Written by PETA
As if Wednesday's historic vote by the Catalan parliament in Spain to ban bullfighting wasn't enough to make you scream "Olé," we've just heard that oh-so-iconic Spanish design house Adolfo Dominguez S.A. has not only signed on to shun fur, it has also agreed not to purchase or sell exotic skins, clothing made from down plucked from live birds, or wool from Australian sheep who have endured the painful mulesing mutilation—meaning that they've have chunks of flesh cut off their backsides.
Adolfo Dominguez's aggressive animal welfare policy places the company waaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of the ethical fashion curve. For our friends in Spain, this news might warrant a spending spree. For everyone else, why not treat yourself to some fashion-forward outfits from other helpful retailers such as Gap Inc., Timberland, H&M, Liz Claiborne, HUGO BOSS, and Perry Ellis International, who have all taken action by banning fur, exotic skins, and/or wool from mulesed sheep.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
Well, he's not a real prince, but animals might disagree! While we're sure that nothing can top winning PETA's coveted Sexiest Vegetarian Alive title (which he nabbed in 2006), pop royalty Prince is set to add yet another statuette to his mantelpiece: a lifetime achievement award from BET.
In our opinion, Prince deserves a lifetime achievement award based on his empathy for animals alone. Refusing to eat "anything with parents," this cover boy for compassion recently served a sumptuous four-course vegan dinner to Ebony magazine staffers who were visiting his home to do a cover story on him.
He also refuses to wear animals—and he's not shy about it. In the liner notes to his 1999 CD Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic, Prince explained why the jacket he's wearing in one of the album-cover photos is faux wool:
"If this jacket were real wool, it would have taken 7 lambs whose lives would have begun like this … Within weeks of their birth, their ears would have been hole-punched, their tails chopped off and the males would have been castrated while fully conscious. Xtremely high rates of mortality r considered normal: 20 2 40% of lambs die b4 the age of 8 weeks: 8 million mature sheep die every year from disease, xposure or neglect. Many people believe shearing helps animals who would otherwise b 2 hot. But in order 2 avoid losing any wool, ranchers shear sheep b4 they would naturally shed their winter coats, resulting in millions of sheep deaths from xposure 2 the cold."
Years later, when a fan tried to give Prince a leather coat during a concert in Washington, D.C., he demurred, "Please do not kill a cow so I can wear a coat!"
Prince also once famously declared: "We need an Animal Rights Day when all slaughterhouses shut down." His response to people who ask why he worries about animals in the face of widespread human suffering? "Compassion is an action word with no boundaries."
Prince, congratulations on your richly deserved award.
Written by Alisa Mullins
Last July, we received word that Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) was reneging on its public promise to phase out mulesing by the end of this year. Mulesing is the crude and cruel process of cutting flesh from a lamb's rump with a tool resembling a pair of gardening shears. Afterwards, the lambs lie on the ground in pain for days, unable to stand up. Had AWI gone to work on a bare-breech (smooth rump) breeding program five years ago instead of shuffling its feet, stalling, suing PETA (to no avail), and trying to promote worthless products for the profit of AWI executives, the Australian wool industry would have met its deadline—but that didn't happen. Now, PETA is willing to extend our campaign moratorium if the Australian government agrees to implement a genetic program that would eliminate mulesing within two years. It's time for Aussie officials to stop the mulesing madness.
Thanks to PETA's education campaign, dozens of retailers and designers worldwide have been so appalled that they have abandoned Australian wool. We've asked the office of the U.S. trade representative to make the new timeline a condition of approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which is currently being negotiated with Australia.
Always shun wool and ask Australia's minister for agriculture, Tony Burke, to act right away.
If you've been watching Dancing With the Stars (DWTS), you already know that Pamela Anderson's got the moves, but it's what she does for animals that moves us. Here's what you can do to help Pam snag that cool disco-ball trophy: Call 1-800-868-3411; text the word "vote" to 3411; or go online and vote for Pam eight times.
Here are the top eight reasons to get everyone you know (yes, even people who have never seen the show) to give their eight online votes to Pam tonight:
BTW—DWTS is on at 8 p.m. tonight. Isn't eight great? Call everyone you know and have them call in to help Pam win!
Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth
Break out your victory dance because lawmakers in New Hampshire have voted to ban dog racing! Once the Governor signs the bill into law greyhounds in the Granite State will be spared the stone-cold cruelty of broken legs, long hours in cramped kennels, heatstroke, and heart attacks and of being abandoned, starved, shot, or sold to laboratories when they are no longer able to run.
BTW—the word on the street is that Rhode Island will soon follow suit. We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, please urge the remaining states that still allow greyhounds to be exploited for profit and amusement to ditch dog racing.
Via GREY2K USA
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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.