Written by PETA
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.
"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.
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?
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?
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
Frail, undernourished, and lonely, Little Bit was a walking skeleton. She was confined to an electric kennel and rarely had access to food or water, and her only "shelter" was a tipped-over plastic table.
Shocked by the dismal sight of Little Bit's solitary confinement, an area resident contacted the police, but the officers claimed that they saw nothing wrong with the pitiful and dangerous backyard setup or the obviously malnourished dog. Our complainant continued to push local agencies in the hope that someone would come to Little Bit's rescue but hit wall after wall.
It took just a single day after the resident contacted PETA for Little Bit to find freedom from her life sentence—we were able to get a PETA fieldworker out to this property and convince Little Bit's neglectful owner—who allegedly worked for local law-enforcement—to relinquish her into our custody.
Electric fences like the one in which Little Bit was confined, and so-called "invisible fences," can cause physical pain and potentially serious injuries as well as incite patterns of fear and aggression in dogs. No dog should have to live in fear of getting shocked. If you know of someone using electronic fences or shock collars to confine or silence their dog(s), educate them about the cruelty associated with these devices. And always speak up if you witness animal abuse.
This week, PETA started a national tour to promote a cruelty-free Thanksgiving. Droves of lucky San Franciscans were the first to receive free Tofurky roasts, kindly donated by Turtle Island Foods.
The only thing I can think of that would be more worthy of thanks than gobbling (sorry, had to) up a succulent, savory Tofurky—while saving the lives of turkeys—would be to get one for free. Luckily for you, our turkeys are strutting their way through cities across the country and giving away roasts at each stop.
Join PETA's Action Team to get updates on upcoming events in your area.
John Salley is the first man to win four different NBA championships with three different teams, the man who helped lead the Bulls to their record 72-win season, the current host of the Best Damn Sports Show Period, an actor in one of my favorite movies of all time and … alright, I'm gushing. We'll just leave it at this: This dude is a pretty big deal.
John's going to be in Chicago today, talking to hundreds of kids about the amazing things his vegetarian lifestyle has done for his game, both on and off the court. And to give the kids a taste (literally) of what he's talking about, John and PETA are going to be giving away free veggie burgers from Chicago's Soul Vegetarian East. I don't think I could be more jealous!
If you're in the area, stop by and try getting an autograph (and a burger) for me. If not, no worries: We'll have pictures from the event for you tomorrow. Until then, check out John's vegetarian testimonial:
Here are some photos from the event:
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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