and finally forgive him for attempting that Usher song …
Written by Christine Doré
We've been busy countering KFC's offers to fill potholes in various cities across the country with our own proposal to pay double to fill them ourselves. We're excited to announce that at least one mayor is seriously considering our offer.
Mayor Michael O'Brien of Warren, Ohio, is currently thinking about allowing us to fix his city's potholes, but he wants to run it by KFC before making a final decision. Hmm, is he trying to start a bidding war?
As a nonprofit, we might not be able compete with dollars against a money-hungry company that can't even spare a few cents out of each bucket of chicken bits that it sells to improve conditions for the very animals it profits from. That's why we've offered to "sweeten the pot," so to speak, with a free vegetarian meal for the road crew—on any day that Mayor O'Brien chooses.
If he agrees to this, the mayor won't just be doing right by 1 billion chickens; he'll show that he's invested in the health of his city's employees and the well-being of his city's environment. I can't think of a better ending to "Meat's Not Green" Week than that.
Written by Shawna Flavell
Artist and designer Edgar Lituma Soto doesn't waste a moment in his stunning animated video short, "Chicken Hormonio," which makes it clear that chickens who are raised for KFC are bred and drugged to grow so huge that they can barely stand.
Written by Karin Bennett
The other day, I told you about vegetarian extreme fighter Jake Shields. You know what else is extreme? Professional arm-wrestling!
Specifically, vegan professional arm-wrestler Rob Bigwood is pretty awesome.
He had a special sponsor for this weekend's Big Apple Grapple—yes, us! And, we have to say, we're pretty proud—Rob took second place on both arms in his class! Check out the video.
Look at those guns! More importantly, look at the shirt! Way to represent, Rob; you've done animals proud!
Written by Amanda Schinke
On Monday, a group of eighth graders at Colony Middle School in Palmer, Alaska, tormented a young moose on school grounds until the moose became so frightened that he repeatedly hurled himself into a fence until he died.
School officials won't disclose what the students did to provoke the moose's suicide, but we know one thing for sure: Bullying and violence toward animals often leads to or is part of an existing pattern of bullying and violence toward humans.
PETA has contacted the school's principal, Mary McMahon, to request that Colony Middle School allow us to help it incorporate a humane-education program into its curriculum immediately. The only way that the school's officials can prevent future tragic incidents is to teach their students to be compassionate toward animals.
Hopefully, Colony Middle School will take us up on our offer to help students cope with this crisis and learn to respect all living beings.
Written by Liz Graffeo
What do the tigers say when Ringling's trainers get too close? Let us prey. Zing!
Well, this week, PETA's touring "tiger" acted out that devious desire for payback. In Rochester, New York, our "tiger" broke out of his cage and shoved his "ringmaster" in—giving her a taste of her own medicine for our first-ever Tiger's Revenge demonstration.
Yesterday, I found my dog Henry's "bucket list." He's a pretty open guy, so he won't mind if I share:
While the first four aren't really possible (Henry's a licker, not a fighter; he's too short to play Sandy; he's ineligible for the contest; and, well, he has a stump for a tail), American Honda Motor Company's new Honda Element Concept has made number five happen.
Honda has long been a leader in animal-friendly design, first earning a PETA Proggy Award back in 2005—and the company haven't stopped innovating since.
The new "pupped-out" ride includes a cushioned mesh canine containment system for the cargo area and the back seat; safety pet restraints; a collapsible ramp; spill-proof water bowl; a fan; fur- and leak- resistant seat covers; a dog-bone–patterned rubber mat; and a special leash and dog tag.
Puts the "wow" in "bow wow," right? Tongues would totally wag if you pulled up to your local dog park in a sweet ride like this! But don't worry if buying Honda's doggie-mobile isn't doable for you right now. Your hounds don't care what kind of hoopty you drive. All they care about is hanging out with you.
Written by Amy Elizabeth
Update: US Airways rejected our initial offer, but that little bump in the road isn't stopping us. We're still hopeful that we can work something out with the airline—and if US Airways isn't open to talking, we'll be approaching other airlines with the idea.
With the 2010 Olympics approaching, people are looking to book their travel to the Games sooner rather than later. So, we'd like to let would-be passengers know that there may be a reason (or 338,200 reasons) to skip that trip to Canada.
To that end, we've approached US Airways with a proposal. We'd like the airline giant to wrap a few of its planes (the ones that fly in and out of Vancouver—Games headquarters) with one of our ads:
US Airways is quite the global ambassador and thus is the perfect flying billboard to promote responsible travel. By placing our "Canada's Olympic Shame—End the Seal Slaughter" ad on the body of a few of its planes, US Airways will be doing its part to show Canada that the world won't rest until the cruel slaughter of baby seals ends. How do you like our design?
Forbes magazine recently unveiled its annual list of the country's top 10 most miserable cities, and the winners losers include Chicago, Illinois; Stockton, California; Memphis, Tennessee; and Modesto, California.
The cities were graded on mood-killing triggers such as traffic, employment loss, crime rate, and, of course, weather. But what about the foods that the residents of these cities eat?
We're urging folks to turn their frowns upside down by adopting a vegetarian diet, and in Modesto we are pitching our new billboard, which features the message "Put a smile on your face. Go vegetarian."
We hope to make life a little easier on animals on factory farms as well as those humans who haven't realized that meat is a big fat downer.
Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky
Relationships on MTV's The Hills are unpredictable, to say the least. So, after having been on the show for five seasons, Audrina Patridge threw on a pair of angel wings and took her dog, Speedy Gonzalez, to pose in PETA's latest Angels for Animals ad. After all, a dog's love is absolute. They're never so fickle that they'd turn their back on you anytime some new guy walks into the room.
The ad was unveiled on a billboard in West Hollywood today, and Audrina was there to let people know that they should always adopt and never buy—because for every dog or cat bought from a breeder or pet shop, a shelter animal full of unconditional love will die.
Check out the event below and then enter to win autographed copies of seasons three and four of The Hills on DVD.
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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