Written by PETA
Veteran fashionista and new vlogger Kelly Cutrone recently confessed that she kills mice who make their way inside her home because she's "not Pamela Anderson."
Sure, there's only one Pamela Anderson, but we can all work toward emulating Pam's kindness and compassion, so we dashed off a note to Kelly to let her know that humane traps are available and that we're happy to send her a supply. Mice really don't want to bother you any more than you want to interact with them, and like us, they are just trying to live their lives.
Snap traps are awful, but not quite as horrific as glue traps, which are "hell on Earth" for animals who get stuck in them, who sometimes chew their own limbs off in an attempt to escape.
After she uses nonlethal means to put mice back where they belong, perhaps the sequel to Kelly's bestselling book, If You Have to Cry, Go Outside, can be called, If You Have Mice, Take Them Outside.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
Update: In response to the complaint filed by PETA, the USDA cited Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research for two violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
A worker at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) in San Antonio was hospitalized with cuts and scratches on Monday after he was attacked by two baboons. The primates reportedly escaped from a holding pen and jumped the guy while he was cleaning cages. (My guess is that they were looking for the keys, but that's just my personal theory.) PETA has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pointing out that violations of the Animal Welfare Act may have led to the attack.
This wouldn't be surprising. In 2009 and again in February 2010, the USDA cited SFBR for failing to house animals in structurally sound enclosures to prevent them from escaping and injuring themselves and others. In one incident, a monkey escaped from a cage and got outside into the freezing cold, where he suffered from hypothermia and later had to be euthanized.
As I'm sure you're aware by now, "biomedical research" is code for "animal torment." For instance, at SFBRC, female animals are impregnated and their preterm babies are cut from their bodies, killed, and dissected. Other animals are infected with hepatitis, and some are fed diets that consist of 40 percent lard in order to induce obesity and heart disease.
Sadly, the baboons' decision to visit some karmic justice on the lab worker prevented them from making a successful bid for freedom, and they were quickly returned to the cells cages. However, considering the tragic outcome of another Texas jailbreak (a chimpanzee was shot and killed in 2008 after escaping from the University of Texas Keeling Center), maybe it's a good thing that those baboons didn't get their fingers on the keys after all.
Written by Alisa Mullins
Yeah, I subscribe to Maxim because the mag always features my favorite things: gaming, Web sites, and überhot babes like Olivia Munn, whose sizzling anti-circus billboard is wowing 'em at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Highland Avenue in Los Angeles.
Olivia was recently crowned Number Eight in Maxim's annual list of the 100 Sexiest Women. And for those of you who forgot to TiVo her attack on the abuse of animals in circuses during G4s Attack of the Show, I thought I'd share the clip:
What's more attractive than someone who cares about animals? Um, not much, and I have it on pretty good authority that Maxim's editorial staff will back me up on this. Gorgeous PETA supporters routinely make the mag's top 100 list.
Extra, extra! Read all about this fantastic leather-free messenger bag, a newsworthy carry-almost-all and the prize in this week's "Win It" Wednesday contest, courtesy of English Retreads.
We recently spilled the beans on how and why PETA makes headlines all over the world. Now you tell us: What animal-friendly headline do you dream about reading in the news? Think big and be creative. The headline I'd like to see across the New York Times is "Federal Law Passes: Millions of Backyard Dogs Brought Indoors."
Whether you go for laughs or for tears of joy (please don't go for the jugular—no inflammatory attacks, please), the person who most bowls us over wins the bag. We've got one to give away in either black or scarlet. Are you ready for a chance to become the talk of your town? Read the fine print below, and then give us the scoop.
The contest ends on May 26, 2010, and we'll select a winner on May 28, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!
Written by Karin Bennett
Whether she's playing a maniacally mean cheerleading coach on Glee, a randy store manager in 40-Year-Old Virgin, or a freakishly fanatical poodle pimp in Best in Show, actor Jane Lynch is a comedic genius. But my new favorite is her recent performance in a new PETA public service announcement.
The Chicago native also penned a letter urging Mayor Richard M. Daley to pass a law requiring city residents to spay and neuter their dogs and cats. Why is Jane so gung ho to support PETA and help tackle the companion animal overpopulation crisis? She tells all in this exclusive interview:
Feeling inspired to help homeless dogs and cats in your own community and beyond? Fantastic! Remember to always adopt and never to buy—and make sure that your friends, neighbors, and coworkers know your reasons why.* Talk to everyone you know to explain how spaying and neutering can help save lives.
*Yes, that rhyme was intentional.
What do breeders breed—besides dogs with crippling congenital defects?
Canine racism.
PETA U.K. recently unveiled its new "Boycott Breeders" ad just in time for the Crufts Dog Show—an event that, like the Westminster Dog Show in the U.S., encourages the false and dangerous belief that some races breeds of dogs are superior to others.
About one in four pedigree dogs is born with painful and life-threatening genetic defects—including hypothyroidism, demodectic mange, epilepsy, cataracts, allergies, chronic ear infections, and hip dysplasia—all of which have been handed down through generations of inbreeding and selective breeding. And pedigree dogs aren't the only animals who suffer because of the breeding industry. Every time a dog is purchased from a breeder, another who has been awaiting adoption in an animal shelter, longing for a home, dies. It's a fact: Breeding purebreds in a world in which millions of animals are homeless is pure heartlessness.
