주전자 / CC by 2.0

Animal-friendly baseball fans don't have to settle for popcorn, peanuts, and cracker jacks anymore. They can score veggie dogs, faux steak sandwiches, and vegan versions of other stadium favorites at many big-league ballparks. Check out PETA's list of the top 10 vegetarian-friendly major-league ballparks of 2010 to see where your team ranks in the standings:

1. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies)
   It's hard to say whether the Phils' biggest off-season acquisition was ace Roy Halladay or the new faux chicken sandwich and vegan rice crispie treats offered at concession stands. Added to other meat-free fare, including veggie burgers, Southwestern black-bean burgers, veggie dogs, faux steak sandwiches, veggie chicken steaks, mock crab cakes, hummus and pita chips, and fresh fruit, Citizens Bank Park is the first undisputed dynasty in the history of PETA's prestigious rankings.
2. AT&T Park (San Francisco Giants)
   Vegetarian meals are flying off AT&T Park's concessions stands faster than a Tim Lincecum fastball. Meat-free Giants fans can power up with a protein-packed veggie dog or Gardenburger along with a brand-new mixed vegetable sandwich, a portobello mushroom sandwich, a California roll, a vegetable roll, vegetable burritos and tamales, a broccoli tofu platter, vegetable chow fun, and more.
3. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros)
   Carlos Lee might be coming up empty at the plate, but fans are loading their plates with veggie burritos, quinoa tabbouleh, and sun-dried tomato rigatoni, all new for the 2010 season. Minute Maid Park also serves up hearty veggie dogs, Thai noodle salad, hummus and vegetable wraps, vegetarian sushi, fruit smoothies, rice and beans, and organic baby-vegetable ratatouille.
4. Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers)
   Jeremy Bonderman is healthy once again, and Tigers fans can be, too, by putting down the fatty hot dogs and choosing one of Comerica Park's delicious, nutritious vegetarian options, including black-bean burgers, vegetable fried rice, and a hummus plate as well as veteran favorites such as veggie burgers, veggie dogs, and vegetarian taco salads, stir-fries, and sushi.
5. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies)
   It used to be that finding satisfying vegetarian food at ballparks was harder than spelling "Tulowitzki," but nowadays smart folks—like the concessions staff at Coors Field—are responding in a big way to the booming demand for humane, healthy meat-free ballpark fare. Rockies fans can chow down on veggie burgers, dogs, wraps, burritos, kabobs, and paninis as well as fresh salads and fruit, roasted portobello sandwiches, and made-to-order potato skins.
6. Turner Field (Atlanta Braves)
   With the arrival of Jason Heyward, the Braves' future is looking bright, and fans can make sure that they're around to enjoy it by going vegetarian and slashing their risk of heart attack, cancer, and diabetes. Turner Field now has everything from veggie dogs and meatless tacos and burritos to baked beans, Asian noodles, and organic zucchini dip.
7. PETCO Park (San Diego Padres)
   PETA is not a fan of PETCO—the massive corporate giant that buys animals from abusive factory farms that PETA has exposed over and over again—but we're cheering for all the animal-free options at the Padres' stadium. With veggie burgers and veggie dogs, vegetarian sushi rolls, roasted corn, vegetarian burritos, and hummus and vegetables, there's plenty of good eats for animal-friendly fans to enjoy.
8. Angel Stadium (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
   No matter what the team is called, fans can agree that Angel Stadium is heavenly for vegetarians. The stadium has an all-star lineup of vegetarian options, including veggie Chicago dogs, edamame, Gardenburgers, California cucumber rolls, veggie paninis, bean burritos, roasted vegetable sandwiches, and more.
9. Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers)
   Vegetarian slugger and reigning Home Run Derby champ Prince Fielder is proof that players don't need to eat meat to go yard, and fans of the Brew Crew don't need to go far to find great-tasting meatless meals. The stadium sells veggie dogs, veggie wraps, baked potatoes, made-to-order pasta, build-your-own burritos, portobello mushroom focaccia sandwiches, and other vegetarian foods.
10. (tie) Target Field (Minnesota Twins)
    With vegan pitcher Pat Neshek back soon, Kirby the Kestrel on the foul pole, and veggie dogs, veggie burgers, veggie burritos and tacos, fruit kabobs, and other vegetarian items in the concession stands, the new Target Field is a pretty animal-friendly place.
11. (tie) Progressive Field (Cleveland Indians)
    The Indians haven't gained much ground this season, but Progressive Field has shown that it's pretty, well … progressive. The stadium has expanded its roster to include veggie dogs, veggie subs, wild grain and tofu curry, and veggie pasta in addition to veggie wraps, fruit cups, and roasted vegetables.

This week, PETA released never-before-seen footage from our three-month investigation of Sun Pet Ltd.—an Atlanta-based supplier of small mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and other animals to stores nationwide, including PETCO and PetSmart. In the shocking video, a Sun Pet worker is seen slamming hamsters against a table in an attempt to kill them—evidently because they were deemed unsalable. At least one of the hamsters was still alive for several minutes afterward, panting in the sealed plastic bag.

