Update: April 8 at 1:30 p.m. ET: Although bebe acknowledged receipt of PETA's cease-and-desist letter and promised us a response, PETA has not received one and bebe continues to misrepresent itself to the public as a fur-free company. So PETA has filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) regarding the retailer's consumer deception. The bureau can now ask bebe to resolve PETA's grievance. It can also post our complaint to bebe's BBB webpage, which could negatively impact the company's BBB rating.

Originally posted on January 28 at 11:25 a.m. ET:

As everyone knows, some customers won't shop for anything in a store that sells fur, just as they won't buy "pet" supplies in a store that sells animals. Even though bebe currently sells rabbit and chinchilla fur in some of its stores, on two separate occasions—one as recent as January 15—callers to bebe's customer service line were told that bebe doesn't sell fur. One caller recorded her conversation, which you can listen to here. PETA's attorneys have sent a cease-and-desist advisory to Steve Birkhold, bebe's CEO, letting him know that if bebe doesn't either start being honest with customers or actually stop selling real fur, PETA may take the company from the mall to the courthouse for engaging in false advertising, which is a violation of both state and federal laws.

It's no wonder that bebe wants to cover up the fact that it's selling real fur. In China, where bebe sources much of its fur, workers pull rabbits out of cages by their ears and stun the screaming animals with electrical devices. And in China as well as other countries, animals are bludgeoned to death, electrocuted, and often even skinned alive, as documented in this undercover footage. 

As bebe is likely learning, few people are willing to patronize retailers that support such cruelty. Let bebe know that you are one of many potential customers who will refuse to buy its clothing until its shelves truly are fur-free.

When former congress member Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife pled guilty to using hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds to pay for personal items like fur coats and capes, elk heads, and taxidermied animals, it effectively put an end to what was once a promising career—not to mention dozens of animals' lives.

Now, in hopes of seeing some good come from this sad waste, PETA has asked the U.S. marshal to donate the furs to the homeless in Chicago instead of auctioning them off, as is reportedly planned.

Only people who are truly struggling to survive have any excuse for wearing fur. For every cuff, collar, piece of trim, or coat made from real fur, animals endured misery and died after being beaten, electrocuted, or even skinned alive. By donating the coats to the homeless, the U.S. marshal would underscore the importance of need over greed while giving back to the community in Illinois.

What You Can Do

We can't give these animals their lives back, but we can prevent more from being killed. Please go fur-free—and encourage others to do the same. 

Pro athletes don't do anything halfway. So studly New York Jets safety Bret Lockett wasn't content simply to pose with a strategically placed faux-leather football for his PETA anti-fur campaign. Instead, he decided to play spread offense and turn his ad unveiling into a whole weekend. First, he helped PETA dedicate our Norfolk, Virginia, headquarters to longtime supporter and Hollywood heavyweight Sam Simon. 

Later that evening, Bret hosted an unveiling party at Hampton Roads hotspot the Granby Theater, greeted fans, and talked about why fur should be sidelined. "What really hurt me was when I saw that an animal was still able to move and lift [his] head up after he was completely skinned," he said. "It brought tears to my eyes."

© Charles Long Photography/PETA

And the next night, he went with the PETA gang to laugh aloud as Bill Maher made fun of hunters and other animal abusers in his stand-up performance. All weekend, wherever he went, Bret dined on vegan food, sported PETA T-shirts, and enthusiastically discussed animal rights issues with fans who approached him.

It's easy to see why No. 26 is No. 1 for animals.

Pretty, pleasant Pia Toscano bears a striking resemblance to another PETA pal—Lea Michele—and the similarities don't stop at their lovely faces, with voices to match and rhyming monikers. Like Lea, Pia jumped at the chance to use her platform to help stop cruelty to animals.

In her debut single, "This Time," Pia bids a powerful adieu to a bad boyfriend. And she thinks it's time that everyone broke up with two businesses that are bad for animals: the fur industry and circuses. 

In an exclusive interview with PETA, Pia expounded, "It was very difficult for me to watch the videos on how fur coats are made and how these animals are brutally beaten and skinned alive. There's no excuse for that." And when talk turned to the circus, she was quick to express her disgust. "I'm a performer, and I make a conscious decision every time I get up on that stage to do what I love, but these animals, they don't have a choice, they don't have a voice, and they are not choosing this lifestyle." 

Since animals don't get to choose not to be forced to perform or killed for their fur, as Pia notes, it's up to us to add our voices to the ever-growing chorus of people speaking up for them.

Lady Gaga, a one-time anti-fur advocate and supposed anti-bullying advocate, seems to flip-flop more than a new pair of Havaianas. Now Sharon Osbourne is calling the singer out on it, saying:

Whether the target is people or animals, no one likes a bully. Maybe that's why staunch animal advocates have been scooping up so many awards lately.

At the People's Choice Awards, Glee stars Lea Michele and Chris Colfer claimed Favorite Comedic TV Actress and Actor awards and Jason Mraz was named Favorite Male Artist. Ellen DeGeneres was named Favorite Daytime TV Host, Jared Padalecki's show Supernatural took Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Show honors, and Mayim Bialik's The Big Bang Theory was voted Favorite Network TV Comedy. Presenters Olivia Munn and Ian Somerhalder were a huge hit, and host Kaley Cuoco even took a page out of PETA's book and fought back against dog shaming with a little "people shaming" of her own.

