Written by PETA
As you may know, we’re launching the first-ever worldwide virtual anti-fur protest within the virtual community Second Life in conjunction with Stella McCartney this week. It all kicks off today, in fact, so I wanted to give you a quick recap of what’s going on, along with some exciting new additions . . .
It’s going to be amazing, with a full schedule of exciting events all taking place on the newly created PETA/Stella McCartney island. The island, inspired by the English countryside, will feature roller skate, bicycle and rowboat rentals, a topiary maze where you can get massages and check out Stella’s new organic and cruelty-free CARE skin care line. Entertainment will be provided by live dj sets and of course, food will be available through Linda McCartney veggie burgers stands. Both Stella and PETA will have dedicated tree-houses, where visitors can check out Stella’s latest fashion shows and see PETA’s most recent anti-fur ad campaign images, anti-fur videos and a PETA 25th anniversary birthday cake. And there will be a contest for the best new anti-fur slogan based around the iconic PETA tagline “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur.”
OK, so all of that stuff is pretty cool, and none of it has ever been done before in the animal rights movement. But check out these exciting addions: a virtual naked Pam Anderson photo-op, a screening of Pam’s KFC video and check this out, a screening of the new video for Paul McCartney’s song ‘Dance Tonight’.
Here’s the full schedule of events and activities. The first schedule is for US visitors and the second for UK/European visitors.
Daily
Protest marches take place at 8am and 1pm.
Thursday 12th July:
12 Noon: Island opens
1pm: Competition for guests to create the best anti fur slogan, based around the iconic PETA slogan ‘I’d rather go naked than wear fur’ launches.
2pm - 6pm: Outdoor celebration and picnic to celebrate the island launch.
Tuesday 17th July
2pm: Pamela Anderson will make a guest appearance on the island for one hour. Pamela will pose naked for a photo op behind a ‘rather go naked than wear fur’ banner and then visit the PETA tree house to introduce her PETA Kentucky Fried Cruelty video.
Thursday 19th July
2pm: Screening of the new Paul McCartney video for ‘Dance Tonight’
Saturday 21st July
2pm: Wheelbarrow race.
Sunday 22nd July
2pm: Winner of anti-fur slogan competition announced:
The best 3 slogans will win Stella McCartney prizes. First prize: 2 tickets to the Spring Summer 2008 fashion show in Paris in October. Second prize: a Fall / Winter Appaloosa bag. Third prize: a full set of CARE by Stella McCartney, the first luxury organic skincare line, containing 100% organic active ingredients.
Monday 23rd July
9am: Winning anti-fur slogans uploaded in main island areas.
Friday 27th July
2pm: Sack race.
Sunday 29th July
7am: Final protest. Island closes with a celebratory wrap party with live dj.
Daily protest marches take place at 13.00 and 18.00 (GMT).
17.00 (GMT) Island opens
18.00 (GMT) competition for guests to create the best anti fur slogan, based around the iconic PETA slogan ‘I’d rather go naked than wear fur’ launches.
19.00 - 23.00 (GMT) outdoor celebration and picnic to celebrate the island launch.
Tuesday 17th July at 19.00 (GMT)
Pamela Anderson will make a guest appearance on the island for one hour. Pamela will pose naked for a photo op behind a ‘rather go naked than wear fur’ banner and then visit the PETA tree house to introduce her PETA Kentucky Fried Cruelty video.
Thursday 19th July at 19.00 (GMT)
Screening of the new Paul McCartney video for ‘Dance Tonight’
Saturday 21st July at 19.00 (GMT)
Wheelbarrow race.
Sunday 22nd July at 19.00 (GMT)
Winner of anti-fur slogan competition announced:
Monday 23rd July at 14.00 (GMT)
Winning anti-fur slogans uploaded in main island areas.
Friday 27th July at 19.00 (GMT)
Sack race.
Sunday 29th July at 12.00 (GMT)
Final protest. Island closes with a celebratory wrap party with live dj.
