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In honor of 10/10/10, here are 10 easy ways to get active for animals this weekend and beyond:

1. Buy a house—a doghouse, that is. Every year, PETA builds and delivers hundreds of straw-filled doghouses for dogs who are chained outdoors in the cold, all winter long—dogs who might otherwise have only a metal barrel or a piece of plywood as shelter from the wind, snow, and storms. So how about sponsoring a doghouse?
2. "Write" animal wrongs. Remember, the pen is mightier than the sword, so take every opportunity to educate and protest by writing letters to newspapers, businesses, and legislators.
3. Purge and splurge. Make over your make-up bag and medicine cabinet with cruelty-free cosmetics and personal-care products. Lose any gruesome garb (made with leather, wool, fur, and silk) and stock up on stylin' synthetics instead.
4. Take the 30-Day Pledge to Be Veg. If you're already vegan, convince others to take the plunge. FYI, pitching the pledge over a delicious vegan dinner is a tasty and effective way to make your case!
5. Enlighten eavesdroppers. Within earshot of other shoppers in the checkout line, talk with a friend about factory farming. Spreading compassion is as easy as spreading the word.
6. Come to the rescue. You never know when you might come across an injured animal, so program numbers into your phone for the local SPCA or humane society, local police and animal control, and local wildlife rehabilitators (numbers are available from humane societies).
7. Demand change for your dollar. Don't support any companies that contribute to the suffering of animals (we're talking to you, KFC, McDonald's, Ringling, and PetSmart). Urge others to boycott animal-abusing companies, and let the objects of your boycott know that they have lost your business.
8. Get active online. Place our banners on your website, stream PETA videos on your personal page, and link to PETA.org in your e-mail signature.
9. Nurture nature. Enjoy autumn and help animals at the same time by taking a nature walk and tackling the task of picking up fishing tackle, soda cans, six-pack rings, and other debris that can injure animals.
10. Be neighborly. Odds are good that somewhere in your neighborhood there's a forgotten Fido who's chained outside 24/7. Offer to walk the dog and encourage your neighbors to bring him or her indoors. Make sure the dog has food, fresh water, and adequate shelter. Look for signs of abuse and report neglect to authorities immediately.

And why stop at 10? There are a million more things you can do to help animals right now!  

Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth

There are so many reasons to adore Steve-O. Here are just a few that I came up with off the top of my head:

1)      His vegan radiance. He told Peoplepets.com that his vegan diet "helps me build up my self-esteem. I feel good about it every time I eat a meal." He notes that it's had a positive impact on every aspect of his life.

2)      He's become calmer, more loving, and more tolerant—and he credits his adorable adopted pooch, Walter, with helping him make the transformation.

3)      He's the strong, silent type in his "I'm Not a Nugget" peta2 T-shirt—but he still speaks out against Ringling's abuses of its young, old, and ailing elephants.

Considering that his comp-formation (that's short for "compassionate transformation") started not so long ago, I have a feeling that we'll be adding more reasons why we (heart) Steve-O very soon. And if you haven't started your own comp-formation, please follow Steve-O's lead. 

Written by Karin Bennett

Industry interests trumped elephant welfare when city leaders failed miserably to implement a new ordinance intended to protect animals in traveling shows in Sacramento. After the city informed Ringling that four lame elephants were not to be allowed to perform physically strenuous and painful tricks that would further aggravate their conditions, Ringling was allowed to bring in one of their paid relief veterinarians to overrule the decision.

According to Philip Ensley, D.V.M, a board-certified veterinarian who served as the associate veterinarian for the San Diego Zoological Society for twenty-nine years, Karen and Nicole, two of the elephants originally disqualified from grueling performances, have a long history of suffering from severe lameness and stiffness. Dr. Ensely spent over 1,300 hours reviewing 15 years worth medical records of elephants with Ringling and confirmed that Karen has long suffered from inflammation and “[s]evere lameness” as far back as 1996 and that Nicole suffered from stiffness, lameness, and swelling in her legs. Both of these elephants were observed limping out of boxcars in Sacramento.

Feld Entertainment, Ringling’s parent company, has a history of refusing to cooperate with investigations and threatening to pull its ice shows out of cities proposing humane legislation or any enforcement. On Friday, Sacramento city officials caved in to the circus’ intimidation tactics instead of enforcing an ordinance that was unanimously passed by the city council, leaving the arthritic elephants to hobble through shows all weekend.

