A sign in the window of Schumacher Furs during a lawful protest against the cruelty of the fur industry
Greenisthenewred/Creative Commons

You may remember that the good people over at Schumacher Furs saw fit to sue PETA when their store in downtown Portland was closed following regular protests by local activists and concerned citizens. There were a number of good reasons why the Schumachers didn’t have a leg to stand on with their lawsuit, such as the fact that the protests against the furriers weren’t even PETA demonstrations (not to mention that whole first amendment thing).

Well, last week, the judge in the case ordered Schumacher Furs to pay PETA more than $40,000 as reimbursement for legal fees incurred fighting the lawsuit (which he called "an extraordinary abuse of the litigation process"), and his statement in the ruling just about says it all:

So there you have it—a victory for animals and for free speech all in one go. The cash is a nice bonus, too.

I don’t know if they’re trying to put me out of business or what, but PETA Europe have just launched their very own blog, dedicated to all things animal rights, except, like, from a British perspective. So you can expect a lot of references to Eastenders and veggie bangers and mash. But they have brought in some real talent in the form of my friend Alexia Weeks to write the thing, and it’s off to a great start. So be sure to head over there and let Alexia know what you think.