This Monday, Morrissey played a sold-out show at the Norva, a few blocks from PETA HQ here in Norfolk, Virginia. I tried, desperately, to get tickets—but that's another story. According to my more fortunate colleagues who did attend the show, Morrissey stopped three songs in and announced, to thunderous applause, that he was "very gratified." He continued, “You haven’t even heard what I’m gratified about yet. I’m very gratified to be so close to the international headquarters of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.” The audience responded with enthusiastic cheers, which is a good sign that Morrissey's fans are all either exceptionally animal-friendly or just very polite. But the best part of the show came near the end, when Morrissey started riffing on Madonna and her fondness for fur:
“I wouldn’t be surprised if she made that African boy into a coat and wore him … for 15 minutes, and then threw it away.”
Zing! The story found its way onto VH1's The Sizzler last night—you can check that out here.
Just in case you weren’t aware, our Morrissey’s a big fan of animals.
I’ve never understood the whole carriage horse attraction. Setting aside the animal rights thing for a second, I just don’t get how people could possibly construe riding around a loud busy city in a non-air-conditioned buggy while smelling horse crap the whole time as even the slightest bit romantic. I’ve always found it totally absurd. But believe it or not, that’s not what this post is about . . .
Last week a spooked horse used for carriage rides collided with a taxi cab in NYC, injuring the horse and taxi driver. Sadly, this isn’t an isolated incident. Carriage and car collisions and other such accidents have occurred in nearly every location where horse-drawn carriages are allowed. The last one I heard about was last year when a horse was euthanized after bolting from his carriage and slamming into a station wagon—the driver received a fractured skull and a medically induced coma. You may remember that case because Martha Stewart’s daughter, Alexis, jumped on it and brought some much needed attention to the issue. The same year, two other people were seriously injured in collisions, and one horse was repeatedly whipped after collapsing in Central Park—she died in her stall the next morning. Anyway, this latest incident—there have been more than 20 in the past 10 years—happened on July 4th, when a horse became spooked and ran into a taxi cab, resulting in lacerations of the horse’s leg and hospitalization of the cab driver.
The harsh reality here is that as long as horses are forced to work in loud and busy city environments, these accidents will continue to happen regularly. And in addition to the clear danger it poses to people, the horses’ hooves and legs suffer from constant pounding on hard pavement and the smoke and exhaust fumes from urban traffic can make them ill.
So, please take a moment to click here to join us in urging the New York City council to ban the outdated and cruel horse-drawn carriages that endanger animals, drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. Palm Beach, Fla., London, Paris, and Toronto have all banned carriage horses because of cruelty to animals, and it’s time for New York City to join them.
And don’t worry about the tourists. They’ll be fine. If they insist on sticking out like a sore thumb they can still take one of the super cheesy roof-top bus tours . . .
Three years ago, we went inside AgriProcessors slaughterhouse—the world's largest Kosher slaughterhouse—and uncovered close to 300 instances of inhumane slaughter. Workers at that slaughterhouse were ripping the tracheas out of fully conscious cows and watching them writhe in pools of their own blood. As usual when we uncover this kind of abuse, the company hemmed and hawed and tried to pretend that we were making a big deal out of nothing, but despite their unwillingness to accept responsibility for their actions, we had hoped that the widespread public outrage would convince the company that, even among meat-eaters, the treatment of farmed animals is a matter of serious concern that directly affects the bottom line of organizations which refuse to take it seriously. In 2006, the owners of AgriProcessors opened a new kosher slaughterhouse, Local Pride, in Gordon, Nebraska. Sadly, as this video shows, little has been done to help mitigate the suffering of the animals who pay the price for corporate greed. Click here to learn more. And if you’re unable to get all the way through this video without wincing, you can take a pledge to try out vegetarianism here.
