famouschicken / CC

The day after the Senate votes on an extension of the Cash for Clunkers program, we're launching our new environmentally friendly program, "Cash for Cluckers."

Because a lot of nonvegetarian Americans are buy-curious about faux-meat products—and because factory farms wreak havoc on the environment—we've decided to offer consumers a rebate on their first taste of that faux goodness. For the first box of chickenless cutlets or nuggets that non-vegetarians buy, we're going to send them a $1 rebate and include a free copy of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit."

According to Environmental Defense, if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the carbon dioxide savings would be the equivalent of taking more than a half-million cars off U.S. roads. Our Cash for Cluckers program should inspire everyone to come out and try environmentally friendly products—such as those made by Boca and Lightlife—which offer the spot-on texture and flavor of chicken flesh, minus the animal suffering.

Want in on PETA's Cash for Cluckers program? Read the following rules and then head to the supermarket to explore the faux-chicken section—and remember to save that receipt!

Cash for Cluckers: Rules

• Receipts must be dated between August 6 and September 30, 2009, and must be received by PETA by October 5, 2009. Send your receipts to the following address:

Cash for Cluckers
PETA
501 Front St.
Norfolk, VA 23510

• Refund requesters must be U.S. residents.
• The product must be vegan faux chicken (no eggs, dairy products, or other animal-derived ingredients). Entries must include a statement that the entrant was not yet a vegetarian at the time of the purchase and had never tried faux chicken before.
• Limit one rebate per household.
• Open to the first 5,000 entries.

Neither Boca Foods nor Lightlife Foods are affiliated with or otherwise endorse, sponsor, or support this promotion.

Written by Karin Bennett

posh24 / CC

You may have read about PETA friend and former Miss USA Shanna Moakler and her ex-husband, Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, taking their kids to the circus a couple of weeks ago—but that was before she saw the recently released footage from our undercover investigation at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. As Shanna explains:

Well said, Shanna! Readers, if you haven't yet seen the video Shanna mentions, head on over to RinglingBeatsAnimals.com to watch it and find out what you can do to help stop animal abuse at Ringling.

Written by Amanda Schinke

theglamourouslife / CC

The internet is abuzz after Paula Abdul's shocking announcement that she won't be appearing on the next season of American Idol. With her plans for what's next up in the air, we've reached out to Paula and asked her to join the PETA crew as a celebrity judge for our next Cutest Mutt Alive contest.

Because Paula is a veteran at picking the (soy) cream of the crop from a slew of qualified contenders, she's obviously the perfect choice to be our judge. I bet you're thinking, "Hey, doesn't Simon Cowell already work with PETA? Why not get him to judge the contest?" Simon is an avid animal activist, but the hard truth that he doles out may be a little too honest for these lovable mutts. We need someone who can let each pup down easy. Obviously, Paula's the right woman for the job. So, Paula, what do you say?

Written by Liz Graffeo