Written by Michelle Kretzer
A new report found that celebrities and their children often inspire baby names among the rest of us. For example, pop singer and PETA supporter Pink's daughter's name, Willow, made a list of top celeb-inspired names.
With the plethora of animal-friendly celebrities out there, people who want to name their baby after someone whose heart is as big as his or her star power have many options to chose from, such as Portia, for a vegan role model who embodies cruelty-free beauty; Taraji, in honor of someone who wears her heart (but never animals) on her sleeve; and Kellan, for a boy who's not afraid to show his sensitive side, especially when it comes to helping animals.
Who knows—maybe next year's top baby names will be Lea or Steve-O or even Metta World Peace.
Which animal-friendly stars do you think have names worthy of consideration for a new bundle of joy?
Written by PETA
Update: In just over 24 hours, the "Stop Animal Homelessness at Its Roots" petition surpassed 5,000 signatures and became one of the first petitions to reach the level necessary to be sent to the Obama administration! Please keep asking everyone you know to sign this important petition so that we can alert the White House to how strongly people feel about the animal homelessness crisis.
Folks, this is huge. Starting today, we have a chance to show President Obama and our government that the companion-animal homelessness crisis deserves national attention.
The White House just launched a site on which citizens can post petitions, and any petition that receives 5,000 signatures in 30 days will merit review by administration officials. PETA has posted a petition asking that all animals adopted from animal shelters and bought from pet stores, puppy mills, and breeders be spayed and neutered. Bob Barker will be signing it, and he's asking for your support.
This is an opportunity to get the White House to pay attention to the fact that millions of dogs and cats are abandoned on the streets or turned over to severely crowded animal shelters each year.
Stars such as Cloris Leachman, Mickey Rourke, and Metta World Peace (aka "Ron Artest") support spaying and neutering because it saves lives, and you can too. Please sign PETA's "Stop Animal Homelessness at Its Roots" petition now and forward it to everyone you know. Get your family, your office, your old school pals, your club, your gym—everyone!—to sign it pronto. Please!
If the petition site doesn't work, please try back later. It looks like the site has been having some issues this morning, and we're hoping that it's just because so many of you have been signing the petition that the site is trying to catch up.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
Get ready to tap your feet—the two-hour season premiere of Dancing With the Stars airs tonight on ABC, and as usual, PETA pals are strutting their animal-friendly stuff.
Just a week after she unveiled her "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" ad, Elisabetta Canalis will make her Dancing debut, and she's rumored to be the early favorite. When asked if Elisabetta's PETA ad would help in the competition, her partner Val Chmerkovskiy said, "I don't know if it will help us, but I do hope it helps PETA. Before I found out that Elisabetta was involved with PETA, I was astounded how conscious she was about animal cruelty and how passionate she was about helping animals involved in any sort of mistreatment."
Fellow animal advocate Ricki Lake could be a serious contender too. She proved she has determination when she was arrested after storming Karl Lagerfeld's showroom to demand that the designer stop using fur. And spay-and-neuter advocate Metta World Peace (aka: "Ron Artest") might put his fancy footwork to good use off the court and pull off an upset.
Elisabetta, Ricki, and Metta World Peace are in good company. Previous DWTS rosters read like the guest list at a PETA fundraiser. Pamela Anderson, Cloris Leachman, Steve-O, Joanna Krupa, Kelly Osbourne, Lance Bass, Jennie Garth, Audrina Patridge, Belinda Carlisle, Holly Madison, Mario, Shanna Moakler, Karina Smirnoff, and even judge Carrie Ann Inaba all know that the most important steps you take are those that help animals.
Good luck, Elisabetta, Ricki, and Ron! We'll be rooting (and voting) for you.
Here's the situation: Abercrombie & Fitch has offered to pay Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and other Jersey Shore cast members not to wear the brand, saying that seeing the Sitch in Fitch is damaging the company's image. Well, Mike can't run around shirtless—at least not all the time―so PETA is sending him replacement clothing that's worthy of T-shirt time. Here's our mocked-up, fingers-crossed vision of what Mike would look like rocking a PETA tee:
Unlike A&F, PETA would be honored if The Situation were to wear our T-shirt and show his fans that real tough guys are kind to animals. By sticking up for animals, The Sitch would join other macho men with hearts of gold like Dennis Rodman, Amar’e Stoudemire, Waka Flocka Flame, Mac Danzig, Chad Ochocinco, Carey Hart, and Ron Artest.
We hope to see Mike fist-pumping in our T-shirt soon. In the meantime, you can pick up one of our "too sexy" tees for yourself at the PETA store at CafePress.com. As Pauly D would say, "Yeeeeeeeah, buddy!"
