We've told you about some of the best iPhone apps for animals, such as guides to cruelty-free shopping and vegetarian dining. Now there's an app for those times when you just don't feel like speaking "vegan-ese" to your nonvegan friends: the vegan soundboard from quarrygirl.com. And the bonus? It's free!

Some of these vegan sound bites are simultaneously hilarious and embarrassing—it's good to know, for example, that just by pushing a "button" I can let people know about my obsessions with the PPK and the vegan mecca that is Portland (there's a vegan mini-mall, for goodness' sake!). But I shudder to think that I've ever demanded, "Do you have a separate fryer for your French fries?" (Seriously. Don't be that guy.)

iPhone devotees can download the app for free. For those of you who still carry flip phones, no worries. You can still play with the soundboard here.

If you were going to create your own vegan soundboard, what would you put on it?

Written by Amanda Schinke

bioweb.uwlax.edu / CC

The agency that oversees the largest animal testing program of all time has just announced new guidelines that mean that the number of animals who could fall victim to toxicity testing during the course of the program has dropped—by 4.5 million!

This news from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) comes in response to a detailed letter PETA initiated in cooperation with other animal protection groups. That letter was written after we learned from a chemical manufacturer that under the E.U.'s new Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical Substances (REACH) Regulation, a number of duplicative tests were going to be conducted.

PETA, along with PETA Europe, the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments, Eurogroup for Animals, HSI Europe, and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, voiced concerns about the likelihood that companies would conduct duplicative animal tests for some types of toxicity when registering their chemicals under REACH. The letter explained how the redundant testing could be avoided.

ECHA was quick to issue a news release and a factsheet instructing chemical companies not to conduct initial toxicity screenings if they are planning to conduct more comprehensive tests during the later stages of REACH. Based on ECHA's own figures, 6,000 chemicals may fall under the relevant information requirements, and because up to 735 animals may be used for the initial toxicity screening for each chemical tested, ECHA's response has the potential to save the lives of 4.5 million animals.

There's still much work to be done, as REACH will still cause massive animal suffering. But you can bet your (vegan) boots that our next step will be to do everything possible to make sure that companies follow ECHA's new guidelines so that as many animals as possible will be spared.

Written by Shawna Flavell

Imagine being sealed inside a clear coffin, bubble-wrapped, packaged in a box and sent through the mail on a terrifying journey to an unknown destination. Jostled around, forced to endure the summer heat while sitting in a delivery truck, and living in your own waste. If you can imagine this, you have some idea of how the little frog in this video feels.

This traumatized or now dead frog is a 'replacement' for another who died in a Brookstone Frog-O-Sphere. Despite public outrage and PETA protests, the body count continues to rise as Brookstone refuses to stop peddling live animals.

Urge Brookstone to send these Frog-O-Spheres packing and immediately implement a policy against selling live animals at all of their stores. If you know anybody who has misguidedly purchased these poor frogs only to watch them helplessly suffer and die, please inform them to request a chargeback on their credit card as Brookstone defers responsibility and costs for deaths and 'replacements' to the breeder.

Written by Amy Elizabeth

Remember when Al Roker suggested to Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt that there are some people who believe that they just might be "everything that is wrong with celebrity in this country"?

thesebootsaremadeforstalking / CC

It looks like the dreaded "Speidi" are proving Mr. Roker's point for him. Much like other famous airheads, "Speidi" have shown their total disregard for the plight of homeless animals by buying themselves a "designer dog."

When the duo first expressed an interest in adding a canine member to their family, PETA sent them a letter clueing them in to the importance of adopting dogs and cats from shelters—but, apparently, Heidi and Spencer are too caught up in themselves to care about the 6 to 8 million dogs and cats who are turned over to animal shelters every year.

We probably shouldn't be surprised, though. Here's a question for you: What happened to Bella the Chihuahua?

Written by Amanda Schinke

This morning, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with President Obama at the Canadian Embassy in D.C., he got a welcome that I'm sure he won't forget any time soon.

Three "seals" covered with red paint writhed on the ground to illustrate what happens to hundreds of thousands of harp seals in Canada.

Fifteen other demonstrators held up stop signs reading, "Harper: Stop the Seal Slaughter."

With D.C. traffic already backed up, the cops weren't thrilled with the additional congestion.

Luckily, the officers weren't armed with hakapiks.

If Prime Minister Harper wants a warmer welcome next time, the first thing that he should do is stop the annual seal slaughter.

Written by Liz Graffeo

hawaiimagazine / CC

By now, you probably know what President Obama thinks about Kanye's VMA stunt.

We want the president to rest assured that PETA, for one, can sympathize with his sentiments. After all, this isn't the first time that Kanye has been insensitive to the feelings of others.

Written by Karin Bennett

whosdatedwho / CC

Don't worry, he's still John James Preston, but Big? Not so much.

A vegetarian cleanse helped Chris Noth slim down so that he could reprise his role as the charming commitmentphobe in Sex and the City 2. When asked how he got that body into shape, he said, "It was a total vegetarian diet … I've never been a vegetarian, but the way [the Island Experience in Brazil] prepare[s] it is exquisite."

Even though he left Carrie at the altar in Part 1, if he makes this new vegetarian lifestyle permanent, it might make me forgive him in time for Part 2. There's really no better way to stay trim, healthy, and compassionate … you can bet your cosmo on that.

Written by Christine Doré

cularis / CC

Mississippi chef, restaurateur, and author Robert St. John has revealed that PETA's recent billboard inspired him to go vegetarian for the month of September in an effort to lose weight. In a column for the Laurel Leader-Call, he wrote the following:

Yep, for 30 days the meat-loving columnist will forgo the bacon and buffalo wings, which means that some pigs and chickens will be spared from winding up on his plate.

Our advice to Mr. St. John? Stay away from dairy foods too. Seriously, you could gain 2 pounds just by looking at cheese fries.

Written by Karin Bennett

What does PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk think about Michael Vick’s return to the NFL? We’ll let her tell you:

Written by Shawna Flavell

Many vegan Wisconsinites cringe at the sight of "Green Bay Cheeseheads"—not to mention their state's standard license plate, which reads, "America's Dairyland," and features an image of a quaint farm.

Caring drivers in Wisconsin deserve a compassionate alternative to "pro-provolone" plates, so PETA wrote a letter to Governor Jim Doyle pointing out that people who are concerned about cruelty on dairy farms should be offered a license plate that reads, "Wisconsin: America's Cow Hell," and comes complete with a realistic image of distressed, sick cows crammed together on a filthy factory farm.

While we wait to hear back from the governor, the Madison-based animal rights organization Alliance for Animals has already produced an "America's Cow Hell" sticker for Wisconsin drivers to place over the existing "America's Dairyland" on their license plates. Visit Alliance for Animals' Web site to order yours today.

Written by Karin Bennett