Written by Michelle Kretzer
It's Cyber Monday, the day when online shoppers can find deals on everything from flat screens to flat sheets. But there's one retailer whose sales should just flatline: bebe.
Why throw bebe out with the bathwater? Unlike many of its compassionate competitors—including J.Crew, Talbots, and Limited Brands—bebe has begun selling real fur. The company apparently thinks that nothing screams "festive" like animals screaming while the skin is ripped off their bodies.
So five animals whose friends and family members are often killed for their fur are here to show everyone that real fur looks good only on its original owner and to ask you to make bebe a no-no this holiday season.
1. Rabbits are hopping mad at bebe.
2. Dogs want you to walk them, not wear them.
3. Foxes need your help to outfox cruel companies that still sell fur.
4. Cats are ready to give bebe some serious catitude.
5. Chinchillas are chatterboxes when they're together, and you can bet they would have plenty to say about bebe's fur coats.
Please tell bebe that you won't buy while animals die and urge the company to finally ditch fur furever.
What happens when a precocious bunny gets his paws on a hunting guide?
This isn't even the gruesome photo. We'll spare you the picture of the carnage from later in the day.
Written by PETA
Kiley Stinson, an intern for an agriculture site, recently blogged about picking up a vegetarian/vegan starter kit from one of PETA's stands in D.C. Here's her confounding attempt to defend factory farms:
"If animal rights activists are so appalled to the idea of young animals being kept in a pen, were they not one of the millions of kids whose parents used playpens when they were growing up? Play pens protect children from wandering off away from their parents, and provides (sic) a safe place to nap, play or snack. Hmm… sounds similar (sic) to how farmers keep their animals safe and happy."
Here's a glimpse of animals in their "playpens."
If that's the best argument factory-farm advocates have, no wonder we're winning!
Written by Joel Bartlett
Over the weekend, all the contestants in Milwaukee's Brew City Salmon Tournament got a little something to take home with them—even if they didn't manage to hook, suffocate, and kill any sea kittens.
PETA took to the skies over Lake Michigan with an airplane banner urging tournament participants to look at angling from a different angle by imagining if the shoe were on the other foot (fin?).
So maybe the message isn't about shoes and feet so much as about turning the other cheek? Of course, if it had been up to me, I'd have gone with a banner asking the question on everyone's mind: Do anglers have small rods?
To show the world that you have a big heart (among other organs) when it comes to fish, start here.
Written by Jeff Mackey
The flaxen-haired superheroes of Michael Troy's high-larious new comic book, Blonde Squad, may not be the brightest bulbs on the tree, but their hearts are definitely in the right place. For instance, the team's sorta-psychic, Psight, is less offended by a telepathic death threat from the scheming brunette, Dark Swan, than she is by the fact that their nemesis is wearing fur. Then there's the fun fact that the whole Blonde Squad posed for a new PETA ad, proudly—if a bit nonsensically—proclaiming, "We'd Rather Be Blonde Than Wear Fur!"
You've got to love a comic that not only features a villain who disappears with a big "FABOOSH!"—and heroes who don't quite grasp that "BS" means more than the group's initials—but that can also manage to make a point about the cruelty of the fur industry (an ability shared by the bold heroines of Bluewater Comics). And even though I'm blonde (or blond), I think I got most of the jokes—as well as the point: You don't need superpowers to be a hero who stands up for animals who are killed for their fur.
You can order the first issue of Blonde Squad here, and you should also check out Michael's blog.
Looks like somebody over at The Onion has been surfing the PETA Files. Catch the satirical newspaper's spot-on skewering of elephant acts, with descriptions of a "hooked rod," "cramped, feces-covered enclosure," and "constant beatings." They even picked up on the fact that the only male elephants used in circuses are youngsters, because once they reach adolescence, they become too aggressive to be controlled—despite the constant threat of being whacked with a bullhook (or, perhaps, because of it).
As usual, The Onion's parody so closely parallels reality that it can bring tears of laughter and sorrow. Take this gem:
"Look, they're dancing," said 5-year-old Jonah Meeks, mistaking the elephants' constant swaying for something that wasn't a maladaptive behavior caused by serious psychological trauma. "I can dance like an elephant, too. Look at me!"
The folks at The Onion obviously do their research, but is it possible that they are also psychic? Their circus send-up was published just days before peta2 launched its brand new "Elephants Never Forget" campaign today. Coincidence?
Written by Alisa Mullins
What happens when a demented Ronald McDonald sits down with one of television's most befuddling interviewers? Visitors to Will Ferrell’s FunnyOrDie.com are finding out today. A bizarre PETA video just debuted featuring Martin Short’s Jiminy Glick character grilling a "fried" Ronald McDonald (Andy Dick) about the company’s slaughter practices.
While I'm excited about PETA's first FunnyOrDie exclusive (so much so that I'm going to get down on my knees and beg you to vote "Funny"), I'm even more thrilled that The PETA Files has the exclusive on the bonus feature.
So gather your senses after watching the full-length on FunnyOrDie and check out this little "bonus feature" for some more outré commentary from Ronald "They're Just Animals" McDonald.
Now doesn't that just make you want to head over to Facebook and join our "Not eating McDonald's" fan page?
Funny: Cartoons about cats on a lazy Sunday.
Not funny: Making jokes about barbecuing cats when you're supposed to be working.
We're relieved that the Federal Aviation Administration apparently agrees that making jokes at a dead animal's expense is inappropriate. It has removed the "jokester" from duty.
Written by Karin Bennett
Inspired by the recent release of Carol Leifer's vegetarian testimonials, here are the 10 most knee-slapping, gut-busting, laugh-til-you-cry PSAs that PETA has to offer:
I admit that the order of this list was subjective, so why don't you leave a comment to tell us which PETA PSA you think is the funniest?
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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