Written by PETA
How adorable is Mike White? You can find out for yourself by tuning in to The Amazing Race, which airs every Sunday at 8 p.m. (check local listings). The quirky School of Rock and Nacho Libre writer/director/actor is teamed up with his dad (see "adorable" above) in the latest installment of the hit reality show. We probably love Mike the most, though, for his work on the incredibly touching movie Year of the Dog, about how the love of a dog inspires a life dedicated to animal rights. Not only did the death of Pencil in the beginning of the movie turn me into a hot mess of emotions, but I was thrilled that the movie touched on so many different animal rights issues.
We're rooting for Mike and his dad Mel because Mike is a vegan and an avid PETA supporter who has worn not one but two PETA tees on the show (and we suspect there are more to come!):
The plucky duo have proven to be tough competitors, placing first in episode 3, during which Mike bravely donned a Romanian gymnast's leotard and demonstrated his stylin' moves on the balance beam.
Need more reasons to pull for Mike? He spoke out in favor of the groundbreaking California Healthy Pets Act, which would have mandated that nearly all dogs and cats in the state be spayed or neutered.
Speaking of which, check out Mike's interview with PETA in which he talks about Year of the Dog and why he went vegan:
Written by Alisa Mullins
Alright, 'fess up—scores of you loyal PETA Files readers are just as out-of-your-mind obsessed with America's Best Dance Crew as I am. C'mon! Who among us hasn't called upon our inner Justin Timberlake and tried a move or two—hopefully with no sprained ankles or dented walls resulting.
Last season's finale was foot-stompin', hip-poppin' insane. Drop for drop, the talented ladies of the Beat Freaks commanded the stage. Shockingly, they didn't win. What's up, America?
It's alright, though, because these ladies are about as cool as cool can get. Aside from their rockin' moves and killer style, the Beat Freaks have huge hearts—several of them are vegetarian. Even hotter—these ladies were spotted sportin' PETA T-shirts during a recent interview. Check out the interview for yourself below. Skip forward about one minute and 50 seconds to see which shirts they wore on camera.
Now, I can't help you master that head spin, but if you want to look fabulous and help animals like the Beat Freaks do, the PETA Catalog is your one-stop shop.
Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky
Update 03/25/2009 Here's another video in which the Beat Freaks rep PETA.
In case you needed any more evidence that chimpanzees don't want to be locked up in zoos, a chimpanzee named Santino in a Swedish zoo has been collecting hundreds of stones to throw at zoo visitors. On many mornings, Santino calmly gathers rocks into a pile, waits until the zoo opens, and then uses them to dispel the crowd of gawkers surrounding his enclosure.
Can you blame him? If I'd been snatched from my family and forced to live on public display, I'd probably start throwing things too. Santino has also been observed tapping on concrete boulders to find weak spots and breaking off loose chunks to add to his arsenal.
Researchers say that Santino is demonstrating the ability to plan and think about the future. We thought this was already obvious, but some people persist in the mistaken belief that animals act only on "instinct," while we humans always act with intelligence. Well, guess what? Chimpanzees are clearly intelligent, and yet they are still bred and raised to be shown off in zoos, circuses, and other forms of so-called "entertainment." What will it take for these animals to get the respect that they deserve?
Written by Lianne Turner
If you aim a wind-up toy at a brick wall, logic would tell you that the toy is going to continue slamming into the wall unless the wall is removed, right?
Well, as long as the horse-racing industry exists, tragedy is going to follow. Case in point: Two more horses at the Aqueduct Race Track had to be euthanized last week after suffering broken legs on the track. One of the breakdowns was so catastrophic that five horses slammed to the ground. You can watch footage of the race below.
One would think that the horse-racing industry would at least make some changes to protect these horses better, such as mandating turf track, which is softer than either dirt or synthetic tracks. Instead, as The New York Daily News reports, the industry simply tries to cover up fatal falls. When questioned about its decision not to show footage of the fall that brought down five horses, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) claimed that it didn't want the footage to get into the wrong hands, meaning animal rights groups. Oops! Looks like that didn't work out so well, did it?
My favorite quote about the decision not to air the footage comes from a NYRA spokesperson, who said: "It was a judgment call on a particularly scary-looking spill."
Exactly. Don't want to scare off those railbirds and their lucrative bets, do we? As if the tragic deaths of Eight Belles last year and Barbaro in 2006 haven't already given race fans enough to think about.
Pink and Stella McCartney took time out of their busy schedules this afternoon to unveil our new TV ad, "Stolen for Fashion," at Paris' fashion week. In the 30-second spot, a loveable alligator, voiced by Pink, and a feisty rabbit, voiced by U.K. funnyman Ricky Gervais, confront the fashion felons who stole their skins. Check out pictures of the unveiling below:
Oh, and if you haven't seen the ad yet, check it out here. Don't forget to post a comment below letting us know what you think!
Written by Liz Graffeo
Twelve children were treated by paramedics on Saturday when an elephant who was being forced to give rides at the Indiana State Fairgrounds bumped into the mobile staircase on which kids stood awaiting rides, knocking it down. The rides were being given between performances of the Murat Shrine Circus. Luckily, the kids only suffered minor injuries, but people involved in other elephant-ride incidents haven't been so lucky.
