As Hollywood's brightest arrived at last night's Academy Awards, they were sure to be asked, "Who are you wearing?" But the real story is who they weren't wearing since cruelly produced animal fur was noticeably absent from the red carpet once again. 

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The lovely Anne Hathaway won a well-deserved Oscar for her heart-rending performance in Les Miserables, but this vegan superstar is a winner for animals every day. Anne has been turning it out all through awards season, and this time was no exception, landing solidly on best-dressed lists in custom vegan heels from Giuseppe Zanotti. That no animals lost their skin to the leather trade for her look gives us even more reason to cheer the spectacular success that Anne calls "the cherry on top of a wonderful, wonderful dish of vegan ice cream."

Although his pro-fish ad for PETA was deemed too controversial for the Oscar broadcast, Best Actor nominee Joaquin Phoenix was also on the scene. Indeed, PETA faves abounded both inside and outside the Dolby Theatre, from Best Actress nominee and vegan Jessica Chastain and animal adoption advocate Charlize Theron (who showed off some impressive dance skills during the show) to the stunning anti-fur crusader Olivia Munn and a glowing Jenna Dewan-Tatum. The media stars in attendance included PETA pals Kelly Osbourne and Michael Strahan.

So congratulations to the winners—including the animals who didn't end up on the shapely shoulders and elegant tootsies of the attendees!

Last week marked the end of legal public nudity in San Francisco—and you wouldn't expect PETA to sit it out, would you? Several all-star volunteers gathered full-monty style at City Hall to protest the theft of animals' skins by declaring that they are comfortable in their own skin. 

Unlike humans, who can (or at least used to legally be able to) choose how much skin to expose in public, animals raised and killed for their skins often have their flesh unwillingly ripped off their bodies while they're still alive. Please don't ever buy leather, fur, or other items made from animals' skins and fur—choose garments and accessories made from pleather, faux fur, and other cruelty-free materials instead!

Canadian-born Pamela Anderson got a warm reception when she met with a representative from Germany's Trade Ministry to deliver PETA's seal appeal. She asked him to encourage the European Commission and the World Trade Organization to dismiss Canada's challenge of Europe's ban on seal products. 

Pam explained that most Canadians stand firmly with Germany and support the ban on seal products and the inevitable end of the seal slaughter.

"As the vast majority of Germans want the seal slaughter to end," her hand-delivered letter read, "including the more than 40,000 people in Germany who have urged Canada's prime minister to put a stop to it, I'm writing to ask that you please do all in your power to ensure that the E.U. ban on seal products remains in place."

Knowing Germany's progressive stance on the seal slaughter and the representative's positive visit with Pam, we're confident that the Trade Ministry will do exactly that.

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Supermodel and former Leonardo DiCaprio flame Bar Refaeli is catching heat for posing in fur for clothing company Bel Air, especially in light of the proposed fur ban in Israel. Honorary PETA Director Pamela Anderson sent Refaeli a letter explaining, "You probably weren't aware that numerous undercover investigations have revealed that foxes, minks, coyotes, and rabbits—and even cats and dogs—are bludgeoned, genitally electrocuted, and often skinned alive for their pelts." Pam asked Refaeli, model to model, to raise the bar on ethical fashion and dump fur.

But Refaeli insisted that there had been a titanic mistake, telling an Israeli publication that Bel Air had lied to her and said the fur was fake. Then she took to Twitter, posting, "I think its time 2 get it straight! i'm against fur! the truth of the matter is that on the shoot day i was told the fur is FAKE!"

Considering the lies that the fur industry tells about how animals are killed, it's not surprising that fur-mongers would finagle Refaeli into donning pelts.

Be a model of compassion and bar fur from your closet. Lookin' at you, Blake Lively…

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Get ready to tap your feet—the two-hour season premiere of Dancing With the Stars airs tonight on ABC, and as usual, PETA pals are strutting their animal-friendly stuff.

Just a week after she unveiled her "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" ad, Elisabetta Canalis will make her Dancing debut, and she's rumored to be the early favorite. When asked if Elisabetta's PETA ad would help in the competition, her partner Val Chmerkovskiy said, "I don't know if it will help us, but I do hope it helps PETA. Before I found out that Elisabetta was involved with PETA, I was astounded how conscious she was about animal cruelty and how passionate she was about helping animals involved in any sort of mistreatment."

Fellow animal advocate Ricki Lake could be a serious contender too. She proved she has determination when she was arrested after storming Karl Lagerfeld's showroom to demand that the designer stop using fur. And spay-and-neuter advocate Metta World Peace (aka: "Ron Artest") might put his fancy footwork to good use off the court and pull off an upset.

Elisabetta, Ricki, and Metta World Peace are in good company. Previous DWTS rosters read like the guest list at a PETA fundraiser. Pamela Anderson, Cloris Leachman, Steve-O, Joanna Krupa, Kelly Osbourne, Lance Bass, Jennie Garth, Audrina Patridge, Belinda Carlisle, Holly Madison, Mario, Shanna Moakler, Karina Smirnoff, and even judge Carrie Ann Inaba all know that the most important steps you take are those that help animals.

Good luck, Elisabetta, Ricki, and Ron! We'll be rooting (and voting) for you.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Fashion publicist and Kell on Earth star Kelly Cutrone's next big clients are rabbits, foxes, and minks. Cutrone is publicizing the suffering inflicted on animals who are killed for their fur in her new book, Normal Gets You Nowhere. The couture connoisseur writes, "I happen to think that, despite what industry insiders might tell you, it's absolutely gross that fashion people are still celebrating fur. What is so sexy about the annihilation of animals for clothing?"
 

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For serious fashion advice, Cutrone encourages people to visit PETA's website. "I hate to break it to you," she writes, "but if you think fur's glamorous, it doesn't mean you have fabulous taste; it means you've been programmed to be totally numb to suffering."

Normal might get you nowhere in Cutrone's book, but kindness to animals gets you everywhere. Join her in saying "furget it" to fur.

 
Written by Michelle Sherrow

Which premier luxury shopping destination is poised to ban fur? That would be West Hollywood, California, home of the famous Sunset Strip. As part of West Hollywood's quest to establish itself as the "Humane Capitol of the Nation," the City Council has directed the city attorney to draft an ordinance prohibiting the sale of fur products. Since the council members voted unanimously in favor of drafting the ordinance, chances are good that it will pass with flying colors.
 

 
The fur-free ordinance continues a long West Hollywood tradition of kindness to animals. It was the first city in the country to ban cat declawing and also banned the retail sale of dogs and cats in pet stores, as well as pushing for Proposition 2, which improved welfare standards for "laying hens" in California.

Not lucky enough to live in West Hollywood? You can help shoo fur out of your town by organizing protests outside fur salons and other stores that sell fur. See PETA's "Guide to Becoming an Activist" for tips. 
 

Written by Michelle Sherrow