Thanks to our supporters, PETA just brought home the trophy for Favorite Nonprofit Animal Organization in the 2012 Veggie Awards! The annual awards, presented by VegNews Magazine, celebrate "the very best of all things vegan."

What sets PETA supporters apart is that you are determined and committed in the quest for animal rights. When we let you know that someone is abusing animals, you e-mail the perps, demonstrate, and write and call the abuser demanding an end to the cruelty. You speak up, march with us, put on costumes, and even strip down—whatever it takes to make people pay attention to animal welfare issues. You proudly sport our shirts and bumper stickers, proclaiming to everyone that animals are not ours to use and abuse. You drive out in the middle of the night—or in the middle of a hurricane—to rescue animals in peril. And you donate your money to fund undercover investigations, literature, doghouses, spay-and-neuter surgeries, emergency animal rescues, and everything else that we do.

You are the reason that PETA can save as many animals as we do, so we thank VegNews and you. We are honored to share the award for Favorite Nonprofit Animal Organization with every one of you.

A lot. Is the short answer. But if you have a little bit of time on your hands, there’s a long answer currently available in the form of our 2007 Annual Review, and it makes for some excellent reading. There’s also a bulleted breakdown of the numbers (like, how much we spent on what), as well as a bunch of pretty pictures for the benefit of anyone who, like me, has trouble reading more than a couple of paragraphs on the Internet without taking break to see what the lolcats are up to.

Suffice it to say, 2007 was an insanely busy year—so it’s great to take a step back and see just how much we got done.

Deflocked, baby. Deflocked.

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To check out the archives of past strips, click here.

I’m psyched to let you know that we’ve just partnered with Helium, “the leading consumer destination where people can speak their minds and consider opposing opinions.” We’re excited because the partnership provides PETA members, and the public at large, an open and fair environment to debate any animal rights issue that you want. The site’s format is super user-friendly, so this should be a fun and easy way to talk to new people about the issues you’re most passionate about.

Should the NFL add cruelty to animals to its personal conduct policy? Do PETA’s naked protest tactics work? Should chickens be added to the Humane Slaughter Act? These and other debates are already heating up over at Helium, so check it out and let me know what you think.

Les Moonves, CBS News/Creative Commons

Please click here to let Les Moonves know that encouraging kids to kill animals is a new low for him (which is saying something), and that he needs drop these lousy stunts right now, no matter how good they may be for his ratings.