Written by PETA
You don't have to blog for PETA in order for your posts to help us help animals.
Users of Blogger and WordPress can now earn donations for their favorite charity (hint, hint) without actually spending any money.
That's because Blogger and WordPress have teamed up with SocialVibe—a social-networking site with a cause—to help people educate others about animal rights issues and contribute to PETA campaigns.
If you don't use SocialVibe yet, it's easy to do. All you have to do is sign up, and then create and post your customized badge to generate that first $1 donation to PETA. Then, each time you or one of your blog readers completes a SocialVibe activity, a microdonation is made to our organization.
Also, if you sign up right now, you can help PETA's youth division, peta2, meet its goal of raising $3,000 before September 14 for its "Animal Testing Breaks Hearts" campaign.
Don't forget to tell all your blog-inclined friends too!
Written by Heather Drennan
You've seen what it's like on Chinese fur farms, but what about Norwegian ones?
Yep, the fur industry is heinous wherever you go.
Need more proof? Check out the rest of the images from Network for Animal Freedom of Norway's 2009 investigations.
Written by Shawna Flavell
We're all for reaching for the lettuce, but hands off this salad, bucko!
Some celebrities make animal-friendly demands when they're on tour, but Madonna isn't one of them.
We already knew the Material Girl was a fur hag. Now, she's added to her animal-unfriendly rep by purchasing 110 pounds of kosher meat for the last two performances of her "Sticky and Sweet" tour in Tel Aviv.
We immediately sent her a letter explaining that most imported kosher beef sold in Israel comes from Uruguay, where cattle are often shackled and violently wrestled to the ground before having their throats cut and being hoisted into the air by their hind legs—a cruel "shackle and hoist" slaughter method that the Chief Rabbinate of Israel has called "primitive" and has promised to phase out.
Instead of ordering her weight in meat, Madge would win over more fans if she gave a compassionate diet a try.
Written by Amanda Schinke
When it came time to plan their NYC wedding, Kelly Respess and Paul Kercheval knew that there was one thing that wasn't going to be a part of their special day—a horse-drawn carriage ride. In fact, they decided to take the opportunity to educate other lovebirds about how unromantic it is to be hauled around Central Park by a tired, abused horse.
Everything from the cake to the decoration said "neigh" to horse abuse, and leaflets describing horse-drawn carriage horrors were distributed to wedding guests as well as to tourists and reporters.
When the ceremony was over, the happy couple rode off in a classic, classy convertible.
Written by Karin Bennett
We told you that Bethenny Frankel was going to prove that she'd rather go naked than wear fur … and yesterday, we made it a reality.
The Real Housewives of New York City star stripped down on a rooftop in (surprise!) New York City.
The ad isn't ready yet, of course, but we couldn't resist giving you a small preview:
We worked with a top-notch team on this campaign, including celebrity photographer Joseph Cultice at Weiss Artists, stylist Cannon at Judy Casey, makeup artist extraordinaire Ingeborg at Workgroup, and fantastic hairstylist Stacey Weinstein at Loft 26.
The ad will be released this fall, so stay tuned!
In July, thousands of pigs lost their lives when a factory farm in Alberta, Canada, was ravaged by fire. Our friends at Canadians for the Ethical Treatment of Food Animals (CETFA) obtained photos of the aftermath, which show that before succumbing to smoke inhalation, the panicked pigs frantically trampled each another in a futile attempt to escape.
Pregnant sows, trapped in gestation crates, tried desperately to jump out of their stalls or squeeze through the bars. Instead, they died in their cramped prisons. Many of them suffered from ruptured bellies, and their unborn piglets were killed.
On poorly regulated factory farms, where so many animals are crammed together in confined spaces, fires are all too common, and they cause the horrible deaths of thousands of animals.
Please head over to CETFA's Web site right now and support that organization's initiative to prevent the deaths of animals in factory farm fires.
Written by Jeff Mackey
Aerosmith's oldie album, Toys in the Attic, includes a naughty number, "Big Ten Inch Record," which fans suspect wasn't really about a record. For decades, many listeners have wondered if a certain band, er, member was the inspiration for the song.
Well, after a recent interview with the pro-hunting rag-azine, Outside Living, I think we can all agree that the song is not about Aerosmith's Joe Perry.
In the interview, Perry said, "(Hunting) really gives you a great opportunity to keep in touch with reality," to which PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange shot right back, "People who take out their aggressions and frustrations on helpless animals are usually compensating for other shortcomings in their life." She added, "We don't know how Joe measures up, but it's interesting that he seems to feel so satisfied when he's handling long phallic-looking weapons."
Now that I know Joe Perry likes to harass and shoot helpless animals for "fun," I'll forever hum out loud another oldie whenever I see his mug. It goes, "Ding-a-ling …"
From the folks at Ecorazzi comes the number-one reason for rushing out to see The Cove: It saves dolphins' lives.
The annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan, was supposed to start yesterday, but all's quiet in the cove:
Compare that with last year at this time:
Ric O'Barry, the famous former (and reformed) trainer of TV's Flipper, has been battling Taiji's dolphin slaughter for years. He reports that instead of being filled with dolphin killers, the cove was filled with news reporters, including—for the first time ever—Japanese film crews.
Looks like Japan's dirty secret is no longer a secret.
Written by Alisa Mullins
Eight raging wildfires have consumed more than 140,000 acres in California over the past week. While thousands of people have been evacuated, crews of brave firefighters have headed in to battle the flames.
As a way of thanking the courageous firefighters for all their hard work, PETA sent a contingent of "cuties" to California with delicious, dairy-free Tofutti Cuties frozen desserts.
If only the fires would disappear as quickly as our tasty treats.
Written by Liz Graffeo
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.
Follow PETA on Twitter!