While most of us are grilling veggie dogs in the park or sipping drinks by the pool today, working animals won't have it so easy:

Horses pulling horse-drawn carriages today will tromp on hard pavement all day long in the intense heat. They will breathe exhaust fumes and will not have adequate food or water. Tonight, they will be crammed into a tiny stall for a few hours until they are dragged out in the morning to start again.

Hens used by the egg industry are spending the day crammed five deep into wire "battery cages" about the size of a file drawer. Because they are packed so closely together, they will have to urinate and defecate on each other.

Today, Indian donkeys will struggle to pull heavy carts that are overloaded with bricks and sugarcane. They will toil under the blazing sun with little rest, food, or water. They may be beaten or whipped to force them to keep going.

iStockphoto.com/Rpsycho

Orcas who are enslaved at marine parks today will perform meaningless tricks in front of crowds of screaming people in order to get food. They will swim endless circles in a tank that is, for them, comparable to a bathtub. The reverberations from their sonar will bounce off the walls, adding to their frustration and anger.

Female dogs in puppy mills will likely spend Labor Day in either a crude, filthy cage or chained to a tree. They will suffer from painful medical conditions, such as ear infections, mange, and abscessed feet, for which they will receive no veterinary care. They will either be pregnant with or nursing yet another litter of puppies, who will be taken away from them and sold.

Pregnant cows on dairy farms will be hooked up to milking machines several times today. They may be suffering from a painful udder inflammation called "mastitis," likely brought on by the drugs that increase their milk production. They may also be lame from being intensely confined and being forced to stand amid their own waste.

This Labor Day, resolve to help the animals who rarely have a day off. To learn what the PETA-supported working animal relief organization Animal Rahat is doing to help animals in India, visit AnimalRahat.com. 

You know you love animals—and you want everyone else to know it too. For the millions of us who aren't "Furries," there's no more obvious way to display your love, admiration and respect for animals than to accessorize your bag with buttons or to place a pin on your pleather lapel.  

How fitting that this ingenious creation has its own holiday! As long as PETA has existed, so have PETA buttons. Over the years, new styles have been introduced, but I'm convinced that my all-time fave (now retired) will one day be Antiques Roadshow–worthy.  

[Fade to daydream sequence]  

Appraiser: "Way, way back when people actually believed they had the right to poison, trap, and experiment on smart, sociable rats, people like you would wear this little button in protest. And obviously this button had an impact—that's why Americans voted in favor of the Rat Protection Act."

But I digress.  

Help us celebrate Button Day by voting for your favorite PETA button—and then help animals by ordering one—or a dozen—today.

 Written by Karin Bennett

How do you plan to observe the third-annual World Day Against Speciesism on June 5? The day is designed to remind people that speciesism, like racism and sexism, has no place in a civilized society. Prejudice toward animals is no more acceptable than prejudice toward humans.

If a person truly believes that kindness is a virtue, how could it be possible to justify scalding chickens alive, forcing chemicals down rats' throats, keeping elephants in chains, or electrocuting foxes and stripping off their fur—all simply because they're "just animals"?

Animals are made of flesh, bone, and blood, just as you and I are. They feel pain and joy, just as we do; they form friendships, grieve for lost loved ones, communicate with one another, raise families, and use tools. But whether or not they are "like us," they deserve respect, compassion, and empathy. In the words of philosopher Jeremy Bentham, "The question is not, 'Can they reason?' nor, 'Can they talk?' but, 'Can they suffer?'"

If you need ideas for honoring World Day Against Speciesism, please check out PETA's Web sites listed above or visit our Action Center. Any one—or two or three—of the suggested actions will make a difference!

Written by Heather Moore

It's Cinco de Mayo, and these spicy señoritas—dressed in sizzling chili-pepper bikinis—have certainly grabbed my attention:

Our campaigners have been on the road handing out chili-shaped vegan chocolates across the country, along with plenty of information about why eating meat, eggs, and dairy products just isn't, well, hot.

In particular, the lovely ladies are making the point that adopting a vegan diet can lead to a phenomenal physique and generate plenty of heat in the bedroom. You see, guys, cholesterol and animal fat slow the flow of blood to all the body's vital organs—not just to the heart. So hold the mayo (and meat and cheese) this Cinco de Mayo, and put a little zing in your love life tonight.

Written by Jeff Mackey

Looking for a way to rebel against a Debbie Friedman–saturated childhood this Passover?

OK, as the daughter of a Hebrew school principal/music director, maybe it's just me, but everyone should check out Jewish-vegan-reggae-rock-hip-hop artist Matisyahu, whose video for "One Day" was rated one of the 10 most inspiring videos on the Web.

In response to a suggestion that he put a shrimp on the barbie while he's in Australia, Matisyahu recently tweeted, "Sorry babe [shrimp are] not kosher plus I went vegan."

The last time Matisyahu played in Norfolk, PETA delivered him a basket of vegan treats along with the video "If This Is Kosher…" narrated by Jonathan Safran Foer. The video shows footage from an investigation at Agriprocessors, the world's largest kosher slaughterhouse.

