As if a life of suffering on a factory farm that ends with a terrifying death in a slaughterhouse weren't enough, pigs killed for Smithfield Foods, Inc.'s, ham and bacon also face being injured or killed in a traffic accident on their way to slaughter. The latest wreck makes at least the 11th by pork industry drivers since 2004 in southeastern Virginia alone—many of them en route to Smithfield's slaughterhouse.

On April 19, David Earl Lambert was hauling 184 pigs from the Goldsboro Milling Co. factory farm to slaughter when he flipped the truck, sending pigs hurtling through the air. Fifty-five pigs died either on impact or in pain in the hours that followed, as a result of their injuries. The survivors were hauled the rest of the way to slaughter. After many crashes, pigs are dragged or electro-shocked to force them to their feet. 

Lambert has a deplorable driving record, which includes charges for speeding, operating a vehicle without insurance, reckless driving, and attempting to evade federal motor carrier safety regulations. And his latest accident occurred on a dry road on a clear day. By putting known-dangerous drivers behind the wheel, some meat industry giants show that they have no regard for the safety of animals or other drivers on the road.

PETA is asking Goldsboro Milling Co. to use common sense and hire only safe drivers, just as we called on Smithfield to do when one of its drivers flipped a truck carrying pigs just three months after he had crashed while hauling cattle. And of course, the safest and most responsible thing that all of us can do to protect animals and our own health is to go vegan. 

Christ's chief lesson to his followers was that they should "love one another" (John 13:34). And in Philadelphia, "the city of brotherly love," citizens are encouraged to embrace that sentiment. So as Philly prepares to kick off its huge annual Easter parade, PETA has asked permission to add some food for thought to the day, with a mobile billboard.

We're hopeful that our billboard will encourage everyone to start showing kindness to pigs, who don't want to suffer and die to become an "Easter ham."

In Matthew 25:40, Jesus says, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Pigs, who are as sociable and intelligent as dogs, are abused in ways that would be illegal if dogs or cats were the victims—so surely they are among the least powerful beings in our society .

We hope all Christians will act on Christ's teachings of love and empathy, and we have a wealth of vegan recipes for Easter to help them. 

We know that there weren't any pigs on your table this Christmas, but were there pigs at it? At a festive Christmas party in Goa, India, not only were pigs at the table, they were also the guests of honor.

The Panjim Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) had intercepted a group of people who were illegally transporting about 100 pigs and who intended to slaughter and sell them for holiday meals. But PAWS rescued all the pigs and took them to safety at its shelter. So, since the pigs were no longer becoming the feast, PAWS and PETA India decided to throw them one instead.

The gleeful pigs happily munched on corn, spinach, strawberries, grapes, and other treats, while their proud rescuers doted on them. And as news cameras caught the pigs' mirthful antics, they also captured the not-so-subtle message that PETA India had prominently displayed at the table: a sign that implored, "Give Pigs the Gift of Life: Go Vegan."

O, Canada! We're always busy, busy, busy during this festive season, but we haven't forgotten our pals in the Great White North—y compris nos amis francophones. Yanks and Canucks have so much in common, and yet there are distinctive differences. For example, while the yuletide finds a disturbing number of friendly, intelligent pigs on this side of the 49th parallel killed for ham, it's the saddest day of the year for abused factory-farmed turkeys in Canada. So PETA is encouraging Canadian kids (since kids haven't yet been taught to suppress their natural compassion for animals) to consider what—and who—they're eating. PETA has placed the attention-grabbing holiday billboard seen below on a highway leading into Victoria, British Columbia.

PETA's also giving U.S. kids something to chew on other than cruelly produced ham with this billboard, just outside Reno, Nevada. 

Of course, companion animals need our help, too—and it's not just children who need to reconsider their attitudes. So PETA is also looking to put up a brand-new billboard—promoting spaying and neutering to effectively curb animal overpopulation—in the hope of reaching those kind people for whom this season is more about revering Mary than reveling merrily.

We'd like to thank all the donors whose support of PETA makes it possible to place these billboards, which foster awareness of animal rights. 

What You Can Do

To give a holiday gift that keeps on giving to animals year-round, become a PETA member. And please remember to shop PETA for everyone on your list—each purchase funds vital efforts to improve and save animals' lives!

We're delighted to report PETA's latest victory for animals used for experimentation—and this time, our "happy dance" is a Charleston, in honor of the hometown of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Following a vigorous PETA campaign, MUSC has confirmed that the school has not used any pigs for crude trauma training exercises in more than a year and that it has no future plans to do so.

After learning that participants in cruel, archaic training exercises were cutting holes into the throats and chests of live pigs—even though the university used superior state-of-the-art simulators to teach the same skills in other courses—PETA embarked on a three-year campaign to urge MUSC to modernize its curriculum.

