Written by Michelle Kretzer
When a group of bloodthirsty zombies descends on New York City, where do they head? To the Meatpacking District, of course. Because all animals are made of flesh, bones, and blood and all animals feel pain, zombies don't see a difference between eating people and eating animals.
Goth star Sharon Needles, the winner of RuPaul's Drag Race, doesn't see a difference, either. She joined the troop of undead to reveal her macabre PETA ad just in time for Halloween.
For a limited time, PETA is offering magnets featuring Sharon's ad—for $6.66! Spooky. And the Logo network, which airs Drag Race, is running a 30-second PETA public service announcement during its Halloween programming.
And now for the scariest thing that you'll see this Halloween … click here.
Written by PETA
It's a hazy day here on the Right Coast. As I watch leaves fall and steam rise from my soy mocha, the mood is set for a lazy (yet highly skilled) meander through gossip rags for fun stuff. Here are my faves:
Thanks for stopping by! Catch you next time, and don't forget to hug all your vegetarian friends.
Written by Missy Lane
Colonel Sanders has finally met his heavily accessorized, bouffant-wearing, monster-sized match: Lady Bunny. The queen of all queens has teamed up with PETA to create an awesome anti-KFC billboard, which just went up in New York City. The larger-than-life female impersonator's ad advises tourists and commuters that the Colonel's "secret recipe" is cruelty to animals.
Lady Bunny joins other gorgeous pin-ups, including Pam Anderson and Imogen Bailey, who have protested the well-documented abuse of chickens who end up in KFC's deceptively pretty buckets of breast meat. However, only Lady Bunny can talk about there being "more than meets the eye" (regarding animal welfare, of course).
I've cocktailed at enough gay bars to know firsthand what happens "when queens attack"—and it ain't pretty. After all, who wants to upset a burly guy who has spent an hour squeezing into a size 3 dress and a pair of high heels?
Posted by Sean Conner
The deer have been using an ancestral woods path (which now goes through a small development) to reach what remains of the woods, where they sleep at night. Until, that is, one neighbor got all up in arms over some flowers that the deer allegedly had a nibble on (flowers, really?) and got a "nuisance kill" permit from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) to abate the "nuisance."
The neighbor has hired a bow hunter in full regalia, who has set up a tree stand and even deployed a decoy, a lure, to attract the deer to where he can shoot them. There are easy and simple things you can do to live in harmony with wildlife, of course, but it takes a heart.
Props to the other neighbors who are fighting back hard to have the permit revoked and were able to contact Bob Barker—not by some spectacular third degree of separation miracle, by the way: One of the neighbors operated on Mr. Barker when he fell ill in Washington. Mr. Barker shot off a letter to the DGIF, which you can read here
Like many neighborhoods, this community is experiencing wildlife up close because, sadly, these wonderful, capable, now almost homeless animals are being forced to search for food, shelter, and some plain old stimulation—in part because trees are being chopped down faster than you can yell timber just to make room for more strip malls, grocery stores, and, yes, even more Wal-Marts. Jump on over to HelpingAnimals.com for handy tips on how to humanely handle wildlife.
Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky
It must be hard to reach that point in your life where whenever your name hits the media, it's preceded by the words "former supermodel." You might become upset enough to freak out on a plane or throw a phone at your maid. Why, it's enough to make you want to pull your hair out.
Fortunately for former supermodel (see, I told you) Naomi Campbell, her hair seems to be falling out all on its own. We recognized an opportunity for some good old-fashioned consciousness-raising. Here's PETA Europe's note to Ms. Campbell:
Dear Ms Campbell,Please don’t get angry and throw something, but I hear that you are going bald. If this is true, then you understand what it’s like to lose your hair. Of course, for animals raised and killed for their fur, the problem isn’t just that their looks suffer (have you seen a skinned fox?! Check out FurisDead.com for a quick peek) but that the skin is ripped off their bodies – sometimes while they are still conscious.If you are balding, please seize this opportunity to make up for promoting cruelty to animals in the fur trade by promoting faux fur and natural fibres. You would look lovely in a synthetic hairpiece and/or a pretty cotton, elegant satin, practical linen or other hat made without harming a living soul. PETA would be pleased to provide you with examples of all of the above.Very truly yours,Ingrid E Newkirk
Posted by Jeff Mackey
This story's got it all: the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's just sort of in reverse order. Think: bad beginning but great ending for a few hundred fish and snails!
On an average day, PETA's Cruelty Investigations Department receives dozens of phone calls from caring individuals who have witnessed—and wish to report—cases of animal abuse. One recent tip came from a Wal-Mart customer, who overheard employees say that the store was undergoing renovations and that it would no longer be selling fish. In theory, that's good news. Unsold fish would have been “dry-bagged,” causing them to suffocate to death.
