Change was a hot topic this election, but we all need to remember the millions of animals whose lives will stay the same even though the election is over—unless we all do a lot of hard work. Breeders and pet shops will continue to contribute to the tragedy of dog and cat overpopulation—just to make a profit. We need to work hard to make spaying and neutering affordable and legally mandated in every community across the country. Although the election is over, let's remember to keep fighting the good fight! We must educate others about the importance of spaying and neutering their animal companions and adopting from shelters instead of buying from breeders and pet stores. If we all pitch in, then eventually the tragic but merciful euthanasia of animals for whom no suitable, loving homes exist will no longer be necessary.

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According to Science News magazine, researchers have discovered the first known vegetarian spider in Mexico. A jumping spider who dwells and dines in acacia trees, Bagheera kiplingi (Kip, to his friends) is a fly guy who passes on the usual bug buffet for leafy snacks snatched from neighboring ants. That's right—Kip is an itsy-bitsy pickpocket. Athletic, thanks no doubt to their healthy vegetarian diet, these covert little arachnids give patrolling ant guards the slip and then swoop down and steal their supply of protein and fat-packed nubbins sprouting from the tips of leaves.

An eight-legged vegetarian renegade taking on an army to nick some nubbins. Neat, huh? Actually, all spiders are pretty darn neat. They're also much more frightened of us than we are of them—and for good reason! Even on the rare occasions when spiders may try to bite to defend themselves, only a few can actually pierce human skin.

So what have we learned? Spiders are cool and deserve respect. Some vegetarians have eight legs. And when picnicking under an acacia tree in Mexico, never ever take your eyes off your salad. That said, here's Kip, my personal pick for the "Cutest Vegetarian Alive":

 

 

Written by Amy Elizabeth

Blind and sighted, man or macaque—we all celebrate in the same way. A recent study from scientists at the University of British Columbia and San Francisco State University shows that the "victory dance"—arms raised, chest puffed out—is an instinctive trait of all primates.

You mean I have something in common with Michael Phelps? All right, then!

 

cnn / CC

 

It turns out that the victory dance closely resembles the dominance displays of chimpanzees and monkeys—"Yes, I'm strong, and I'm bigger than you"—and is universal among all athletes, from all cultures, including blind Paralympians. Since the blind athletes couldn't have learned this behavior from others, the victory dance has to be innate.

Similarly, poses of defeat—heads down, shoulders slumped—are also the same for all primates (and not only primates), with the exception of some sighted athletes from the U.S. and Western Europe. The lead author of the study speculates that "the athletes were intentionally hiding their feelings—consciously overriding their innate urge to signal defeat—because losing is so stigmatized in their cultures." Tellingly, blind athletes from the same countries did exhibit the same defeat poses as other primates—showing again that this is innate behavior.

More and more studies confirm what we already know—that we are all one under the skin. Hopefully, these studies will bring humans one step closer toward having respect for all primates.

Written by Amanda Schinke

You know those silly looking hats that the British Royal Guards wear? Did you know that they're still made out of real bear skin—and that it can take up to one whole bear to make just one cap? And that the bears' deaths are usually anything but quick, clean, and humane? Bears are ensnared, sometimes for days, in painful traps. Sometimes they actually get away … but die much later from blood loss or starvation. And in some Canadian provinces, there's nothing to stop the shooting of nursing mothers with cubs

So, since grizzly-bear hunting season is set to open next week in British Columbia—and a record 430 grizzlies were killed last year, mostly by trophy hunters (like the "gentlemen" pictured)—we recognize our responsibility to offer you an alternative perspective of this "blood sport." I mean, hey, we're PETA, isn't it our job to lay it on the masses and get them off their asses to fight against these fascist practices? (Bragging rights to anyone who knows what that paraphrases.)

You can check out campaign news here. PETA and its affiliates have spanned the globe—from naked protesters in Europe to a feisty activist dressed in bear suit that successfully stalked a Royal couple across the Caribbean. As always, there are sassy celebrity endorsements to encourage you to get involved too. Please do your part to save a bear and sign PETA Europe's petition to U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown in support of bears.