You say you're for world peace? Are you willing to say it on your driver's license? Our friend and soon-to-be-former Ron Artest is. The Lakers forward has filed a petition in L.A. Superior Court to change his name to Metta World Peace, which left us scrambling to update our spay-and-neuter ad starring the basketball champ:
Our brand-new mobile spay-and-neuter clinic also bears Artest/Peace's image, and frankly, we can't think of a better moniker for it than the "Peace" train. After all, spaying and neutering prevents abandonment, neglect, and other forms of cruelty to animals born into a world long on puppies and kittens and short on good homes.
Written by Jared Misner
In honor of Father's Day, here are some fathers who are friends to the furry, feathered, and finned. We had way too many great dads like Kevin Nealon, Bryan Adams, Woody Harrelson, Iggy Pop, and Chad Ochocinco to choose from, so here are just a few of the fellas who make us glad for awesome dads:
Dad's big day is almost here. Dads deserve nothing but the best, of course, and that includes animal dads who don't want to be tested on, eaten, or turned into shoes and belts. So we've rounded up the preeminent picks to please Pops and let animals celebrate Father's Day too.
For a dad who's more Hilfiger than Home Depot, opt for elegant silk-free ties by Jaan J; leather-free belts, wallets, and shoes from MooShoes; or an always-in-fashion PETA tee. To get his day off to a smooth start, give him a Wally Cruelty-Free Razor and shaving products from Herban Cowboy.
Does Dad like a good book? Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals is about how becoming a dad led the author to reexamine his diet. And Rip Esselstyn's The Engine 2 Diet is the quintessential manly man's healthy-eating guide. You can also give Dad a ceramic PETA mug to sip java from while he's kicked back in his recliner with his Kindle.
If your dad's a weekend warrior, he might be happier with cards or autographed photos of animal-friendly athletes such as Chase Utley, Ron Artest, and Ricky Williams. Get him ready for Little League season with a PETA “Free for All” SIGG water bottle and tasty snacks like Tofurky Jurky, Lucy's Cookies, and popcorn and dark chocolate from Trader Joe's to tote to the game.
And what Father's Day is complete without a cookout? Grill out with a selection of Gardein faux meats like BBQ Skewers or Chick'n Filets. You can find Gardein products across the country at grocers such as Ralphs, Vons/Safeway, Kroger, and Harris Teeter. Most beers are vegan, so to wash it all down, raise a glass to Dad.
Happy Father's Day from PETA!
What do you get when you combine a generous donation to PETA, The Simpsons, NBA star Ron Artest, and NFL linebacker Aaron Curry? Thousands of free and low-cost spay-and-neuter surgeries!
On Friday at PETA's headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim, along with Anna Ware of the Holland M. Ware Foundation and The Simpsons co-creator and PETA supporter Sam Simon, cut the ribbon on the latest addition to PETA's fleet of state-of-the-art mobile spay-and-neuter clinics. The new clinic, which was donated by the Holland M. Ware Charitable Foundation, features photos of Ron Artest and Aaron Curry (and their dogs) emblazoned on the side.
PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk, Sam Simon, Anna Ware, and Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim cut the ribbon on the newest addition to PETA’s mobile spay/neuter fleet.
Since PETA's first SNIP clinic began operating in 2001, we have spayed and neutered more than 70,000 dogs, cats, and rabbits in Southeast Virginia and Northeast North Carolina, preventing hundreds of thousands of unwanted births. The new clinic will allow us to provide many more surgeries every year.
You can help support the clinics (which operate at a loss and rely on donations to keep going) by making a donation to PETA and signing our pledge to end animal homelessness.
Here's another athlete whose heart is as big as his biceps: We're excited to announce that Willis McGahee is joining the roster of PETA All-Stars who are helping to fight animal abuse—a lineup that already includes top athletes such as Tony Gonzalez, Ron Artest, Michael Strahan, and Chad Ochocinco. The ravishing Baltimore Ravens running back heated up Baltimore this week when he posed in the buff for PETA's "Ink, Not Mink" campaign!
The ad will be released sometime early next year. But in case you can't wait that long, here's a little sneak peek:
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
Ron Artest has been sporting his heart of gold for quite some time thanks to his efforts to assist with PETA's lifesaving spay and neuter campaign. Now he's going to be sporting NBA gold on his finger after a spectacular win in last night's Finals game!
Owing to Ron's calm and cool demeanor (and, according to him, his psychiatrist!)—plus numerous steals and a crucial three-pointer late in the game—the LA Lakers clinched the NBA championship and proved that Ron is a force to be reckoned with on the court.
Congratulations, Ron!
Written by Karin Bennett
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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