This morning, Michael Vick appeared in court to enter a plea of "guilty." Of course, PETA was represented as well. PETA members were on the scene with new posters reflecting Michael's embrace of Christianity. The posters displayed horrific and tragic images of injured dogs used in fighting along with the words "Dogfighters, Repent." The message was that anyone else who's involved in dogfighting needs to stop—now—before they, too, end up in jail, with no friends, no money, and no respect.

Photos from the demonstration are posted below. Let's hope that Michael Vick's fallen star will be a permanent lesson to all would-be dogfighters: just don't do it.

Written by Amanda Schinke

Three dogfighters knocked out of the ring (or should that be pit) early! Two more of Michael Vick's alleged accomplices entered guilty pleas in Richmond today, and there is no doubt that Michael Vick is huddled with his attorneys, deciding whether or not he will follow suit early next week.

According to The Houston Chronicle, "A statement of facts signed by Taylor as part of his plea agreement placed Vick at the scene of several dogfights and linked him to betting. Taylor said Vick financed virtually all the "Bad Newz Kennels" operation on Vick's property in Surry County."

If Vick is ultimately tied to betting on these dogfights, it is likely to trigger a lifetime ban from the NFL under the league's personal conduct policy, which does not look kindly on illegal gambling. Does anyone else think it might be a good idea for the policy to include a similar stance against charges of electrocution and drowning?

PETA was present at the hearing, and I've posted some images for you below.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

For those who don’t know, I am a big Peter Dinklage fan. He won me over in The Station Agent (if you haven’t seen this, add it to your Netflix list pronto, seriously) a few years ago and I’ve been keeping up with his career ever since. So I was glad to see him getting huge props from super-critic Roger Ebert for his new movie, Death at a Funeral. Ebert said that Dinklage “…is becoming my favorite go-to actor for any movie that needs someone to go to. [H]e has that ability to make you brighten up and take notice, because with such a person on the screen something is bound to happen. Dinklage can look handsome in that menacing way that suggests he’s about to dine out on your fondest hopes and dreams.” Not bad, coming from the guy who can make or break a movie, depending on his choice of two simple words: “thumbs up” or “thumbs down.”

Dinklage is also in the next Narnia movie, due out next April, but to hold you over until then, check out the “veggie testimonial” he shot a few months back.

And speaking of veggie testimonials, the next one in the hopper is so funny that an intern actually had to leave a meeting yesterday because she couldn’t stop laughing. Stay tuned for more on that soon. . .

All you heavy metal fans will probably want to throw devil horns in the air, because long-time vegan and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler just got in touch with us from the road to let us know how he feels about KFC. Here’s what he had to say about the Colonel’s treatment of our feathered friends: “Life is God’s or natures’ greatest gift. All life should be treated with respect and dignity. I am sure most people would be horrified at the way K.F.C. treats its chickens. People have a choice in what they eat, but those chickens do not have a choice in the way they are treated. If people let K.F.C. know of their concerns, then hopefully the chickens will be treated ethically.”

And for those of you who need a little Sabbath fix to get you through the rest of your day, here you go.

Khqaonline/Creative Commons

One of Barker's many accomplishments to help prevent animal suffering was to enact a ban on his show of giving away fur coats as prizes. He wanted to have no part in promoting something as horrible as fur, and The Price Is Right was fur-free right up until Barker's retirement. The good news that we just received this week, after writing to the show's producers to make sure that things were going to stay that way, is that the show's new host, Drew Carey, and the team behind The Price Is Right, share Bob Barker's anti-fur stance 100 percent. Here's the note they sent us:

Right on, guys—we wish you the best of luck with the new show.

… but first, here’s a comic from the wonderful Dan Piraro that I think just about sums it up:

One of Michael Vick’s codefendants, Tony Taylor, changed his plea to guilty today. Taylor admitted to the court that he helped buy pit bulls and puppies and executed animals who didn’t do well in performance tests by shooting and electrocution.

PETA is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone suspected of dogfighting.

PETA demonstrators outside Taylor’s hearing today

I know I just blogged about this on Friday, but I just couldn’t resist another entry . . . OK, so maybe it has a little something to do with the fact that I grew up with The Lost Boys and The Goonies, but I absolutely loved the premiere of the new A&E reality show The Two Coreys last night. Of course, it could also have a little something to do with the fact that the plot centered around a dinner meeting with KFC Campaigner Nicole Matthews.

Here’s the description from the producers:

After a long hiatus, the "Two Coreys" are finally reunited when Corey Haim comes to stay with his best friend, Corey Feldman, and his wife, Susie. But a lot has changed in the years they have been apart—Feldman is married, a devout vegetarian, animal activist, and a non-smoker. Haim, still single and a committed carnivore, finds himself at odds with Feldman's new lifestyle and struggles to adjust to the rules of the house. The tension peaks when Haim disrupts an important dinner meeting between the Feldmans and a PETA representative.

You can check out the re-run Friday (August 3) at 11pm, Saturday (August 4) at 3am and 1pm, Sunday (August 5) at 5pm and Sunday (August 12) at 2pm. All times are Eastern Standard Time.

Here’s a clip to whet your appetite, and you can click here to read our interview with Corey Feldman and his wife Susie.

I just got word from our media department that PETA's latest billboard, which shows a patient in a Japanese hospital who suffered brain damage from mercury that was traced to contaminated fish, along with the tagline "Extreme Case of Mercury Poisoning: How Much Is in Your Fish?" was banned in Providence by all three of the city's outdoor advertisers. CBS Outdoor Mall sent PETA the following rejection note: "We won't take anything from PETA that depicts cruelty to animals, blood, disabled children, etc." That certainly rules out a few of our billboards. The purpose of this particular ad was to warn consumers about the tragic consequences of mercury poisoning from eating fish and direct readers to a website where they can learn some of the following disturbing information:

• Government studies show that eating just one can of tuna per week can increase a person's mercury level to 30 percent above levels considered safe.
• Mercury is known to cause severe health problems for humans, including brain damage, memory loss, tremors, and damage to a developing fetus.

Feel free to let me know what you think of this one.

I just love Bea Arthur. She has been speaking up for animals for years, most recently narrating this moving KFC video and helping with our Petsmart campaign. Now she is turning up the heat on Beverly Hills restaurant Matsuhisa—where she has been a loyal customer since it opened in 1987—for serving cruel foie gras. Check out her letter below.