Not surprisingly, Sun Pet has released a video of its own, showing conditions for the animals at its Atlanta small-animal breeding farm. It doesn't look all that great to us.

Thank you, Sun Pet, for helping PETA show the world the sort of hellish warehouses that PETCO and PetSmart's animals come from! We are not quite sure which part is supposed to serve as a response to PETA's allegations. Is it the footage of the animals who were crammed into pitch-black, tomb-like bins and wire cages; the footage of the animals who were being packed up for shipping as if they were inanimate objects; the footage of the chinchilla cages that the Georgia Department of Agriculture last month found to be in violation of the law; the footage of the fecal matter that was all over the small animals' bedding; or the footage of the rabbits who were being kept in tiny, barren wire cages with no bedding to protect their tender feet?

In its written response to PETA's video, Sun Pet says that it has dismissed the employee in the video. That's a start—but it's not enough. The manager who approved of the hamster-bashing is apparently still punching the clock down at Sun Pet. That's the same manager who said that one could throw mice against a wall and suggested that PETA's investigator expose small animals' testicles by poking and prodding away at their abdomens as if they were PlayStation controllers.

Every employee who abused animals at Sun Pet should be fired and prosecuted—something that Sun Pet vice president and general manager Barry Wisebram said in an interview that he would "make sure" happened. PETA sent a letter to Wisebram yesterday asking him to stick to his word. (He's apparently been too busy taking reporters on tours around his spruced-up warehouses, crafting misleading media statements, and making cameos in the video to do what's right for the hundreds of thousands of animals in his care—or even to get back to us.)

Oh, and one more thing: In Sun Pet's written response, the company asks for "suggestions or information that would help us."

We think that's a great idea. Please take a few minutes to contact Wisebram and politely suggest that it's time for the company to get out of the animal business altogether:

Barry Wisebram
Sun Pet Ltd.
3765 Zip Industrial Blvd.
Atlanta, GA 30354

Written by Paula Moore

Many people just don't realize how horrible glue traps are for mice, rats, and unintended victims such as birds and kittens—or that Lowe's refuses to stop selling these cruel devices. Well, PETA's "mouse" enlightened shoppers outside a Lowe's in Charlotte, North Carolina, yesterday—just in time for the company's annual meeting, which takes place today.

I bet the gal with phone in the photo above is tapping out an e-mail to Lowe's bigwigs. Or she could be reminding her Facebook friends to be nice to mice. Please cover all the bases by doing both. Small, sensitive animals thank you in advance.

Written by Karin Bennett

Our neighbors to the south have been busy bees for animals lately. Last Saturday, more than 9,000 people took part in a massive activist-organized march for animal rights in Mexico City. How inspiring are these pics?!

The event raised tons of awareness, got lots of media coverage, and allowed organizers to gather more than 6,500 signatures on a petition asking the government to introduce tougher penalties—including jail time—for people who are convicted of cruelty to animals. Not bad for a day's work.

If you are the mood for a margarita and a march for animals, swing by Mexico City on June 27 to join this stellar group of people for another march in honor of Mexico City's official Animal Rights Day. Or if you are just feeling inspired by all this activism, be an amigo to animals by trying one or two of PETA's easy summer outreach ideas.

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post

Congratulations to white-hot menswear designer John Bartlett, who just received the American Image Award for Designer of the Year from the American Apparel & Footwear Association. This trendsetting designer is as notable for his compassion as he is for his clothing—he recently announced that he has gone vegan and that the collection that he showed in February will be his last to include leather!

As Bartlett explained, "After working in the fashion industry for over 15 years, I have had a recent awakening of sorts and am committed going forward to discontinue all use of leather. I am very alarmed by the recent resurgence of fur on the runways and will be reaching out to my colleagues about the realities of this horrific aspect of our industry. I am presently working to develop a vegan shoe and accessory line and have gone vegan after discovering the devastating state of factory farming."

And if that's not enough to make you a fan, consider this: When asked by an interviewer what he would do if he weren't a designer, he said he thought that he would be working with dogs in animal shelters. Awwww. Way to go, John!

Written by Jeff Mackey

The following is a post that originally appeared on PETA Prime.

Because of your support, PETA is able to work in local communities, helping individual animals in need. Thousands of animals are helped by PETA's Community Animal Project (CAP) each year. This is the second in a series of posts chronicling the work of CAP—this post is from Amanda Kyle, fieldworker for CAP. The first post can be found here.

As a CAP fieldworker, I was out one day delivering doghouses and straw bedding to dogs who are forced to live outdoors when a passerby alerted me to two semi-feral dogs suffering from severe skin infections. When I stopped by to check on the situation, I found these two frightened puppies living on what appeared to be an abandoned property. They wouldn't let me get close enough to touch them. Both dogs had bloody sores and were missing a lot of hair. No one was home, so I left a note, gave the dogs food, and put straw bedding inside a wooden box that seemed to serve as their "house."

I tried for several days to track down these suffering puppies' guardian—I talked to neighbors and stopped by at different times but could find no one who seemed to know anything. The puppies had been surviving off scraps that neighbors and passersby left for them.

