OK. So I'll admit that I'm a sucker for a good list. Grocery lists, "to do" lists, Christmas lists (wait, that was last week)—you name it. Lists are a fantastic source of information (see our favorite lists), as demonstrated by this bit of list gold I found while browsing Time Magazine's "Top 10 Fashion Faux Pas" list: Vogue editor Anna Wintour is number one. Ha!

While she may not have made it into Time for the same reasons that she tops our unfashionable lists, Anna has long been on our radar for her furry ways, and frankly, we're not surprised that she topped Time's list as well. I mean, we've told her time and time again that fur comes from tortured animals who are often skinned alive, but the woman is as cold as her name implies. Check out our ad featuring the faux pas queen herself:

Written by Lianne Turner

photobucket / CC

G'day, mates! I'm stoked to tell you that the blokes in Victoria, Australia, have given the flick to cruel mousetraps. It's a rip snorter of a decision, and our hats are off to ya. Onya, Aussies!

Translation: Hello! Great news: The government in Victoria, Australia, just passed its new and improved Prevention of Cruelty to Animals regulations and (drum roll, please) glue traps are now highly regulated and can only be used by commercial pest-control operators and only after they get approval from Victoria's agriculture minister. This is a landmark victory for animals and will significantly cut down on the number of glue traps used in Victoria. Yay!

It seems the whole world is realizing that glue traps are cruel and unnecessary (it's about time!). Animals who become trapped in the sticky adhesive substance suffer for days before succumbing to starvation, dehydration, suffocation, and shock. The torturous conditions drive animals to rip off patches of skin and fur while struggling to escape, and many even attempt to chew off their own limbs. Safeway, Rite Aid, CVS, Walgreens, the Dollar Tree, and now the whole state of Victoria have banned the cruel traps. So come on, Lowe's! Won't you please stop selling them already?

You know what's even more amazing about Victoria's new regulations? The passing of the updated resolutions not only strictly regulates glue traps but also does the following:

• Bans the use of twisted bits on horses
• Bans the transportation of dogs and livestock in the boot of a car
• Restricts the use of some electric-shock devices on animals

You can check out the full version of the regulations here.

Anyone up for a victory barbie?

Written by Liz Graffeo

There's nothing I'd rather do than write PETA's blog while everyone else is dancing and drinking Mojitos … Wait, I mean shoveling their cars out of a snowdrift or still stranded at an airport! Around this time last year, I mentioned once or twice how much I love "Top 10" lists. Well, while some things change, like Paris Hilton's furry ways—my love of lists, however, remains. And it seems I'm not the only one at PETA …

And so, I give you the "Top 10 PETA Top 10 Lists," as agreed upon by consensus by me.

10. PETA's Top 10 Patriotic Ads
Because I was going to put our "Sexiest Vegetarian Soldiers" on this list until I realized that we only announced five winners (one for each branch).

9. Top 10 Best Meals in Norfolk, Virginia
Because I wrote the list. And I like to eat.

8. Top 10 'Ditch Exotic Skin' Campaigns
Because the cold-blooded exotic skins industry is just as bad as the fur industry.

7. Top 10 Animal-Friendly Superheroes
Because I'm a nerd. That's right!

6. Top 10 Impotence Ads
Because how many organizations or companies could compile a list of their top impotence ads?

5. Top 10 Vegetarian-Friendly Prisons
Because in some places prisoners get so obese they have to let them go. No joke.

4. Top 10 Most Karmic Moments for Animal Abusers in 2008
Because you get what's coming to you.

3. Top 10 Vegetarian-Friendly Ballparks
Because it's a classic! Come on, Norfolk Tides—let's get you back on the Minor League List next year!

2. Top 10 Most Over-Bred Dogs
Because it is shocking and absolutely awful how much breedism is out there. I cringe every time I hear someone ask what type of breed an animal is.

1. Top 10 Reasons Not to Eat Tuna or Salmon
Because people kill so many fish for food each year. But ya know we also have lists for pigs, turkeys, cows, and chickens.

What's noticeably missing from this list? Along with um … PETA's Top 10 Products to Stock Your Desk With and 28 years' worth of other top 10 lists, you might also notice the absence of peta2's popular annual Top 10 Most Vegetarian-Friendly Colleges. Well after my alma mater lost in the final round to someone else's, I'm still demanding a recount!

And lastly, if that's not enough for you, I suggest you check out our Top 10 Reasons to Go Vegetarian in 2009.

Written by Joel Bartlett

crimerant / CC

In the three years since Paris Hilton had a bouquet of flours (millet and plain baking) tossed at her—sorry, on her—by an animal rights activist, she's come a long way. But, like some others who have graced PETA's annual "Worst Dressed" list, Paris has gotten the message about the cruelty of the fur industry and now proudly proclaims her fur-free stance. For real! Even her mom is on board with the compassionate clothing thing:

Bravo, Paris!

Based on these results, Lindsay Lohan's mom can expect a fabulous faux to show up on LiLo's wish list in the near future.

h/t ecorazzi and eonline

Written by Joel Bartlett

My favorite part about the holidays (actually ... maybe my second favorite—next to feasting on my mom's famous Cashew Nut Roast) is how people come together to help those in need. While we're all toasty indoors, dreaming and hoping for a "White Winter," countless "backyard dogs" will not do so well in the ice and snow, struggling just to keep alive on freezing winter nights. To help these dogs, PETA staffers spend every winter weekend helping ease the pain in their joints by delivering sturdy dog houses and straw to man's best friend.

After learning about all this, a class of third-grade students at Samuel Staples Elementary School in Connecticut and their teacher Ms. Ellen Linker raised over $800 for the dogs—for the second year in a row. Wow!