This is the year I start a new Passover tradition by sending my dad a similar PETA gift basket, only with a Matisyahu CD and a card reading, "Beets Beat Brisket." Leave a comment with your favorite compassionate Passover tradition (or a better slogan for my card)!

Written by Heather Drennan

I didn't think much about how much power toys came with until I started shopping for my nephew this holiday season. And I'm not talking about the 18 AAs you'll have to buy to make the new gadgets go. As I perused catalogs and toy sites, I realized that the messages toys send to children are powerful. So here's a list of some cool finds that will help you beget the best gift of all: kindness.

For the Outdoor Explorer: Instead of giving JCPenny's Hunting Set, give Family Pastimes Walk in the Woods Cooperative Game from KidBean.com: Can a kid ever have too many friends? Friendly fauna abound in the Walk in the Woods Cooperative Game. Lions and tigers and bears—oh yes!

For the Aquatic Adventurer: Instead of giving Wonderworld's Wooden Fishing Puzzle, give PETA's Sammy the Sea Kitten plush: Pieces of cold, stiff wood that simulate the suffering of fish or the cuddly soft fins of PETA's Sammy the Sea Kitten plush toy? Um, do we even need to ask?

For the All-Star MVP: Instead of giving Nokona's kangaroo-leather baseball glove, give Carpenter Trade Co.'s custom-synthetic baseball glove: Synthetic and sympathetic gear—always a perfect catch.

For the Fledgling Foodie: Instead of giving McDonald's Food Cart by Creative Designs, give Majesco's Gardening Mama video game. What's cuter than the one-and-only Gardening Mama herself? A kid with a green thumb. (And for the cost-conscious, play our super-new, super-free New Super Chick Sisters video game.)

For the Wildlife of the Party: Instead of giving Brookstone's Frog-O-Sphere, give the LED Jellyfish Mood Lamp from ThinkGeek.com: a party on your kid's desk—every day of the year? Just turn on the psychedelic-chic brilliance of an LED Jellyfish Mood Lamp.

For the Showbiz Superstar: Instead of giving Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for Nintendo Wii by 2K Play, give Cynthia King Dance's vegan ballet slippers: Classy, elegant, and cruelty-free—they're a budding ballerina's dream come true!

Happy holiday shopping!

Written by Logan Scherer

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Remember, the Fourth of July comes only once a year, but you can make your own fireworks every day with veggie Viagra! Enjoy your holiday!

Written by Karin Bennett

Some folks at our PETA headquarters were moved when they read that after spending the last few days packing up bags of food for needy families, a General Motors plant in Janesville, Wisconsin, has shut down, and thousands of workers have lost their jobs. So, we're extending the same offer that we gave to AT&T folks last week—because we still have bonus Tofurkeys left. So, if you're among the first 100 laid-off GM employees to contact us, we'll send you a healthy, hearty Tofurky roast to share with your family this holiday season.

Our best wishes and hopes for a brighter New Year to you and yours.

Written by Sarah King

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope your Tofurky was excellent—I know mine was. Since it's a holiday and all, we've got a little something for you. Check out our fantastic Thanksgiving e-card below, and enjoy the rest of your day. (And don't forget … tomorrow is Fur-Free Friday!)

Written by Christine Doré

We’re busy, busy little worker bees in PETA’s Marketing Department, and nobody is busier than everybody’s second favorite PETA blogger, Amy “I think I’m so smart cuz I can make vegan cupcakes” Cook, who, in addition to running the Veg Cooking blog, coordinates most of the vegetarian-focused content that goes up on PETA’s websites. Well, in her unquenchable enthusiasm for the Holiday Season, our Amy coordinated so much Christmas content that we’re having trouble keeping up with it, which is a shame, because it really is very good. So the point is, even though she runs a rival PETA blog and is thus my evil arch-nemesis, I do want to highlight some of the exciting stuff she’s been working on for the Holidays. Check it all out, and be sure to congratulate her on the great work.

1. PETA has teamed up with Cherrybrook Kitchen, for a mouthwatering giveaway featuring mixes for vegan chocolate chip and sugar cookies, yellow cakes, pancakes and brownies. If you have a sweet tooth, you can check that bad boy out here:
2. I told my mom that if she forgets to load up on tofurkey this year while I’m home for Christmas, she can forget about getting any gifts from me. There are, however, more polite ways of accomplishing these goals, and PETA’s Ask Your Family for a Vegan Christmas feature can help you out with that.
3. You may also want to check out these tips and tricks to make vegan holiday baking easy.
4. And if baking’s not your thing, there are about a million other vegan holiday-specific foods you can prepare, so have a look at those here.

Amy has managed to exhaust her lifetime quota of favors from me by also asking me to talk about the variety of Christmas recipes she’s going to be posting on her blog in the next week, so be sure to check those out too. I hate to say it, but her first Christmas-themed entry does actually look pretty delicious. Feel free to scan her blog for a little while, but don’t forget to come back here, otherwise I shall be hurt and sulky. Enjoy!