Ever since her red swimsuit days, people have been enamored with PETA's weapon of mass distraction, Pamela Anderson. And now you can have a little piece of the original "Lettuce Lady" for yourself. When Pam and PETA Vice President Dan Mathews spoke to Cambridge University about animal rights, she autographed copies of the Paul McCartney–narrated meat-industry exposé "Glass Walls" for the students. And she autographed a few more to give to lucky PETA Files readers.

To enter to win, simply leave a comment telling us about something Pam-like that you've done to help animals—her résumé is extensive, so there's plenty to choose from. Maybe you've attended a fur demonstration, spoken out against the Canadian seal slaughter, ditched meat, adopted a companion animal, given a speech about animal rights, switched to cruelty-free cosmetics, or acted to get horse-drawn carriages off the dangerous streets. 

Or maybe—like Pam—you've done all of the above. Just tell us about it, and two winners will be selected at random.

And if reading about all of Pam's compassionate actions has inspired you, plenty of animals still need your help, so get out there and get Pamelactive!

The contest will end on March 27, 2013, and we'll contact the winners by March 29, 2013. By commenting here, you're acknowledging that you've read and you agree to our contest terms and conditions and our privacy policy and you're also agreeing to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your personal info in accordance with those policies as well as to receiving e-mails from us.

Chick-fil-A's so-called "Cow Appreciation Day" involved giving chicken flesh to people who dressed up as cows. We think cows (and chickens) deserve better than that, so here's our new and improved Cow Appreciation Day. We're giving away The Compassionate Cook, our back-by-popular-demand, original vegan cookbook, featuring more than 225 recipes in which no cows, chickens, or any other animals were harmed. Just take the quiz below to learn why intelligent, sensitive cows aren't milk machines and then enter for your chance to win:

1. Just like people, cows are known to ________ when a loved one dies or is separated from them. 

2. True or False: Cows' sense of smell is even stronger in some ways than that of most dogs—they can detect scents up to 5 miles away.

3. This picture is of: 

A) a pipe cutter

B) one of the torture devices used in the Saw films

C) a guillotine dehorner, used by dairy farmers to chop off cows' sensitive horns

D) a Halloween haunted house prop

4. In nature, cows may nurse their calves for up to _____ years.

5.  After years of being kept almost constantly, forcibly pregnant and having their beloved babies repeatedly taken away from them so that their milk can be sold instead, when cows' milk production wanes, they are: 

A) put out to pasture on the farm to live out their days

B) retired to a sanctuary

C) feted with cake and alfalfa-flavored ice cream

D) sent to slaughter 

6. True or False: A Holstein's spots are like a fingerprint—no two cows' spots are exactly the same.

7. Guys, get ready to squirm: Male calves who are taken from their mothers are usually _______ without so much as an aspirin.

8. True or False: Like people, cows communicate with each other using different vocal sounds, body positions, and subtle facial expressions.

9. A dairy industry study reports that by the time they are killed, nearly _____ percent of cows are lame because of the intensive confinement to the concrete floors of milking barns, the strain of being kept almost constantly pregnant, and being made to stand ankle-deep in their own dung.

A) 10

B) 20

C) 30

D) 40

10.  True or False: Bovines love a good brain teaser, such as figuring out how to open a gate's latch to let themselves out, and they get so excited that some even kick up their heels when they figure out the solution. 

*****

Check out the answer key below to see how you did, and then repost some of these interesting cow facts to show your friends why it's sour to steal cows' milk.

To enter to win The Compassionate Cook, just leave a comment telling us how you did on the quiz. A winner will be chosen at random. (Your score on the quiz does not affect your chances of winning.)

The contest will end on October 25, 2012, and we'll contact the winner by October 29, 2012. By commenting here, you're acknowledging that you've read and you agree to our contest terms and conditions and our privacy policy and you're also agreeing to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your personal info in accordance with those policies as well as to receiving e-mails from us.