The staircase collapse isn't the first dangerous incident involving an elephant used by a Shrine Circus. In 2005, a trainer working for the Shrine Circus in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was stomped to death as he loaded elephants onto a trailer. In 2003, an elephant at the Shrine Circus in Muskegon, Michigan, escaped from a tent and fled into a busy downtown area. In 2002, two elephants with the Shrine Circus in Dunn County, Wisconsin, bolted out of a circus tent, scattering frightened circusgoers.
In other Shrine Circus news, we've learned that an exhibitor whose bears were used during a Shrine Circus performance last year at Knox County Middle School in Tennessee was cited by the USDA for serious violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including seating people within 20 feet of the bear without a barrier of any kind. We've written a letter to the school principal urging him to ban circuses with animal acts from appearing on school grounds in the future.
Many people don't realize that the Shriners do not operate their own circus. Shrine temples either hire an existing circus or put together a collection of animal exhibitors and other acts that perform under the Shrine Circus name. Many of the animal exhibitors the Shriners hire have deplorable records of animal care. Click here to read our factsheet on the Shrine Circus.
People, run—don't walk—away from any circus that uses animals. And whatever you do, don't let any guy in a fez talk you into placing your tots on the back of some poor elephant whose own kids have been taken away from her and who now spends her days being chained up and jabbed with a bullhook. Today just might be the day she snaps. And really, who could blame her?
With Watchmen hitting theaters recently, comics are having yet another moment in the pop-culture sun. And if you're a fan of the indies, you probably know Bluewater Comics. You may have read their "sequels" to some of your fave Hollywood mythology films—like The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, Clash of the Titans, and Jason and the Argonauts—or you might be more familiar with their monthly books, such as 10th Muse. But I bet you didn't know that the people behind Bluewater are huge PETA supporters. Although, based on how awesome they are, I'm sure it's not exactly a shock.
Our friends at Bluewater have just created the latest ad in PETA's "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" series, featuring four of their biggest stars—Emma Sonnet from 10th Muse, Diana Moore of JudoGirl, Scarlet of VSS: Nemesis Rising, and Isis from the Legend of Isis—posing au naturel to protest the cruel fur industry. Check out the ad below:
Why are the lovely ladies of Bluewater taking it up (er, off?) with the fur industry? Animals on fur farms spend their entire lives in cramped, filthy cages and are killed by neck-breaking, head-stomping, or anal or vaginal electrocution.
Who's the next comic book character you want to see in an ad for PETA? Let me know by posting a comment below. Personally, I'm voting for my man Hellboy (I just finished Darkness Calls and it was great!).
Written by Dan Shannon
Well … kind of. The former veep, unsatisfied with having invented the Internet itself, is now attempting to create a new domain-name suffix ".eco" for use by individuals, organizations, and companies that promote environmentally friendly causes. We think this is such a great idea that we plan to be first in line to use the new suffix that Al and Dot Eco LLC have teamed up to try to create—for our Web site OffsetAlGore.eco.
Sure, we already have the wildly popular OffsetAlGore.com, where you can go to compensate for some of the carbon and methane that Al Gore releases into the atmosphere every time he eats one of his daily Angus steak dinners or lunches by pledging to go vegetarian for 30 days. But OffsetAlGore.eco has such a nice ring to it, don't you think?
Click here to read PETA's letter to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (the corporation that approves new domain names) expressing wholehearted support for the opportunity to introduce legions of people to the idea that the harm their sea kitten sticks and pepperoni pizza inflict on the environment may be the most inconvenient truth of all.
In case it's never been said before, I'm going to go ahead and say it: Colorado activists rock!
Activists in Colorado Springs showed that they are fed up with Fort Carson for stabbing and reportedly burning and shooting live goats in bloody trauma-training exercises that attempt to mimic human battlefield injuries. They staked out a busy intersection near Fort Carson and got busy alerting commuters that the exercises are not only cruel but also archaic and unnecessary.
Oh, did I mention that some of the activists in attendance were ex-military? You know that things are shady when even former soldiers start breaking rank. (I can think of a few other soldiers who would probably agree.)
On Sunday, a 45-year-old elephant named Annabel was euthanized after falling into a ditch that surrounded her compound at Emmen Zoo in the Netherlands. For more than two and a half hours, zoo workers tried to help the struggling elephant pull herself out of the ditch. Ultimately, firefighters used a truck to lift her out.
Annabel entered a deep state of shock. Once freed, the 3-ton elephant was unable to stand up, so she had to be euthanized. Heartbreaking images of her struggle can be viewed here.
The zoo was aware that elephants regularly fall into this ditch and strain to drag themselves out, but even after this tragic incident, a spokesperson has announced that the zoo has no plans to modify the elephant's outside area because of space concerns. If this horrible situation doesn't cause the zoo to think twice about the environment it provides for the animals, I shudder to think what would.
No animal deserves to live his or her life in a pitiful cage, but zoos have the obligation to provide—at the very least—a safe facility for animals. In the end, Annabel paid the price for the zoos' irresponsibility. It is time for the zoo community to stop capturing and breeding more animals to be put on display and to leave animals in their natural habitat where they belong.
Please, never support the cruel zoo industry.
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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