Here's what Jeff says about this week's masterpiece: "The strip is based on the sad measures that officials have to take in order to protect rhinos from poachers. And a little depravity thrown in for good measure."

He also let me know that, in honor of Earth Week, he sprayed this strip with 50 percent less pesticides. Which was very noble of him, I thought. Anyway, this one's a zinger—enjoy!

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To check out the archives of past strips, click here.

In England, they do Mother’s Day differently (i.e., they actually celebrate it on the right date). And with Mothering Sunday coming up across the pond, PETA Europe have put together an incredibly striking demonstration to draw attention to the horrible suffering of mother pigs in gestation crates. My friend Alexia has the full story over on her blog Fish & Chimps, but here’s a quick look at the amazing demonstration that’s been getting tons of coverage for pigs abused on factory farms.

It’s pretty well established that Stephen Colbert is the top name in hard-hitting, up-to-the-minute news nowadays—not only does he make or break presidential campaigns, but the dude even has a bridge named after him. And in yet one more coup for the king of late-night news, Colbert is fortunate enough to be hosting PETA President Ingrid Newkirk herself tonight, so that they can discuss the recent HBO documentary about PETA.

To mark this occasion, we’ve mocked up a brand-new Stephen Colbert doghouse for our program to help “backyard” dogs. As Ingrid puts it, “If you were stuck outside on a chain for your whole life in all weather and no love, this might at least make the people in the house over there come by once in a while, just to look, and you could bark at them to pass the time.” Who needs a bridge when they can have a PETA doghouse with their face on it? You’re very welcome, Mr. Colbert.

Here’s hoping the “Colbert bump” we’ll get from this appearance brings us animal liberation by the end of the week. If you have Comedy Central, be sure to check out Ingrid on The Colbert Report tonight at 11:30 p.m. And if you don’t have Comedy Central … well you’re really missing out on a whole lot of stuff—I’ll post the video of the interview on the blog tomorrow morning.

So they’re selling that piece of land next to the big white Hollywood sign. And sadly, it’s just a little bit too expensive for PETA to purchase (like, 20 million dollars too expensive), but we did write to the real estate company today to negotiate a deal for renting the space until they’re able to sell it. Here’s hoping they say yes—I think it would be totally worth it:

The votes have been flowing in (seriously, it’s been a banner year for the Sexy Vegetarian Next Door contest), and we’re down to the top two chicks and the top two dudes. There are still two more days to cast your vote for the winner, so click one of the finalists below to hit up the voting page and crown one of these attractive herbivores North America’s Sexiest Vegetarian Next Door.

In related news, I’d like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt appreciation to all the people who have been writing me in to win this contest.* Sadly, PETA’s employees are ineligible, so those votes will not be counted, but I’m truly humbled by this outpouring of support.

*Technically, nobody has actually done this yet.

It looks like something out of the latest Saw movie, but then that's what vivisection is all about. This stuff goes on behind closed doors all the time, and only occasionally do some of these hideous stories see daylight. This is the latest, from the folks at the University of Washington, who’ve already been slapped with a 12-month probation due to the sorry state of their labs. The shocking violations detailed in PETA's formal complaints to the federal government are now the subject of an in-depth report by Seattle's Komo TV:

This morning, PETA called for an immediate investigation into the use of state funds for experiments at UW that may have violated federal animal protection regulations. Among the barbaric experiments being carried out at UW, monkeys are having their skulls cut open, electrodes inserted into their brains, and wire coils implanted in their eyes. They're restrained in experimentation chairs, with their heads bolted in place so that they can't move while experimenters track their eye movements, and they're deprived of food so that they'll comply during tests. Komo TV's exposé shows that this is just the tip of the iceberg:

Here's what PETA Primate Specialist Dr. Debra Durham says about the case:

The National Eye Institute is funding these experiments at the UW, and we're asking them to stop. You can write to them about this issue here.

Before singling her out on PETA’s Worst Dressed List last week, we contacted Kylie Minogue a number of times to let her know about the cruelty she was supporting with her weird proclivity for wearing reptile skins out in public, but so far she hasn’t even bothered to reply. Well, as Kylie is doubtless figuring out at the moment, we don’t exactly give up around here. The hope is that this latest letter—along with the accompanying video of exactly how reptiles suffer in the exotic-skins industry that she’s been promoting—will appeal to her conscience, while the press she’s getting over her Worst Dressed List appearance continues to do its work on her vanity.