Answers: 1) shed tears 2) True 3) C 4) three 5) D 6) True 7) castrated 8) True 9) D 10) True

How well do you know your animal facts? Test your knowledge with our quiz, and then tell us how you did for a chance to win a PETA lunch bag.

1. Which animals are reportedly the closest living relatives of the Tyrannosaurus rex?
2. Which animals' brains are able to fully repair themselves after they have experienced trauma?
3. Which animals are such great parents that in ancient Rome, it was considered a compliment to be told that you must have been raised by that animal?
4. Which small animals are so brave that they will fight powerful predators such as eagles and foxes to protect their young?
5. Which animals were able to find their way through a maze with a speed comparable to that of dogs?
6. Which animals have more bones in their necks than giraffes do?
7. Which animals can talk to their mothers from inside their eggshells before they have hatched?
8. Which animals' legs can detect vibrations on the ground and in the atmosphere, allowing them to sense when predators are approaching?
9. Like Paul Reveres of the animal kingdom, which animals use different warning calls when predators are approaching by land rather than approaching by air?
10. Which animals can remember the faces and social ranks of more than 100 other animals in their group, even after being separated from them for months before being reunited?

Answers

Did you guess "chickens" for any of the questions? Did you figure out that "chickens" was the answer to all the questions? Chickens are inquisitive, sensitive, highly social animals whose intellect has been compared to dogs, cats, primates, and human children. For National Chicken Month, please share this contest and encourage everyone you know to stop eating chickens. 

To enter to win PETA's "I Am Not a Nugget" lunch bag, leave a comment telling us how you did on the game, and a winner will be chosen at random. (Your score on the game will not affect your chances of winning.)

Good luck!

By commenting here, you’re acknowledging that you’ve read and you agree to our contest terms and conditions and our privacy policy, and you’re also agreeing to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your personal info in accordance with those policies as well as to receiving e-mails from us.

Last week, your votes ensured that Pamela Anderson's wildly entertaining and uniquely activist run on Dancing With the Stars (DWTS) would continue. (Her anti-bullfighting paso doble was the first of its kind.) To say thanks, we're giving away two bottles of Pamela's new cruelty-free Malibu perfume.

Watch DWTS tonight and vote for Pamela by calling 1-800-868-3411, texting "vote" to 3411 from any AT&T phone, and visiting ABC's Web site. You can vote by texting and calling up to 30 minutes after the show ends, and you can vote online until 11 a.m. ET tomorrow.

Then enter our contest by posting a comment below to tell us which of her many memorable moments on DWTS has been your favorite.The contest ends on April 16, 2010, and we'll pick two winners at random on April 19, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Written by Logan Scherer

I'm convinced that there actually are eight days in Paul McCartney's week. How else does the world's hottest sexagenarian find the time to do all the work he does for animals? The latest in his long line of animal-friendly efforts? Paul lent his legendary voice to our newest exposé, which shatters through the brick and mortar of slaughterhouses and factory farms to show people what really happens to animals before they end up on people's dinner plates. In the video, Paul states, "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian."

And, in a PETA Files exclusive interview, you can hear what Paul has to say about how easy it is to go vegetarian—especially in London, which we recently named the most vegetarian-friendly city in the world—and learn about the thrill he gets from eating cruelty-free:

Can't get enough of this music icon and friend to animals? Me neither. Enter our contest to win a copy of Beatles Rock Band for the opportunity to hang with Paul (and John, Ringo, and George) in your living room every night. And remember if the jet-setting, always-on-the-run crooner can find the time to help animals, so can you.

Written by Logan Scherer

estatesgazette / CC

"London has soared to the top of the world's culinary league tables in recent years, boasting a mind boggling range of eateries.

"We have a noble history of vegetarianism so it is great news to be crowned the best city on earth to enjoy meat-free nosh. We are helping to cultivate a taste for all things veggie by supporting green fingered efforts by all Londoners to grow their own fresh fruit and veg."
—London Mayor Boris Johnson's reaction to his city's being named the most vegetarian-friendly city in the world.

