At PETA, we know that some rules (such as being quiet in meetings) are meant to be broken, but anti-cruelty laws should never be ignored. That's why when we heard that Ringling Bros. was going to Columbus, Ohio, and taking elephants and abusive bullhooks with it, we wrote to the mayor asking him to enforce a law that bans electric and other prods and similar devices from being used on animals in circuses. And what do you think Mayor Michael B. Coleman said in response? Not a peep.

So we showed up outside City Hall—bullhooks in hand—with signs reading, "Mayor Coleman: Enforce Anti-Cruelty Laws" and "Beating Elephants Is a Crime."

After seeing the bullhooks in person—with their sharp steel hooks designed to dig into elephants' flesh in the most sensitive areas (such as the soft flesh behind the ears and inside the ear and mouth)—here's hoping Mayor Coleman straightens up and enforces the law.

Want to join us when PETA comes to your town to help animals? Join our Action Team!

In the '80s, people sang "We Are the World," but for Earth Day 2013, PETA gave that idea a very literal spin: Instead of wearing their hearts on their sleeves, these good folks took off their sleeves (and everything else) in favor of blue and green bodypaint for a demonstration in Vancouver. They reminded everyone who saw them that we can help the planet simply by choosing healthy and humane vegan foods.

So remember: If you want to save the world and its inhabitants (or just look your best without clothes), going vegan is the best way to start!

Come on—you know we couldn't let Justin Timberlake's performance at the White House go unmarked by a tribute to his immortal Saturday Night Live skit in which he (literally) sang the praises of vegan eating:

Are you thinkin' about your he-ealth, oh, oh? Then veg out! No meat, so chic.

Last Friday was especially good for animals. In honor of the Christian holiday Good Friday, PETA pigs were out in front of the HoneyBaked Ham store in Oakland, California, and lots of other stores, too, joined by friends holding signs like the one below and "It's a Good Friday to Go Vegan."

We also handed out copies of our "Glass Walls" video and vegan starter kits to curious customers, showing them what really happens to pigs before they become a honey-baked ham. (Spoiler: It's anything but merciful.) It was plenty of food for thought for Easter patrons.

How does your faith or philosophy about life influence your compassion for animals? Tell us in the comments below!

PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk put her money where her mouth is—in a very literal sense—in an eye-catching protest outside British retailer Fortnum & Mason's Piccadilly store this week. 

The protest illustrated what geese endure while they are being raised for the foie gras sold in Fortnum & Mason stores. But in order to replicate fully how foie gras is produced, Ingrid would have had to be force-fed several times a day for weeks until her diseased liver had painfully swelled to up to 10 times its normal size.

The process is so cruel that it's illegal in the U.K., but Fortnum & Mason continues to sell foie gras imported from France, where a recent PETA U.K. investigation documented the confinement of geese to crowded, filthy pens and their slaughter while still conscious.

High-profile British venues, including the House of Lords, the House of Commons, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Wimbledon, Lord's Cricket Ground, and all the residences of His Royal Highness Prince Charles, refuse to serve foie gras, and retailers Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, House of Fraser, and Jenners refuse to sell it. PETA UK won't stop until it has added Fortnum & Mason to that list.

March 14 is Albert Einstein's birthday, and the celebration was in full swing at Princeton University, where he held a position until his death, when PETA showed up with an Einstein that made the rest of the tributes look like mere bosons:

Even though we had to use a bit of string theory to keep the big-brained scientist on his feet, students flocked to take pictures with him and hear what was perhaps his best equation: Veggies = health + happiness.

According to Einstein, who was a vegetarian, "the vegetarian manner of living by its purely physical effect on the human temperament would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind." 

We'd say that's relativity genius.

How do horses show love? They nuzzle and groom each other.

How do people show love to horses? By refusing to ride in a horse-drawn carriage. 

On most Valentine's Days, record numbers of these sensitive, skittish animals are forced to drag carriages full of people across the hard pavement, dodging loud traffic and breathing exhaust fumes. But this February 14, PETA asked people to celebrate in a truly lovely way: taking a romantic stroll and leaving abused horses out of the plan.

Demonstrators explained that in the past year alone, there have been 13 accidents involving horse-drawn carriages. There were a barrage of supportive honks and thumbs-up signs, and a group of 50 high school students saw us and cheered.

And the efforts paid off: Few people climbed aboard the carriages.

Multitudes have called on New York to ban horse-drawn carriages. Please add your name to the list today.

As President Barack Obama began a tour of the country to talk about jobs and the economy, PETA met him in Asheville, North Carolina, and presented him with a job description of our own:

While the president spoke to Asheville residents about lowering the unemployment rate, PETA asked him to grant retirement to the bears who are suffering in another part of the state in squalid roadside bear pits. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently suspended the operating license of one of the pits, the Chief Saunooke Bear Park, after PETA filed multiple complaints about animal abuse there. The USDA cited the bear pit for, among other abuse, denying the bears adequate food and veterinary care.   

Obviously, the Secret Service took stock of our bear and her message. Here's hoping the POTUS realizes soon that these bears want to be unemployed, like, now!  

Last week marked the end of legal public nudity in San Francisco—and you wouldn't expect PETA to sit it out, would you? Several all-star volunteers gathered full-monty style at City Hall to protest the theft of animals' skins by declaring that they are comfortable in their own skin. 

Unlike humans, who can (or at least used to legally be able to) choose how much skin to expose in public, animals raised and killed for their skins often have their flesh unwillingly ripped off their bodies while they're still alive. Please don't ever buy leather, fur, or other items made from animals' skins and fur—choose garments and accessories made from pleather, faux fur, and other cruelty-free materials instead!

The carcass-cooking food trucks that signed up for the barbecue competition at D.C.'s Meat Week got thoroughly smoked—by a pig, a cow, and some meat-free meatballs. 

PETA members and their costumed counterparts set out to give Meat Week attendees some flesh-free options, but as it turned out, meat-free was the only way to be: The food truck chefs couldn't handle the cold temperatures and retreated inside. The iron-fueled vegans, however, stayed out to greet passersby and share the secret behind their resilience: 

The event's organizers might not have been outside handing out meat, but they did have to hand it to our dedicated demonstrators. And in return, the PETA members offered the organizers a taste of compassionate fare that hopefully left them feeling a little warmer toward animals.