Days later, when I stopped by, this time at night, the temperature was 18 degrees, and the note I left the first day was still on the door. I couldn't leave these puppies out there any longer. I can't even imagine how painful the below-freezing temperatures must have felt on their cracked, bleeding skin. I spent hours trying to catch these poor, frightened puppies, and I finally succeeded in coaxing them into carriers.

A vet determined that they both had a severe case of mange covering about 80 percent of their bodies. Their skin was also badly infected from the bleeding wounds, and they were suffering from a severe hookworm infestation. The vet who examined them gave medications to give them a little relief while we continued our search for the puppies' guardian, but the vet recommended euthanasia because of the severity of their condition. By this time, the two puppies seemed to have realized that my team and I were all there to help, and they warmed up to us quite well. They even let us pet them, so we were able to give them the love and attention that they craved—likely the only time they'd ever received any at all.

While I spent several more days trying to track down a guardian for these pups, another one of our fieldworkers brought the puppies home to stay with her and her two dogs. For those few days, these two sweet pups got to experience things that all dogs deserve to have every day, all their lives—shelter, regular meals, veterinary care, companionship, and compassion.

Even though the puppies were so much better off than when I found them, they were still suffering terribly. The medication gave them only a little relief from the infections that had grown so severe during the months with no medical treatment and poor nutrition. Had I left them where I found them—abandoned, freezing, and hungry—their condition would only have gotten worse and caused them even more pain over the days or weeks before they succumbed to their ailments. They likely would have died a miserable death. Because of their terrible suffering, we took the veterinarian's recommendation of euthanasia and gave these angels a peaceful release from their pain and suffering.

Even though this was such a sad case, I'm so thankful that we got the chance to give these dogs some care and much-needed relief. Part of what is so important about CAP's work is that I get to help animals for whom no other help is available. PETA's spay-neuter clinics are lowering the number of homeless animals in this region so that in the future, all pups (and kittens) will be born into loving homes, not on the streets. Until that day, we won't turn away from those who are in need, even though our hearts break while carrying out this work.

Amanda Kyle goes out into the community every day to rescue and improve the lives of animals in PETA’s own neighborhood.

I think that even Team Coco will agree that it's a sad day for The Tonight Show: Kevin Eubanks, longtime leader of The Tonight Show Band, PETA pal, and vegetarian—and the finest-looking strawberry you'll ever see—is ending his 18-year stint on the show. It's rumored that he's going to take this time to tour and record, but after taking a minute to reminisce with me and watching his hilarious veggie testimonial, you'll be left wondering if he doesn't have sketch comedy plans:

What an appealing guy—I bet he'd make a good banana too (har, har).

We're sure his future endeavors will be hugely successful. Best of luck, Kevin, and keep using your musical talent and your wonderful sense of humor to help animals!

Written by Heather Moore

No one—and I mean no one—rocks like Chrissie Hynde. Whether she's fronting the Pretenders or backing a PETA campaign, the vegan Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is never in the "Middle of the Road." In fact, she's always willing to go the extra mile (or "2000 Miles") to help animals.

Case in point? After helping us re-launch our McCruelty campaign last year—urging McDonald's to require its U.S. suppliers to upgrade to less cruel slaughter standards—Chrissie took time off from promoting her upcoming album in New York this week to kick off our new "i'm hatin' it" national ad blitz with an appearance in Philadelphia. And to make sure that people got the message, she not only unveiled her attention-grabbing billboard, she also passed out some of our thought-provoking Unhappy Meals to the fine folks of Philly!

Check out these pictures:

Written by Jeff Mackey

3268zauber / CC by 3.0

Holy Guacamole Vegemite! The Fremantle City Council just voted to phase out the live export of sheep from its port. To get an idea of how huge this decision is, consider that in 2006 more than 80 percent of the almost 4 million sheep who were exported from Australia went through Fremantle's port.

Why the move to stop shipping sheep? Freemantle Mayor Brad Pettitt declared that it's time for the "cruel and unnecessary live sheep trade to be phased out and replaced with a trade that supports local jobs." Indeed, the transport to the Middle East of millions of sheep—some of whom were once used and abused for their wool—is the stuff that nightmares are made of. The grueling journey can take weeks or sometimes months, and animals battle starvation, disease, and trampling from severe crowding. Those who survive the arduous journey are then taken to slaughter and have their throats cut while they are still conscious.

Australian meat workers have spoken out. Politicians have voted to close their ports. You say that you, too, have taken action to help sheep? Post a comment to tell us all about it.

Written by Karin Bennett

Johntex / CC by 2.5

Strong, healthy heart—check.

Slim, trim body—check.

Increased energy—check.

Lovely, sun-kissed glow—wait, what …?

Fair-skinned folks should know that the secret to a sexy tan is in the fruit basket, not the tanning bed. That's right: Researchers at Bristol University have found that a golden tan enhanced by beta-carotene found in orange and green fruits and vegetables was preferred over that leathery look brought on by baking in the sun.

And just like that, there's yet another reason (there are billions more) to load up the grill with asparagus this Memorial Day weekend and beyond.

Written by Karin Bennett