Our Cruelty Investigations Department immediately swam into action. The result: Wal-Mart agreed to give all the fish to PETA, and our staff rushed to pick them up—with no time to spare. Several hundred fish and snails were removed and many are now living in the lap of luxury with PETA staffers.
This is, I'm sure, a welcome change for the fish, who are intelligent little animals (they can even eavesdrop just as we do!).
While we ordinarily would never advocate putting any fish in a tank, these little guys—who would have suffered a prolonged, terrifying death—are now swimming, jumping, and diving their way around their new spacious tanks, which are full of plants, clean water and shipwreck loads of stimulation to keep them happy. Thanks to the PETA staffers who have graciously provided these fish with a great new home!
Do you know the saying "Don't steal—the government hates competition"? I was reminded of it recently when news broke that the U.S. Army is shooting live pigs in an open range with high-power rifles at a training camp in Hawaii. The Army says it's teaching combat medics how to treat battlefield injuries, but here's the thing: The Army is required—by its own regulations—to use alternatives to animals in any kind of experimentation or training when scientifically valid and comparable alternatives exist. And guess what? Those alternatives exist.
My colleague Shalin Gala rattles off these humane alternatives like nobody's business: the Combat Trauma Patient Simulation System, Simulab Corporation's TraumaMan system (insert superhero figure with a T on his chest), partnering with trauma centers for real-life experience, and Dr. Emad Aboud's "living" cadaver perfusion model. Shalin also tells me that he regularly receives calls from whistleblowers in the Army and the Navy telling him about the use of pigs, goats, and monkeys for trauma training and chemical casualty training—all in apparent violation of regulations.
Kathy Guillermo, the director of PETA's Laboratory Investigations Department, had this to say: "In order to effectively save our soldiers' lives, Army medics should be trained with human trauma patients and advanced simulators that mimic human responses. Shooting and maiming pigs is as outdated as Civil War rifles."
I agree, but I'm kind of stuck on the fact that the horror of the Army's pig shooting in Hawaii goes way beyond just that. Readers of The PETA Files are well aware that you don't have to be Einstein to get your head around the few paltry regulations intended to protect animals in laboratories, but even so, violations of these regulations are rampant. A recent audit noted that nearly a third of U.S. laboratories are failing to search for alternatives. Is it any wonder when the government—charged with ensuring that laboratories comply with the law—doesn't seem to have its own house in order?
Posted by Grace Friedan
You know, we've been partnering with Helium.com and recently gave out a PETA Citizen Journalism Award to Cate Stewart, who published a fantastic essay about clean meat on Helium. You can read this award-winning essay here:
Would you eat animal-stem-cell–grown "clean meat" to protect animals and the environment? Yes, I would definitely eat "clean meat." I'm all for saving animals. And, by growing our own meat, we can save animals from slaughter and pain, and keep them from going extinct. If there was the option of "clean meat" I would buy it without hesitation. It would be a great alternative to eating an animal. If the public's knowledge of "clean meat" increases, it could be sold in restaurants and grocery stores around the world and make the market a healthier place. This would be an amazing way to feed humans and to help animals. "Clean meat" is an all-around fantastic idea. If we could grow our own meats, there would be less of a risk of food poisoning and disease, because "clean meat" would not be contaminated with feces and would be the first disease-free meat. Imagine how wonderful that would be! No more worrying about what the meat you eat has in it, because you know that there's no way disease could be inside. And even if you don't worry about the meat you eat, you will not get sick, as you potentially could. If the "Clean Meat" could provide us with the proper nutrition and proteins needed in a daily diet, I would not hesitate to become a consumer of this product. I also like the idea of "clean meat" because "clean meat" is green meat and would not pollute rivers and streams, use up ground water, or cause deforestation as usual meat production would do. It would also cease the pollution that meat packing plants, slaughter houses, and meat shipping trucks make and we would have less waste from the animal carcasses that are left after slaughter. It would help everyone, from humans, to animals, to the environment. It would also be something to eat for people like me, who can not give up meat for health reasons or for people who do not wish to give up meat for their own personal reasons. Vegans and Vegetarians could eat this meat too, since you do not have to kill an animal to make "clean meat". What a wonderful world! PETA, with the help of scientists, can make this happen, and it will help make a better planet and a healthier population. I am convinced that this is the future of our food, and saving the Earth and its inhabitants is essential. I urge you to look into "clean meat" and consider eating it when it becomes available. You can make a difference.
Posted by Christine Doré
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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