Written by Missy Lane

i76 / CC

Six Flags had been planning to include a live Madagascar Hissing Cockroach–eating challenge as part of their Halloween "Fright Fest" festivities.

So we wrote and explained that encouraging teenagers (or anyone!) to hurt and kill even the smallest life form "just for fun" can desensitize them to suffering in general. Besides, all insects, like them or not, play a role in our ecosystem. And there's also the small matter of health risks like allergic reactions, nausea, and gastrointestinal distress—humans, you may realize, are not meant to eat giant hissing cockroaches.

Six Flags agreed! Six Flags public relations manager Sue Carpenter said, "We're on to other Fright Fest events that do not include any living creatures!"

Roller coasters, Halloween, and no harm to animals? Sounds great to me!

We're so glad that Six Flags has decided to pursue only animal-friendly events that we're sending a small token of our appreciation to Ms. Carpenter—a box of vegan chocolate roaches—completely cruelty-free, maybe a little bit scary, and 100 percent delicious.

Written by Amanda Schinke

paddleasia / CC

Charles River Laboratories has finally had to own up to killing 32 monkeys under their "care." The monkeys were baked alive when a thermostat malfunctioned; no alarm system was in place to alert staff to save the monkeys. Nobody even knew about the deaths until the following morning.

Charles River's announcement follows a string of contact with PETA from a whistleblower claiming to be a Charles River employee, who was concerned about what appeared to be gross negligence. We immediately followed up with a formal complaint to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (the body charged with enforcing the minimal standards of the Animal Welfare Act), which subsequently opened an inquiry into the lab.

"This is a terrible and unfortunate tragedy," the company said in a statement released to the media. The monkeys were slated to be used in preclinical drug experiments, so Charles River's concern is quite curious. The deaths were written off as the result of "several human errors"—unlike the frequent and intentional monkey murders that preclinical testing laboratories voluntarily participate in.

This accident is only one disgusting incident among many for Charles River's abysmal record. They were cited for 22 violations of the ever-so-minimal standards of the pitifully limited Animal Welfare Act in 2005 alone, and they netted 20 violations (as reported to federal officials) in 2006 and 2007.

Stay tuned to this spot. More's afoot on this front.

Written by Sean Conner

No matter what your stance is on the highly controversial U.S.-Mexican border fence project, everyone can agree that those who decide to come to the U.S. should be warned about the downside of our nation's meat and milk consumption habits. PETA is warning immigrants that there's much more to worry about than proper documentation.

We've written a letter to the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection asking to buy space at each of the nine southwest border sectors for our new ad. Those considering entry will then read this message: "If the border patrol doesn't get you, the chicken and burgers will. Go vegan" (or, in Spanish, "Si no te agarra la migra, te atraparan el pollo y las hamburguesas. Sé vegano").

 

Spanish version

 

English version

 

By leaving behind a far healthier staple diet of vegetables and grains—like rice, beans, corn, peppers, and tortillas—Mexicans and other immigrants will likely find themselves fattening up on the fiberless, fatty, cholesterol-laden U.S. diet, which is linked to heart disease, various types of cancer, and strokes (our nation's three biggest killers) as well as impotence (internationally recognized killer of the mood).

PETA's placement of these colorful ads would certainly offset some of the tax dollars that fund the fence. It's a winning solution for the folks at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, immigrants, and farmed animals alike!

Written by Sean Conner

I just heard about this awesome protest that went down in The Hague, Netherlands, yesterday. Or, I guess that’s Den Haag for all of you cultured folk out there. Anyway . . .

It was at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), where South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe supported proposals to kill 13,000 elephants per year to sell the ivory from their tusks. The activists wore T-shirts with the name of an offending country on them and smeared blood on their hands to point out that any country not on board with the ivory-trade moratorium has the blood of elephants on its hands.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for our fine pachyderm friends though, as Kenya and Mali put forward their own proposal asking that the ivory-trade moratorium be extended for another 20 years, and this proposal has already garnered the support of more than 20 other African nations.

Props to Animal Rights Africa and PETA Europe for the great demo. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear the outcome of the meetings.