If Boris' outstanding support of all things vegetarian doesn't convince you that London deserved top honors, or if you just want to make your mouth water, read all about the city's culinary delights.*

Written by Shawna Flavell

*Warning: You might get the urge to buy airline tickets to fly across the big pond after reading. Don't say I didn't warn you.

It was a frigid day in Budapest, Hungary, yesterday, but our scorching-hot leopards warmed the hearts of holiday shoppers in the country's largest shopping mall by urging them to fauxget about fur this holiday season.

Faux-fur trim, Santa? Meeow.

Written by Logan Scherer

chicagopublicradio / CC

This is one of those bizarre stories that could easily stump the panel on a "Wait, Wait … Don't Tell Me!" pick-the-fake-news-story segment.

On Wednesday night, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources dumped 2,200 gallons of deadly poison into a 5.7-mile stretch of a canal in order to prevent Asian carp from escaping the canal and entering Lake Michigan while an electronic barrier was turned off for servicing. They poisoned every single fish in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal with Rotenone, which kills fish by depleting oxygen from their blood and causes them to float to the surface of the water, where they gasp for air as they slowly suffocate.

Tens of thousands of animals lost their lives in order to kill a few carp who they thought might be in the waterway. So far, a lone carp has been found among the carnage. At a price tag of somewhere around $3 million, that has to make him or her the most expensive dead carp in history.

Asian carp, who consume nearly half their body weight in plankton every day, were originally imported in the 1970s to clean aquaculture and wastewater treatment facilities' retention ponds. Flooding throughout the 1990s allowed the fish to escape into the Mississippi River, which is connected to the Great Lakes through a series of rivers and canals. If the fish reach the Great Lakes, it is feared that they will crowd out other species of fish and threaten the lucrative sport and commercial fishing industries.

In other words, this is a manmade threat to manmade industries that carp and other fish are paying for with their lives.

I know what you're thinking: Surely they would only kill thousands of animals if there were no alternative? But you would be mistaken. The fish could have been kept at bay with sonic and light deterrents or by simply closing the locks while the barrier is down. But the latter would have caused shipping delays, and we can't have that.

We understand that a plan for a back-up barrier is in the works, which is great—it just would have been nice if they'd thought of that a little sooner, before killing tens of thousands of animals and threatening the lives of other animals and humans who may inadvertently come into contact with the toxic stew they have created.

Written by Alisa Mullins

Gaga's fashion-driven stunts are a feast for the imagination. The avant-garde, synth-pop superstar left me reeling after her spectacularly maniacal, glass-shattering AMA performance and the light-up get-up she rocked during it. I've had her new album on repeat ever since, and with the news that the polar bear coat Lady Gaga sets fire to in her epically trippy video for "Bad Romance" is cruelty-free (I was a bit concerned!), her tracks will forever dominate my shuffle. Fabulously faux, the coat was made by fur-free fashion designer Benjamin Cho in 2004 and was revamped specially for Gaga's video.

From her Kermit-crazy anti-fur commentary to the humane hotness of her "Bad Romance" video, Gaga's kooky couture makes the chart-topper a style genius and a kind role model, which is why we've asked her to take it all off to educate people about animals killed on fur farms. We're still waiting for her response, but we've already got some awesome ideas. Post-apocalyptic disco dreamscape, anyone?

Written by Logan Scherer

We're heartened that our new ad, featuring Joanna Krupa and a lifesaving message about animal adoptions, is receiving strong support from Catholics and non-Catholics alike. However, we are perplexed by the few complaints we've gotten that we dared depict our angel in the nude! Why they want to cloud the issue at hand (helping millions of homeless cats and dogs) is perplexing: The Catholic Church has a long history of depicting their angels in the buff, so what gives?

romanchristendom / CC

Caring people everywhere, of all faiths, applaud our beautiful, artistic ad that encourages compassion toward animals—and Ms. Krupa for her decision to assist us in that effort. They also recognize that the anguish endured by millions of neglected and abused dogs and cats who suffer in backyards, back alleys, puppy mills, and pet stores is the issue that truly warrants our society's outrage and attention.

Written by Karin Bennett