The Honorable Tom Rideout
Credit: CBC/CC

Bad PETA Germany! What were you guys thinking? Did you even take a second to think that you might be hurting the feelings of the Newfoundland Fisheries Minister when you released a video depicting the horrors of the seal slaughter that he presides over? No, of course you didn’t. And look what happened. Because of your heartless disregard for the complicated emotional needs of Canadian Fisheries Ministers (and this isn’t the first time you’ve upset defenseless bureaucrats, is it, PETA Germany?), you’ve gone and hurt The Honorable Tom Rideout’s feelings. What do you have to say for yourselves?

Here’s how it’s all going down, according to Newfoundland’s Western Star newspaper:

And Minister Rideout has been eloquent on the subject of his “disappointment” in a press release that he’s been sending around:

Now, there are those who would say that drawing attention to the vicious bludgeoning and skinning of live seals is worth disappointing the occasional Fisheries Minister, but to those people I ask this question: What about the emotional bludgeoning that Mr. Rideout might have experienced as a result of having to watch video footage depicting the horrific acts that his government is condoning? It almost seems as if my counterparts in PETA Germany (who, as the Minister so astutely points out, live in a country that still allows deer hunting and should therefore not be allowed even to talk about cruel hunting practices that occur elsewhere in the world) don’t care at all about whether their video about the internationally reviled Canadian seal hunt offends some functionary in the Newfoundland Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture. Unbelievable.

This is the video in question:

And this is the footage it’s referencing. Tom Rideout calls it a “harvest.” I call it an atrocity. You say tomato …

If you speak a bit of German, you can learn more here.

“Lucy” the sheep is at it again. Today, she joined Aussie Prime Minister John Howard on his morning walk in Sydney, and she’ll be making regular appearances again soon. I mean really, how can Australian politicians ignore the issues of mulesing and live export when there’s an activist in a giant sheep costume everywhere they go? Umm, OK, don’t answer that.

“Lucy” the sheep

And here’s a story about the newly formed PETA Australia. Yes, I said PETA Australia! More news on that front soon . . .

Any Friday Night Lights fans in the house? Well, even if you’re not, you’ll love this PSA peta2 just released with anti-fur crusader Aimee Teegarden and her dog Gizmo. Way to go Aimee!

You can watch a video of Aimee at the photo shoot and enter to win a T-shirt signed by her here.

Envelope, please.

And the winner is . . . Steve Baldwin. For his adorable ad promoting humane “pest” control, Steve will receive a $500 Apple gift card. And be sure to check out Steve’s blog about the wild parrots of Brooklyn here.

Honorable mention goes to Jason Frizzell for his “America’s Next PETA Model” ad. When we ran all of the finalists’ ads on a variety of blogs across the Internet, people just couldn’t resist clicking on Jason’s ad, so we decided that we should also recognize him with a $200 Apple gift card.

And no, I am not still bitter that my ad was disqualified from the competition . . .

Congratulations Steve and Jason!

I can't think why. We had this all set up with the billboard company and everything, and then they changed their minds at the last second. Is it possible that there are some sheep farmers who don't want people asking them difficult questions? For more info on mulesing, and our campaign to stop it, please click here.

And for the inevitable knee-jerk response from sheep farmers who are going to say "But we have to slice these sheep up -- it's the only way to prevent flystrike!": 1.) This crisis is your fault in the first place for breeding sheep who can’t survive in the climate. 2.) Here is a long, painstakingly researched list of humane, effective alternatives to mulesing. And 3.) If you refuse to accept that there’s a way to do your job without hideously torturing animals, well, then maybe it’s time to get a new job.

Well, not really a battle, but I’m a sucker for a title with a bit of internal rhyme. More like a skirmish. A minor tiff. The story is that the Town Council in Brattleboro, Vermont, were not particularly pleased about PETA’s recent full-monty nude fur protest in their town, which, due to an odd loophole on the law books, has some very lax legislation about public nudity. The protest has apparently brought renewed calls for a permanent ban on public nakedness in Brattleboro. Which really does seem like a shame.

Well, we’ve offered them a solution that’s a lot less of a joykill: How about banning fur (I’m talking about, like, fur coats here) in Brattleboro instead? That way, they can do a nice, positive thing for the community and avoid naked PETA protesters at the same time. Or as PETA VP Bruce Friedrich puts it,

To further sweeten the proposal, we’ll send a trio of emissaries—fully clothed in furry animal costumes—to host a champagne celebration for the town, if the board agrees to the proposal. How can you possibly turn down a deal like that, Brattleboro? You can read our letter to the Town Council here.

Tofu Scramble
Speedvegan/Creative Commons

I’ll let you know if we hear back from the organizers, but, uhm, don’t hold your breath. In the meantime, here is a news story about it, and here is Lisa’s letter.

*In addition to being utterly disgusting (eggs are, like, chicken periods, after all), eggs are a product of quite possibly the most abusive industry on the planet. Egg laying hens endure a nightmare that lasts about two years, during which time a large portion of each hen’s beak is cut off with a burning-hot blade, and they are shoved into tiny wire “battery” cages with five to 11 other hens. Even in the best scenario, each hen will spend the rest of her life crowded in a space about the size of a file drawer with four other hens, unable to lift even a single wing. Additionally, since male chicks are worthless to the egg industry, every year millions of them are tossed into trash bags to suffocate or are thrown into high-speed grinders called macerators while they are still alive. Sorry to be such a buzz kill here, but hey, that’s my job.

My pal Mylie has been at me to blog about crating dogs for a while now, and this is a perfect time to do it, since she just finished making a leaflet about it. Check out the leaflet below, and if you’d like to order some to pass out, click here.

Bebe's recent announcement that it is going fur-free is nothing short of a cheap media stunt, since they're still planning to sell the skins of tortured bunnies through the winter. For the past year, we’ve been negotiating with the clothing retailer to pull the fur from their shelves, and today, in a clear attempt to stop a forthcoming boycott campaign, the company sent out a news release that they must have hoped would ward off protests. Unfortunately, while it's a step, it doesn't go far enough.

The rabbits killed to be made into cuffs and collars for bebe spend their entire lives in tiny, filthy cages, and die gruesome deaths at the hands of fur farmers, who break their necks or smash their skulls—more concerned about preserving the pelt than they are about the welfare of these tortured animals.

All of bebe's competitors have stopped selling fur including Ann Taylor, Charlotte Russe, Donna Karen, Express, Gap, H&M, J. Crew, Jones Apparel, Polo Ralph Lauren, Talbots, Tommy Hilfiger, Urban Outfitters, Wet Seal, Zara, and more. Plenty of choices for shopping this holiday season!

Please click here to contact bebe and ask that they pull the fur from their shelves immediately. Even one more day of bebe selling rabbit fur is too long.