Anyway, the gist of the article was that as brain science becomes more advanced, scientists are discovering more and more evidence of actual physical processes that relate to feelings like empathy, disgust, or joy:
"That is, they are discovering physical bases for the feelings from which moral sense emerges - not just in people but in other animals as well… As biologists turn up evidence that animals can exhibit emotions and patterns of cognition once thought of as strictly human, Descartes's dictum, ‘I think, therefore I am,’ loses its force."
The article centers around the argument that it's simply false reasoning to attempt to distinguish humans from animals based on who has a soul and who doesn't. I'm still trying to wrap my head round the whole concept, honestly, but it's definitely worth a read if you have time—or if, like me you have people giving you weird jive about souls when you try to talk to them about animals. You can read the full article here.
This story by Idaho cruelty investigator Karen Williams is currently making its way around the internet, so you may have already seen it. But I found it to be incredibly moving, so I wanted to post it anyway. I’ll let the story speak for itself, but I will say that Princess Cuteyface got some extra lovin from me after I read this one . . .
"I killed your cat today…You remember, the sweet little black one who I am certain used to curl up beside you and sleep. The loving cat that used to run to greet you every day you came home from work. The one who used to purr so loud as a kitten you thought for sure he would hurt himself. I'm certain you were so excited to bring home such an adorable little fur ball and I know how much fun it was to watch him grow. His gorgeous gold eyes mesmerized you and you couldn't get over how beautiful they were. Oh how much fun it would be to finally have a cat! But then the newness began to wear off, the excitement began to wane, and he wasn't nearly as much as he used to be. The thought of having to clean out the litter box every day; making sure he had clean water and food available; and then there were vaccinations and vet care he would need for his entire life! Did you ever think that maybe you weren't ready to make a lifetime commitment to him? Was it because he was no longer a cute little kitten? Maybe he started to claw your furniture? Did you adopt him even though you lived in a place that didn't allow pets, but thought you could sneak him in? Maybe you moved and didn't own up to the RESPONSIBILTY of pet ownership? Or is it because we live in a society today where it pets are disposable? After all, it's easy to just dump them off at a shelter. You just know someone will adopt him because, after all, he is beautiful and friendly. That's what you told your kids as they stood in the lobby of the animal shelter crying. The person behind the counter remained silent, knowing full well that your cat may be euthanized as soon as you walk out the front door. You see, shelters are full of beautiful, loving pets that folks just like you drop off every minute of every day. Sadly, most of them are destined for the landfill to make room for more loving, beautiful pets the next day. You did teach your kids a lesson that day. You taught them it's ok to throw away a pet. You taught them animals have no value; they are just property to be disposed of when they are no longer convenient. You showed them how simple it is to refuse to take responsibility. Lessons that will follow them throughout their lives; that I am certain of. But you didn't dump this cat off at a shelter. You chose to drive him to a remote area with just a few houses, hoping someone would take him in. You chose to turn him loose in an area full of wildlife, mostly predators, always looking for an easy meal. Hawks, Owls, Eagles, Coyotes, Foxes, etc, the list goes on….But your cat was one of the lucky ones. He managed to survive and did find people that cared. He found a couple who didn't want to see him injured or die a horrific death. They cared enough about YOUR cat to catch him and to try to offer him a chance at the Humane Society. But because so many folks refuse to take responsibility for their pets, the Humane Society is inundated with unwanted and abandoned pets. These nice folks were put on a waiting list and told it would be 2 – 8 weeks before the Humane Society may have room. They cared for YOUR cat, until he got scared one day and bit the lady on the arm. It wasn't a vicious attack, he was terrified. After all, he went from a quiet life, to being tossed out into the woods to fend for himself, to being kept in a cage to keep him safe. I wonder how you would have reacted under the same circumstances. I killed your cat today…..not because I am evil or twisted. Not because I needed a cat to fulfill some type of ritual. Not because I wanted to, because I HAD to. You see, when YOUR cat bit the lady that was trying to help him, he wasn't able to show me proof of having a rabies vaccination. I guess you didn't think to send that