Well, this class definitely gives me that fuzzy feeling deep inside. To show the students how much we appreciate their dedication to animals, we'll be sending along a holiday package filled with comic books, stickers, a copy of Ingrid Newkirk's book 50 Awesome Ways Kids Can Help Animals, and a card signed by PETA staff members. Please post a comment below to join us in thanking these students who gave up their lunch money and allowances to help animals in need.

Country superstar Emmylou Harris delivers a dog house with PETA

I hope the actions of these generous students inspire you to be an "angel" for a freezing, lonely backyard dog this winter. Do you think your school, office, family, or friends would want to pool funds to purchase a doghouse? That would be perfect! Together, we can make sure that dogs who would have shivered through long, cold nights have a dry place to curl up in and try to be warm.

And please remember to tell everyone—maybe put up a flyer?—that animal companions should always be a part of the family. This holiday season (and all year long), please take your dogs inside.

Written by Liz Graffeo

In fact, there are two Santas! Wearing little red numbers sure to make Old Saint Nick's heart skip a beat—and to make any other dude in the vicinity pretty darn jolly—a pair of PETA's Sexy Santas recently greeted Greenville, South Carolina, and Augusta, Georgia, grocery shoppers with free soy nog, kisses under the mistletoe, and copies of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit." Their merry mission? To urge shoppers to bring comfort and joy to animals by giving meat, milk, and eggs the old heave-ho-ho-ho this holiday season. After all, it's no "wonderful life" for animals who are raised, abused, and killed for Christmas dinner.

What is wonderful is a little (s)nog under the mistletoe. Just ask this dude:

Written by Amy Elizabeth

Some folks at our PETA headquarters were moved when they read that after spending the last few days packing up bags of food for needy families, a General Motors plant in Janesville, Wisconsin, has shut down, and thousands of workers have lost their jobs. So, we're extending the same offer that we gave to AT&T folks last week—because we still have bonus Tofurkeys left. So, if you're among the first 100 laid-off GM employees to contact us, we'll send you a healthy, hearty Tofurky roast to share with your family this holiday season.

Our best wishes and hopes for a brighter New Year to you and yours.

Written by Sarah King

This morning, PETA's Policy Department received a Scrooge-like phone call from someone purporting to be from Gov. Sarah Palin's office threatening legal action against us if we don't play ball—or, actually, stop playing ball. Why are Ms. Palin's peeps so mad at PETA? Well, if you've played our Holiday Snowball Fight game recently, you may know. The game asks players to pick up a virtual snowball and take aim at 2008's biggest animal foes, from Colonel Sanders to the Trollsen twins to Alaska's own Sarah Palin. But guess what, Sarah? We've checked with our legal team, and they say that it's "protected parody," or "fair game"—so the game stays! After all, we're throwing snowballs, not shoes.

In real life, the moose and other animals Ms. Palin blows to smithereens don't stand a chance. But, hey, our game is virtual and nonviolent. To be honest, I'm not quite sure why Sarah is so mad about the game anyways. Wielding a gun and decked out in a sexy bikini and pageant ribbon, I'd think she'd be quite proud of how PETA's portrayed her.

Though this game is just a bit of harmless payback, Palin's real-life hunting habit is no joke. Palin not only guns down big moose but also supports aerial hunting of wolves—she even proposed putting a bounty of $150 on their heads. Wolves aren't even overpopulated in Alaska. The sole reason for the bounty would be to boost the numbers of moose and elk so that hunters will have more living targets for their blood sport. Pathetic.

P.S. Governor Palin isn't the only fantastic figure in the game, so if you haven't had the chance to play, check it out!

Written by Liz Graffeo

Ugh …No, seriously. Ugh!OK, having turned *mumble* years old last Friday, I'm not really a member of this show's "target demographic." But even 'tweens must find the heartless use of a live baby chimpanzee in Nickelodeon's Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh offensive.Forget for a moment that this is a program with so little imagination that they named the lead characters—played by Drake Bell and Josh Peck—"Drake" and "Josh." Forget that their idea of family-appropriate humor is to depict a child on the receiving end of a stream of ape urine—and I'm not sure that qualifies as "humor" at all. Still, although these folks clearly aren't very smart or creative, nothing justifies exploiting an animal for supposed "entertainment."

Chubbs, who loved to blow kisses to our investigator at the Amarillio Wildlife Refuge, was often sad and depressed. He reportedly appeared in several episodes of Monkey Movies, on Animal Planet, and in the remake of Planet of the Apes.

So what's so wrong with using a chimpanzee? I'm glad you asked. You or I might have fantasies of thanking "the Academy" while clutching a statuette and dressed to the nines (wearing Stella or Marc, natch), but animals want to be left in peace—they don't want to be "stars." In fact, the chimps in movies and TV are still toddlers who need to be back with their families doing what they're meant to do. I mean, think about it: When you see documentaries about apes in nature, are they wearing clothes or riding unicycles? Do they have hidden restraints and shock collars?To get chimpanzees, orangutans, and other great apes to perform, "trainers" often beat and electro-shock them. The rest of the time, most of the animals live in tiny metal cages. And when they're no longer useful to producers, they're often dumped at horrible roadside zoos—usually when they're only about 8 years old and have about 50 years left to stare at the wall. There's no time like the holidays to remind Hollywood that we're not going to put up with any more "monkey" business. Please join us in telling Nickelodeon that there's nothing less Merry than a lonely, suffering chimpanzee forced to grimace and mug for a few chuckles.

Written by Jeff Mackey