Thanks are due not only to MUSC but also to everyone who supported PETA's efforts, which included protests near campus; involvement from local law students; an online campaign in which tens of thousands of people contacted the school via e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter; and complaints to authorities that prompted citations for violations of federal animal welfare law.

What You Can Do

Pigs in South Carolina can rest a bit easier now, but a few schools still torture and kill animals instead of using modern and superior non-animal training methods. Please urge the University of Michigan to follow MUSC's smart and compassionate example by ending the use of animals for its trauma training courses in favor of the simulators that it already owns.

Miley Cyrus' fans have watched her grow into a gorgeous young woman with a kind and compassionate heart, so to celebrate her 20th birthday on November 23, PETA is surprising Miley with something that she really wants.

© StarMaxInc.com

During a recent appearance on Ellen, Miley talked about how much she loves pigs, so PETA sponsored a very special pig in her honor. Nora, whom PETA helped rescue, is a resident at Kindred Spirits Sanctuary, a picturesque farm in Ocala, Florida, that gives refuge to animals who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned, including pigs, cows, goats, sheep, chickens, turkeys, horses, and donkeys.

Miley proved her affection for pigs when she retweeted a PETA action alert to her 10 million followers asking them to urge Walmart to ban its suppliers from cruelly confining pigs to tiny metal-barred gestation crates for months at a time.

And the singer's compassion for animals doesn't stop there. She lavishes love on her rescued dogs and consistently encourages people always to adopt and never buy. And she's striving to rid her diet of dairy products.

Miley's fans are awesome animal advocates, too. They've set up a special fundraising page where people can donate to PETA's lifesaving work for animals in honor of the compassionate birthday girl.

Happy birthday, Miley! We love you!

When we planned a demonstration involving people lying on what appeared to be bloody meat trays outside a slaughterhouse, we knew that it would be a poignant display. But even we had no idea just how intense it would turn out to be.

The smell of freshly butchered flesh that permeated the air around the John Morrell & Co. slaughterhouse was nauseating on that sweltering day in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. But that wasn't the worst part. The slaughterhouse was directly across the street from a stockyard, and we could hear the pigs screaming. Their unceasing cries shook us to the core.

The townspeople who drove by us certainly got the message—they were faced with the gruesome image that accompanied the smells and screams that they always tried to ignore as they passed. One slaughterhouse worker even came out to ask, "Are you all vegetarian?" When we answered that we were, he said, "I don't blame you."

Today, wherever you are, please be the message that people can't ignore.

The animals are not silent. We must not be, either.

PETA wants to give parties on both sides of the debate over Arizona's new law banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy some other food for thought as we get set to display a new billboard in the Phoenix area. We think that everyone should be able to agree about death on factory farms and beyond:

© iStockphoto.com/Sascha Burkard

Billions of chickens are killed for food every year in the U.S. when they are only 6 to 7 weeks old, and most of the pigs and turkeys killed for food are less than 1 year old. Animals killed for food feel pain when they are stunned, have their throats cut, or are scalded to death or dismembered while they're still conscious.

Pro-life? You can save lives by eating vegan foods. Pro-choice? Choose meals that are better for animals, your health, and our environment. Makes sense!

When pig abuser Hormel's notorious nonfood Spam turned 75, the company decided to celebrate its saturated fat, cholesterol, and pig abuse in a tin with a party. Never ones to let an opportunity to share animals' side of things pass us by, PETA sent brave "piggies" into Hormel territory.

As people lured by free food and music arrived, the PETA pigs were there to greet them and tell them why they should cease being Spammers.

People eagerly pored over the food for thought provided by the pigs: vegetarian/vegan starter kits, Paul McCartney's slaughterhouse exposé "Glass Walls," and the kicker—PETA's "Think Before You Eat" leaflets. We're betting that at least a few folks skipped the mystery meat and headed for the crudités.

Be sure to check out our commemorative Spam T-shirt, available now. And help stop Spamming.

Tell Hormel to end the egregious acts of blatant cruelty to animals—such as the beating, kicking, and sexual abuse of pigs—that PETA documented on a Hormel supplier's farm.

This is what Olivia looked like when she was found:

The little piglet, who had sustained a fractured pelvis, cuts, and scrapes, was found on the side of the road after apparently falling off a transport truck. The Good Samaritan who found her called PETA for help, and PETA's Emergency Response Team called a wonderful activist to take Olivia to the Animal Rescue League of Iowa (ARL), where she is safe and sound! ARL is working with a doctor to treat the porcine princess, who will never find out what a gestation crate is.

Olivia is well on the road to recovery and even going through physical therapy using an underwater treadmill (you have to watch the video). As one news story about Olivia's stroke of luck put it, "How nice that some people see her as more than sausage and bacon."

Ready to give meat the heave-ho—for Olivia's sake? Order PETA's free vegan/vegetarian starter kit today.