along with him when you dumped him off. I killed your cat today….and I want you to know how and why. I want you to know so that maybe, just maybe, you think about this before you decide to get another pet. I want you to know so you can see just how emotionally draining it is on those of us who chose to take responsibility for YOUR pet. I want you to know YOUR cat died on a cold stainless steel table, in the hands of total strangers. Strangers that were heartbroken by having to kill a healthy, loving animal that through no fault of his own ended up on that table. Strangers that held him close and stroked his fur while he drifted off to a never ending sleep. I want you to know that YOUR cat was then taken into a back room and dismembered so his head could be sent off to a lab to be tested for rabies. I want you to know that YOUR cat caused a great deal of distress and heartache for all of us involved in his case. I want you to know that I then had to transport the remains of your cat to the landfill for disposal. Even the folks working at the landfill are affected knowing when I drive in; I am delivering what was once a cherished pet. I want YOU to know that as much as I love my job, having YOUR cat killed deeply affects me. You see, I love ALL animals. I do my job because maybe, just maybe, I CAN make a difference in the lives of those who have no voice. I do my job, so maybe; just maybe, I can convince some people that pets aren't disposable. While I know I can't save them all, I can save one at a time. I killed your cat today…. I just wanted you to know." Author: Karen J. Williams,Animal Cruelty Investigator, Idaho
"I killed your cat today…
You remember, the sweet little black one who I am certain used to curl up beside you and sleep. The loving cat that used to run to greet you every day you came home from work. The one who used to purr so loud as a kitten you thought for sure he would hurt himself. I'm certain you were so excited to bring home such an adorable little fur ball and I know how much fun it was to watch him grow. His gorgeous gold eyes mesmerized you and you couldn't get over how beautiful they were. Oh how much fun it would be to finally have a cat!
But then the newness began to wear off, the excitement began to wane, and he wasn't nearly as much as he used to be. The thought of having to clean out the litter box every day; making sure he had clean water and food available; and then there were vaccinations and vet care he would need for his entire life! Did you ever think that maybe you weren't ready to make a lifetime commitment to him? Was it because he was no longer a cute little kitten? Maybe he started to claw your furniture? Did you adopt him even though you lived in a place that didn't allow pets, but thought you could sneak him in? Maybe you moved and didn't own up to the RESPONSIBILTY of pet ownership? Or is it because we live in a society today where it pets are disposable?
After all, it's easy to just dump them off at a shelter. You just know someone will adopt him because, after all, he is beautiful and friendly. That's what you told your kids as they stood in the lobby of the animal shelter crying. The person behind the counter remained silent, knowing full well that your cat may be euthanized as soon as you walk out the front door. You see, shelters are full of beautiful, loving pets that folks just like you drop off every minute of every day. Sadly, most of them are destined for the landfill to make room for more loving, beautiful pets the next day.
You did teach your kids a lesson that day. You taught them it's ok to throw away a pet. You taught them animals have no value; they are just property to be disposed of when they are no longer convenient. You showed them how simple it is to refuse to take responsibility. Lessons that will follow them throughout their lives; that I am certain of.
But you didn't dump this cat off at a shelter. You chose to drive him to a remote area with just a few houses, hoping someone would take him in. You chose to turn him loose in an area full of wildlife, mostly predators, always looking for an easy meal. Hawks, Owls, Eagles, Coyotes, Foxes, etc, the list goes on….But your cat was one of the lucky ones. He managed to survive and did find people that cared. He found a couple who didn't want to see him injured or die a horrific death. They cared enough about YOUR cat to catch him and to try to offer him a chance at the Humane Society. But because so many folks refuse to take responsibility for their pets, the Humane Society is inundated with unwanted and abandoned pets. These nice folks were put on a waiting list and told it would be 2 – 8 weeks before the Humane Society may have room.
They cared for YOUR cat, until he got scared one day and bit the lady on the arm. It wasn't a vicious attack, he was terrified. After all, he went from a quiet life, to being tossed out into the woods to fend for himself, to being kept in a cage to keep him safe. I wonder how you would have reacted under the same circumstances.
