http://www.flickr.com/photos/furryscalyman/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

PETA's Cruelty Investigations Department is pushing hard to ensure that, if he is convicted, a West Virginia pet-store owner currently facing felony cruelty-to-animals charges never gets within arm's reach of an animal again.

Authorities reportedly found lots of dead animals, including kittens, a dog, a reptile, mice, and rats, during a search of 27-year-old Aaron Ashley's Pets Plus store in Fairmont, West Virginia, on February 9. Ashley allegedly chose to kill them via hypothermia when they got sick! He is also accused of starving animals and knowingly selling puppies infected with parvovirus, which is often deadly.

How many more examples does anyone need of the disgusting practices that are being unearthed in the backrooms at pet stores and animal dealers: Animals are bashed against floors and walls, stomped on, drowned, put into the freezer alive, and denied food, water, and even basic medical treatment for illness and injury. In 2008, a PETA undercover investigator videotaped a Fairfax, Virginia, Petland employee scooping live rat pups into a plastic bag and slowly freezing them to death. And at U.S. Global Exotics in Arlington, Texas, a few months ago, PETA's undercover investigator found that employees killed hundreds of sick, injured, and dying animals the same way.

And while this lot turns a buck churning out more animals, millions of dogs and cats die in animal shelters for lack of a good home. Please fight this cruelty by never buying anything from stores that sell animals, always adopting animals from shelters, and opening other people's eyes.

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post

As if cutting off chickens' beaks and scalding birds alive weren't dirty enough, KFC has broken some pretty foul food-hygiene rules at one of its busiest branches in the U.K. In 2008, health inspectors found mice, flies, and cockroaches during an inspection of the carry-out restaurant. Originally denying this and other violations (including failure to provide hygienic conditions for hand-washing), KFC finally 'fessed up to the charges in a recent hearing.

From mold- and dirt-covered floors, walls and ceilings in food-preparation areas to trays of bread and raw chicken caked with black grease, this KFC let it all hang out. And did I mention the three KFC employees who were photographed having a hot-tub party in another KFC's sink? That image is almost as sickening as the images in this video, which have prompted hundreds of thousands of people to sign our petition.

Written by Amy Elizabeth

rap-up / CC

West apparently lives by his lyrics. The ethical dropout—who horrified voters in PETA's Worst-Dressed Celebrity competition last year—and his sleazy sidekick, Amber Rose, were snapped by paparazzi strutting around Paris in "the ugliest things," indeed. Both were wearing head-to-toe fur, and Amber refused to remove her full-length lynx coat during a show at Paris Men's Fashion Week.

As PETA V.P. Dan Mathews so eloquently put it, "Kanye can't help making himself look like an idiot, whether at an awards show or a fashion show. He and his girlfriend look like pathetic creatures from a shabby roadside zoo."

Written by Karin Bennett

Little known fact about Stockholm: Thousands of rabbits are shot and killed in the city's Kungsholmen neighborhood every year. To up the gross quotient, the city has taken to freezing the bunnies' bodies and shipping them off to a power plant, where they are burned to generate electricity. Eww … it gives a new, vomit-worthy meaning to the term "green," that's for sure.

And if that's not nauseating enough, Stockholm assassins authorities say that many of the rabbits are tame bunnies who were turned loose by people who no longer wanted them. Folks, let this serve as a reminder to never, ever set a domesticated animal loose. Don't even think about it.

I used to have trouble imagining that people could be so irresponsible until my mom discovered two domesticated bunnies, Eddie and Lewie, hopping around in a neighbor's yard. They narrowly escaped becoming a hawk's dinner after chewing their way out of their dilapidated hutches on the next street over. Their owner had no interest in retrieving them, so they rule the roost at Mom's house now. (Shameless plug: Lewie is Mr. April in PETA's 2010 calendar.)

Photo © Chris Garcia

If you're not the kind of scum who would turn a helpless animal loose to fend for him or herself, then step up and be a hero to the animals who have had the misfortune to fall out of someone's hands. Whenever you encounter strays, for heaven's sake, take them to a reputable animal shelter or bring them into your home where they will be safe until you are able to locate their guardian or find them a new home. Wouldn't you want someone to do the same if, heaven forbid, your angel were to accidentally slip out the door?

Written by Alisa Mullins