Written by Logan Scherer
Twilight star Kellan Lutz may be totally convincing as an alpha vampire, but he's got a soft side that could eclipse Emmett Cullen's brute force any day. Lutz poses in PETA's newest "Adopt, Don't Buy" ad with his adorable rescued mutt Kola, spreading the message that every time someone purchases a dog or cat from a pet store or breeder, a door is shut in the face of an animal waiting in an animal shelter or roaming the streets. Check out our exclusive interview with Kellan, who gushes over meeting Kola (spoiler: It was love at first sight!) and has some special words for "Twilighters":
Kellan—who will star in the upcoming remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street—is so committed to ending the nightmare suffered by millions of homeless animals that since shooting our ad he has adopted another lucky dog! Want more compassionate Cullen goodness? Enter our contest to win a Twilight DVD signed by Kellan himself.
It's Spay Day—do you know where your neighbors' cats and dogs are? Or, more importantly, do you know whether they have been spayed or neutered? I do. In fact, one of them is here with me as I write this (and he seems to think that I need to write "#%^)tfr*^lpxc%$#?.>l" here instead of a period). Sam is one of nearly a dozen cats who once belonged to one of my neighbors. The cats came to my attention when I noticed the "free kittens" sign outside my neighbor's house.
I called the number on the sign and offered to get the mama kitty and the kittens spayed and neutered. Rather than being offended, as I feared she might be, my neighbor gratefully accepted my offer. "She just keeps having kittens," she sighed, "and I can't afford to get her spayed." She also agreed to let me find homes for those kittens I could convince her to part with. (I wanted to carefully screen the adopters, which I knew she wouldn't do.)
According to a recent survey, people's reasons for not spaying and neutering their animals usually boil down to simple economics and logistics, rather than a conscious decision not to do it. The neighbor whose cat kept having litters has three kids and is on welfare—she just couldn't afford to pay for the surgery. (Eventually, the bank foreclosed on her house, which is when she asked me to take the remaining animals—Sam, his sister Bibi, and his mother, Tiger.)
Another neighbor doesn't have a car, so I offered to drive her to the clinic for her cat's appointment. Yet another neighbor didn't realize that his 5-month-old female kitten could come into heat any day. Wanting to ensure that this busy single dad didn't put it off until it was too late, I offered to make the appointment and take her myself. He readily agreed, and I did the same with the family's other cat and two dogs.
In total, I have arranged for more than a dozen dogs and cats in my neighborhood to be spayed and neutered at PETA's "Spay and Neuter Immediately, Please!" (SNIP) mobile clinic. In some cases, the animals' guardians were willing to pay for the surgery—it was just a matter of making the appointments and arranging transportation. That was a small investment in time that reaped huge rewards in terms of the prevention of unwanted litters—and suffering.
No matter where you live, there are animal companions in your town who have not been spayed or neutered. Here are some easy steps you can take to make your neighborhood a "no-litter" zone:
Most of us here at PETA adore sweets, but we've got zero tolerance for sugarcoating—the truth, that is. That's why we're planning to run this public service announcement in Mackinac Island, Michigan, the hometown of Sadie, who was crowned "top dog" (after a slight interruption) at Westminster on Tuesday night.
We want residents of Mackinac Island and beyond to wise up: A "win" at Westminster is no cause for celebration. In fact, a mass funeral might be more fitting.
Bottom line: Every person who purchases a puppy or kitten from a pimp breeder or pet shop (or obtains one from the "free" ads) is signing a death certificate for an animal in an open-admission shelter. I think PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk said it best: "[P]eople don't see themselves as signing some animal's death warrant when they sign their credit card receipt, but that's what they are doing." That's not a half-baked notion cooked up by animal protectionists—it's simple math. There aren't enough homes. And dog shows such as Westminster feed the myth that a French bulldog puppy is somehow "superior" to a lop-eared, one-of-a-kind mutt.
Au contraire!
Remember Uno, the beagle who bayed his way into first place at Westminster two years ago? Just months after Uno's win, I was searching for a new friend in animal shelters in New York City, and I was struck by the number of barely housetrained beagle babies who were pawing at the cage walls. Apparently, a lot of fickle viewers who watched Uno at Westminster scrambled to buy their own beagles—and then realized that they didn't want to deal with the ear-piercing baying, crack-of-dawn walks, or chewed-up Manolo's. (BTW—I, too, am a sucker for big, brown eyes. It's why a lumpy old furry gal named Lucy, who spent her first seven or so years sleeping on the streets, now snores beside me every night.)
True love can come in all shapes and sizes—with floppy ears, crooked teeth, and mismatched eyes. And true love can be easy to find at the local animal shelter. PETA is determined to save lives by sending this message to all would-be animal parents: Always adopt from animal shelters, never buy from pet stores or breeders, and always spay or neuter your four-legged friends. Will you help?
I'd be willing to bet my lucky four-leaf clover that carrying a rabbit's foot only brings nightmares of screaming cottontails. On the other hand, I do believe the folks who say that these delightful little three-legged pigs will bring good luck to giftees. I mean, just look at them:
I get giddy when I imagine the good fortune that I'll receive after I toss a handful of salt from my lucky piggy salt shaker over my shoulder. I'll have to wait until my birthday rolls around in June to score my own set (hint, hint), but you can receive yours much sooner just by telling us about a superstition that you just can't shake. Don't have one? Make one up. I did: Whenever Tim and I are out and about and a streetlight burns out over our heads, I plant one on his kisser. I know it's corny, but we don't see many shooting stars here in the city.
You know you want 'em, so post a comment that gets us feeling superstitious and you might win. We've got one set to give away to the person who posts the most creative entry.
The contest ends on March 3, 2010, and we'll choose one winner on March 5, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting.
Good luck!
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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