Circuses such as Ringling Bros. abuse elephants in so many ways that it's tough to decide which is worst. But when we polled people on our PETA mobile list, here's what they chose:

Which option gets your vote?

Text PETA to 73822 to participate in future polls and receive other alerts on your phone.

Written by Joel Bartlett

It's happened again. After forking over a couple hundred dollars for tickets to a Ringling Bros. Circus performance in Everett, Washington, a lovely family had a change of heart after talking to PETA demonstrators outside the arena. Rather than watching trainers whip tigers and smack elephants with bullhooks, the entire family decided that it was worth it to sacrifice the money! (The venue refused to give them a refund.) Gotta love 'em.

If the circus is coming to your town, remember that leafleting can and does change minds. Contact us and we'll help you convince people never to buy tickets!

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

Good habit

Bad habit

Written by Amy Elizabeth

Mobilized by PETA's Action Team, more than 200 people descended on the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, last night to let Ringling Bros. know that its elephant-abusing act isn't welcome.

The highlight of the evening came when protestors chanted, "There's no excuse for animal abuse—boycott Ringling circus," so loudly that they drowned out a Ringling promoter. At the time, the promoter was talking about Baby Barack—probably in a shameless attempt to hawk show tickets. Even after turning up the volume on his amplified microphone, the promoter was still overpowered and had no choice but to pack up his gear and leave!

PETA isn't alone in opposing Ringling, which allows its trainers to beat elephants with sharp, metal-tipped bullhooks to force the animals to perform; tears baby elephants away from their mothers; and keeps these smart, social animals in chains. In a historic partnership, four Northern California animal protection groups—the Marin Humane Society, East Bay SPCA, Humane Society Silicon Valley, and the Sacramento SPCA—have joined forces to ask everyone to boycott Ringling in response to its cruelty. We can take action, too, by asking officials to seize Ringling's abused elephants and by urging everyone we know to attend only animal-free circuses.

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post

Animals Asia Foundation recently released photos of bicycle-riding bears and boxing bears in Chinese circuses, and the pictures are poignant reminders of the misery that animals endure in circuses throughout China. Not that the atrocities done to animals who are touring (if you can call living in a smelly boxcar and then in a dungeonlike stadium basement "touring") with circuses in the U.S. have been stopped. After all, in the U.S., elephants are routinely beaten with rods, sticks, and bullhooks, whipped into submission, and chained so that they are barely able to move.

Of course, no one had to get out the bullhook to convince PETA Asia staffers to work hard on China's first-ever animal protection laws. Earlier this year, they met with Chinese government officials and discussed ways to help animals—including improving conditions for animals in circuses. These photos are further proof of how urgently animals need us. Get the "Hot and Sour Scoop" on PETA Asia's work by visiting the group's blog. And help animals here at home by boycotting the circus.

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

And, this week's 10% Wool "Tag and Release" winner is ... Beth Ann! Congratulations.

So I see that Ringling Bros. is trying to expand its "Greatest Show on Earth" slogan …

Don't forget to check out the archive of past 10% Wool comic strips here. Get more information on the series and the writer here, and learn how to get Jeff's other comic, DeFlocked, into your local paper here.

munn∙tas∙tic (mun tas′ tik) adj. Tremendously great; extraordinarily good {e.g., "Actor and Daily Show correspondent Olivia Munn is munntastic for posing for an anti-circus billboard and leading yesterday's PETA protest against Ringling Bros. Circus at the Staples Center in Los Angeles."}

Christian Serratos, Pink, and Jillian Michaels are also pretty darn munntastic for tweeting about the event. Ringling, on the other hand, is hideous. Animals used by Ringling live in fear, are beaten into submission, and are forced to perform tricks that to them are confusing and meaningless. Still-nursing baby elephants are captured and dragged away from their mothers. Baby elephants are stretched out, slammed to the ground, gouged with steel-tipped bullhooks, and shocked with electric prods. These abusive sessions go on for several hours a day for up to a year.

Now here comes the part where you can do something munntastic for animals who are abused in circuses. Check out the video and the ele-friendly advice that Olivia posted on her blog. Show the video to everyone you know and tell them to show it to everyone that they know. While you're at it, help elephants by signing this petition.

Written by Amy Elizabeth