Written by PETA
More than 31 major media outlets covered PETA Asia Pacific's pro-vegetarianism photo shoot with Filipina supermodel Alicia Mayer yesterday, and looking at the stunning pictures, I can see why. In case you're wondering, that's PETA Asia Pacific's very own Jason Baker on the right, with the water bottle. I actually haven't spoken to Jason since we were in New Orleans together after Hurricane Katrina more than a year ago, so I'd like to take this opportunity to give him some friendly advice: Get the hell out of the shot, Jason. You're ruining this for me.
Proving once again that the folks in our Factory-Farming Campaigns Department are just brimming with so much compassion it could make you sick, they've just extended an offer to help our archenemy, KFC, deal with its apparent rodent problem. After video footage of a KFC in Greenwich Village that was overrun by rats on Friday went just about everywhere on the Internet, PETA sent a letter to the eatery’s owner, offering to help him implement a humane rodent-control program at his restaurant. Here's what PETA VP Bruce Friedrich had to say about the incident:
“This store’s lethal attempt to deal with rodents has failed miserably. Although KFC refuses to work with us toward minimizing the suffering of the hundreds of millions of birds killed for its restaurants every year, we hope that this store owner will work with us on a safe, effective, and humane solution to the rat infestation.”
Honestly, all this turning the other cheek and being nice to our enemies has me reeling. I'd go over to the other side of the office right now and congratulate our Factory-Farming Campaigns Department, but I'm worried that I'd be bowled over by all the excess compassion floating around. Here's PETA's letter to the store.
Awww, look at all the adorable rats! In other, extremely important news, KFC is really, really disgusting.
This video puts PETA in a bit of a difficult position, because we wouldn’t want to actively encourage other impressionable rats to eat at KFC—both for their own health and because of the ethical issues involved—but the restaurant does seem to be quite a favorite among rodents. Check it out:
The bird flu post the other day reminded me of a hilarious old picture from The Onion. Unfortunately, I just didn't get around to writing about it in the blog at the time, but as I like to say about me marrying Natalie Portman and you going vegetarian ... better late than never.
With all the people getting sick, don’t ya think this is exactly what KFC needs—a bird flu vaccine dipping sauce?
The lovely Pamela Anderson has a thing or two to say about a new postal stamp under consideration by the US Postal Service that would feature famed chicken torturer Colonel Harland Sanders. After a little detective work, it becomes pretty clear that the evil masterminds behind the projected stamp are none other than KFC themselves, but Pam's letter to the Postmaster has put a dent in their scheme. She writes,
Honoring a man whose legacy involves breaking animals’ bones and scalding animals to death in defeathering tanks is contrary to the values of most compassionate citizens, and I hope that you’ll deny KFC’s request. How about another Elvis stamp instead?
Anyway, as is so often the case, hooray for Pamela Anderson—I couldn't have said it better myself. MSNBC reported on the story, and you can read Pamela's letter in its entirety here.
In related news, KFC already has some battery-cage egg on their faces this week after Yum Brands (KFC's parent corporation) put a bid on a warehouse in PETA's hometown of Norfolk for a million dollars. What they didn't realize was that the property was owned by the PETA Foundation, a nonprofit group that provides support services for PETA. We responded with what we felt was an extremely reasonable counter offer—that we'd give them the warehouse for free if they'd listen to their own advisors and make a few small improvements in their animal welfare standards. Unfortunately, they suddenly lost interest and decided that maybe they didn't want a warehouse after all. Weird. The New York Times ran that story, which you can read here.
Jack Black is amazing. First, because his band rocks so damn hard that he had to go into hell to find his rhythm section; and second, because he had the good sense and foresight to put Colonel Sanders there, where he belongs. Check it out:
KFC employees who are used to seeing PETA's crippled chicken hobbling across the street or watching Colonel Sanders burned in effigy in front of their restaurants are in for a pleasant surprise: The KFC Campaign is finally going naked, with our brand-new "Naked Truth" demonstrations. The bad news for the company is, unfortunately, that the "naked truth" about KFC is that it's gross and unethical and abusive and, seriously, don't even think about eating there. Even if there are attractive naked girls outside. Our first Naked Truth protest was immediately picked up by the Associated Press, proving, once again, that taking your clothes off really is a great way to help chickens on factory farms—though that line never works for me for some reason.
I just found this speech by PETA President Ingrid Newkirk on YouTube. It's pretty old—an address she gave in Washington a few years ago—but it's cool to see some of the old campaigns PETA was working on back then. Plus, she's a hell of a speaker, so it's worth checking it out, even if you don't have 20 minutes to spare for the whole thing.
Whatever PETA does in the U.S., our counterparts in Germany always feel like they have to do it better. A month or so ago, we were patting ourselves on the backs after a protest where we burned Colonel Sanders in effigy was picked up by national media. Well, in Dusseldorf today, PETA Deutschland—who apparently felt that the demonstration just wasn't exciting enough for the discriminating German audience—decided they needed to spice it up by bringing along a firebreather in a chicken suit. If by some odd chance you get Germany's main television station, RTL TV, you should be glued to your set tonight for the exclusive footage. The whole thing is kind of incredible.
On second thoughts, I’d probably get into a lot of trouble for posting the pics from our actual Halloween party. But here are some from yesterday’s demonstration against KFC. We pulled out all the stops for this one and brought along ...
a skeleton to scare KFC into making some animal welfare improvements …a pumpkin to tug at their grizzled old heartstrings …… and some other people. Including a dude in a Darth Vader mask.
More pics after the jump.
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.
Follow PETA on Twitter!