I killed your cat today…..not because I am evil or twisted. Not because I needed a cat to fulfill some type of ritual. Not because I wanted to, because I HAD to. You see, when YOUR cat bit the lady that was trying to help him, he wasn't able to show me proof of having a rabies vaccination. I guess you didn't think to send that along with him when you dumped him off.
I killed your cat today….and I want you to know how and why. I want you to know so that maybe, just maybe, you think about this before you decide to get another pet. I want you to know so you can see just how emotionally draining it is on those of us who chose to take responsibility for YOUR pet.
I want you to know YOUR cat died on a cold stainless steel table, in the hands of total strangers. Strangers that were heartbroken by having to kill a healthy, loving animal that through no fault of his own ended up on that table. Strangers that held him close and stroked his fur while he drifted off to a never ending sleep.
I want you to know that YOUR cat was then taken into a back room and dismembered so his head could be sent off to a lab to be tested for rabies. I want you to know that YOUR cat caused a great deal of distress and heartache for all of us involved in his case. I want you to know that I then had to transport the remains of your cat to the landfill for disposal. Even the folks working at the landfill are affected knowing when I drive in; I am delivering what was once a cherished pet.
I want YOU to know that as much as I love my job, having YOUR cat killed deeply affects me. You see, I love ALL animals. I do my job because maybe, just maybe, I CAN make a difference in the lives of those who have no voice. I do my job, so maybe; just maybe, I can convince some people that pets aren't disposable. While I know I can't save them all, I can save one at a time. I killed your cat today…. I just wanted you to know."
Author: Karen J. Williams,Animal Cruelty Investigator, Idaho
“What is a heterosexual meat eater like me doing in a place like this?” asked James Carville, in his own living room last night. “Well, like everything else, you can blame it on Bill.”
Remember the party that political powerhouses James Carville and Mary Matalin were gonna throw for PETA VP Dan Mathews? To make a long story short, after hitting it off with Dan at a dinner for Bill Clinton recently, Carville and Matalin decided to host a party to launch Dan’s awesome new book, Committed: A Rabble-Rouser’s Memoir. Well, the party was last night and it sounds like it was a blast.
The soiree attracted Capitol Hill folk from both ends of the political spectrum, including Democratic big wig Rep. Rahm Emanuel, Bush speech writer John McConnell, a gaggle of gay Washington scenesters, and even well-known Friend of Bill, Steve Bing, who flew in from Los Angeles just for the event. After introductions by Matalin and Carville, Dan got things started by saying, “Although PETA is a nonpartisan organization, we are hardcore party animals.” And in typical Dan Mathews style he made sure the cocktails at the vegan dinner party were made with Beefeater. Love it.
I guess my invitation got lost in the mail, huh Dan?
My roommate is big into political documentaries at the moment, and this weekend he rented a '93 documentary about Bill Clinton's presidential campaign, called "War Room", which I found myself mesmerized by. Two things really struck me about the film: The first were the similarities between the unorthodox way that campaign was run and the way things work here at PETA—the "no bad ideas" brainstorming sessions, the behind-the-scenes maneuvering for positive media coverage, and the quirky stunts to draw attention to an important issue (Clinton supporters even had a guy in a chicken suit sneak into the republican convention with a sign reading "Poultry Workers for Bush" on one side to fool security and "Chicken Bush Won't Debate" on the other for the TV cameras).
The second thing that really stood out about the movie was the sheer force of personality of James Carville, who brilliantly engineered Clinton's landslide victory over George Bush Part 1 in '92. There's a PETA connection here, too, since James and his wife Mary Matalin—a force to be reckoned with on the other side of the aisle—who met PETA VP Dan Mathews at a recent event in Las Vegas, are going to be hosting a party for Dan's new book, Committed, at their home in Virginia this Thursday. When asked what inspired them to help promote the book, Mary Matalin answered, "Good man, good book, good cause. Let's party!" Couldn't have said it better myself.
You can read more about the story here.
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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