Bones' David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel were named TV Guide's Best Actor and Best Actress. Onscreen, the TV couple focus on investigating deaths, but off-screen David and Emily are all about saving animals' lives.

Animal advocate extraordinaire Russell Simmons is being honored with the Visionary Award from the Producers Guild of America for his philanthropy and ethical approach to business. And several stars snagged our nominations for best animal-friendly tweets of the week:

With all the love for animals and the folks who defend them that's been going around this week, guess who got named among the least popular people in America? That'd be the Kardashian family, who ranked lower than Congress, root canals, and traffic jams. 

Unlike some members of the Kardashian clan, Lena Dunham prefers her fur attached to its rightful owner. She happily shared photos of her fluffy new rescued dog, Lamby, on Instagram.

It's also a boy for Miley Cyrus, who just added new rescued puppy Bean to her family. Meanwhile, her sister Noah Cyrus was celebrating another milestone. For her 13^th birthday, Noah asked her friends to donate $13 toward getting horse-drawn carriages off New York City's streets. 

Vocal horse advocate Kathy Najimy put her money where her mouth is, competing on Food Network's Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off to benefit PETA. Of course Kathy, along with competitor and fellow PETA supporter Cornelia Guest, cooked all vegetarian meals.

Perhaps Kathy and Cornelia could swap recipes with Gwyneth Paltrow, who is releasing a new vegetarian-friendly cookbook. Their expertise may even come in handy on the final frontier. One of America's most respected space entrepreneurs, PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, is making plans to establish the first colony on Mars—but no meat-eaters are allowed. 

That means that even on Mars we could still enjoy the musical stylings of longtime vegetarian Paul McCartney. And it's a good thing that Elon's shuttles will likely be made without animal skins, because Macca won't ride in a vehicle with leather seats.

To keep up with what all your favorite stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter. 

If holiday shoppers needed divine intervention to persuade them to keep animal skins off their lists, that's exactly what they got. A saintly duo of PETA "angels" has been crisscrossing Canada in cherubic attire to help people in the frozen north be angelic to animals this winter by eschewing fur, leather, wool, down, and exotic skins. 

And while crowds of pedestrians were stopping to take pictures of the holy encounter and offering to buy the angels some hot tea, the dreamy pair was busy explaining that torturing and killing animals for their skin is an unholy nightmare.

The angels are hopeful that people will show good will toward animals this holiday season so that this year, every time a bell rings, an angel will get her wings and animals will keep their skin. 

The ladies of the Lingerie Football League are part of the NFL (No Fur League), and they want to make sure that everyone gets drafted. The BC Angels are the latest team to join PETA's anti-fur campaign, asking Vancouver to "tackle cruelty: bench fur."

The gals had a ball tossing around the faux pigskin and talking to holiday shoppers about how fur is a personal foul.

And when a woman in a ridiculous fur hat got snippy with them, the classy lassies snapped right back, politely telling her that while they may choose to take a beating on the field, animals who are killed for their fur would definitely choose not to be beaten, electrocuted, or skinned alive. 

Help intercept the cruel fur industry by telling bebe that you won't be buying until it takes fur out of the game.

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.

The day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday, when the holiday gift-shopping season really gets underway. But for animal rights advocates nationwide, it's Fur-Free Friday, also an occasion to hit the stores—to urge consumers not to buy into the cruelty of the skins trade.

Yes, "skins." Even on Fur-Free Friday, it's important to remember that fur isn't the only material used for clothing that results from the suffering of animals. Like fur, leather, for instance, comes from animals who are raised on crowded farms and killed using cruel methods—some are even skinned while they're still alive. Whether it comes from a snake or a sable, a cow or a chinchilla, it's all skin—and we, not they, can live without it.

PETA hopes that everyone heading out to (or returning from) a Fur-Free Friday demonstration will be able to answer the question, "Whose skin am I in?" with the reply, "Only my own!"

Wrongdoers, watch out—wearing animals' skins and fur is a total (and literal) rip-off, but PETA, as always, is on the case! October has been declared Crime Prevention Month by the National Crime Prevention Council, and we're glad to do our part here at The PETA Files—after all, it's the least any animal advocate could do for a group whose symbol is a dog.

What happens to animals who are killed for their skins may not be illegal in many places (yet), but it's a flagrant violation of their rights. Confined to cages, caught in steel-jaw traps, subjected to cruel abuses, nailed to trees, suffocated, electrocuted, gassed, poisoned, bludgeoned, hanged, and often skinned alive—together, it's a crime against common decency.

PETA (and Pals) on Patrol

So PETA's walking the beat and throwing the book at offenders. The fabulous PETA "fashion police"—gotta love a cop in pleather!—hit the city streets to hand out tickets for leathery larceny and felony fur-flaunting. They've even braved that most hostile of precincts, New York Fashion Week, where they issued a citation to the cruelest of all fur hags, Vogue's Anna Wintour, proving that they never miss the meaner misdemeanors.

Some of PETA's famous friends are taking on crime-busting duties, too. Pink and Ricky Gervais use their voices to call out the skin trade for what it really is—theft—in PETA's attention-getting "Stolen for Fashion" video, while Tim Gunn reminds everyone that these aren't victimless crimes. Then there's the animals' own wonder woman, Pamela Anderson, who gets the message across that "cruelty doesn't fly" (with a little help from Steve-O, Andy Dick, and Carol Leifer) as only she can:

What You Can Do

Keep on the straight and narrow—sign PETA's pledge that you'll shed everyone's skin but your own!