Written by PETA
Tired of going through racks of Halloween costumes and seeing the same old hockey masks and sexy nurse uniforms? Here are six scary DIY costumes guaranteed to make the most fearless revelers do a double-take—and then think twice about eating meat, wearing fur, or going to the circus.
Steal an idea from PETA Vice President Dan Mathews and go as KFC's purveyor of live-chicken scalding, Colonel Sanders.
Instantly transform into bunny butcher Donna Karan by carrying some plush rabbits drenched in red paint. To complete the ensemble, lie all night about how you don't really use fur even while you're holding the evidence.
Clowns are scary to a lot of people, and Ronald McDonald is one of the scariest of all. Follow in Andy Dick's footsteps and wave around a bloody knife as you illustrate how a chicken becomes a McNugget. (Hint: It's a lot more cruel than it has to be because McDonald's refuses to implement a less cruel slaughter method for chickens.)
If you want the theme to your outfit to be "cold as ice," be a Canadian seal clubber. A plush seal, a club, and a red-stained shirt will have anyone with a heartbeat running and screaming for points south of the Great White North.
If splashy is more your style, don a top hat and tails or a tight Lycra jumpsuit and you can be a Ringling Bros. animal trainer abuser. It works best if accessorized with a bullhook and paired with a partner dressed as a helpless baby elephant.
For women who want to show that fur is a bad asset, pair a Sasquatch suit with two strategically placed pillows and a diva attitude to become Jennifer Lopez. Be sure to brag about how you burn through animals like you burn through husbands.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
In just three months, 180 sea lions and seals off the coast of Canada have lost their lives because they had the audacity to eat fish that farmers wanted to kill themselves. Many were shot by Canadian fish farmers, who are allowed to shoot animals who try to scoop a fish or two out of massive ocean-based aquafarms. The rest died from drowning when they became entangled in the aquafarms' nets. We don't even have a guess as to how many birds were killed for daring to try to take a fish.
sly06 | cc by 2.0
The human taste for fish has exhausted the oceans to the point that 90 percent of large fish populations have been exterminated in the past 50 years. Fish farms only exacerbate the problem because it takes several pounds of wild-caught fish (used for feed) to produce 1 pound of farmed fish. Fewer fish in the ocean means fewer fish for seals and sea lions to eat, so is it any wonder that they are attracted to fish farm "all-you-can-eat buffets"?
Our neighbors to the north aren't the only ones who want to keep all the fish for themselves. A bill in Congress would allow the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service to shoot any sea lion caught eating endangered salmon from the Columbia River. Ironically, humans, who are the ones responsible for dwindling salmon numbers, can continue to eat all the salmon they want.
The real solution to the depletion of salmon stocks is considerably less violent: Stop eating fish. And ask your representatives not to support any legislation that promotes killing sea lions.
Update: The Blenheim District Court has sentenced Jason Godsiff to two years in jail for beating seals to death, including some animals who were just a few days old. Jamaal Large, who denies the charges, has not yet been tried.
Originally posted July 20, 2011
A New Zealand teenager has pleaded guilty to beating 23 seals to death with a metal pipe. Jason Godsiff said he killed the seals, including newborn pups, because he considered them "pests." Another man, Jamaal Large, has also been charged in the deaths, but has not submitted his plea. If convicted, both men face heavy fines and jail time for killing protected animals.
As appalling as their actions are, even more disturbing is the fact that had these men been in Canada, they would not face any charges. In fact, they would have been encouraged. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper can't seem to understand what people in New Zealand and all over the world already know: Bludgeoning seals to death is wrong. Despite international outcry and bans on seal products, the Canadian government continues to spend millions of dollars a year to fund their barbaric seal slaughter.
You can help by e-mailing Stephen Harper and letting him know that seals deserve protection everywhere that they are abused.
Canada's barbaric seal slaughter continues its downward spiral—and it appears to be taking Canada's integrity with it.
Last week, the European Union (E.U.) rejected an attempt by the native Canadian Inuit to challenge the E.U.'s ban on seal products. Interestingly, the Inuit live far away from the area where the mass commercial slaughter takes place and are responsible for only about 3 percent of Canada's annual seal kill. In addition, the E.U. already exempts Inuit seal products from the ban.
So why would the Inuit fight a ban that doesn't even apply to them? We're not saying that Canada is desperately exploiting native peoples to try to keep the dying seal slaughter going, but if a Marion Barry–esque tape surfaces of a shady hotel room dealing, we won't be surprised.
In the meantime, you can tweet Stephen Harper (@pmharper) and tell him to stop allowing hunters to bash in baby seals' skulls and skin them alive.
Iggy Pop had a few choice words for Norway's minister of foreign affairs before his performance in Bodø this week, expressing his disgust at the government's support of the Canadian seal slaughter.
A single company in Norway—which has received funding from the Norwegian government for years—buys a whopping 80 percent of Canada's seal pelts. Norway is also joining Canada in contesting the European Union's ban on seal product imports, and both countries want the hearings on the issue to be held behind closed doors.
I've seen a lot of vile sights in my days, but few were as dark and twisted as the beating of helpless baby seals for their fur ... If Norway has nothing to hide, there should be no problem with making this process public. —Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop, along with Joan Jett, Sarah McLachlan, Pamela Anderson, and many others, has called for an end to Canada's seal slaughter, and you can too.
Levi Leipheimer is making his country proud in the Tour de France, holding off more than 140 other competitors. Not surprising, since he already has 40 other victories under his pedals.
Levi's a champ for animals, too, boasting two PETA ads and his own animal foundation. And opponents beware: He's a vegetarian.
We're pulling for you, Levi!
The Hawaiian word "aloha" means:
If you answered "F," you're correct—and this week the Aloha State welcomed a new law that embodies peace, mercy, love, and affection for seals. Now anyone who intentionally harasses, harms, or kills a Hawaiian monk seal—or any endangered or threatened Hawaiian species—can be charged with a class C felony and face a fine of up to $50,000 and five years in prison.
So, in Hawaii the sight of a seal waddling up the beach draws volunteers to make sure that beachgoers leave the animal in peace. In Canada, the sight of seals lying on ice floes draws hunters to bash their heads in. I'm pretty sure that this is a no-brainer, but I still have to ask: Which destination would you rather visit?
Written by Karin Bennett
It's been a whirlwind week for PETA's seal. To keep pressure on Canada to stop letting people shoot baby seals and bash their heads in, PETA's sombrero-sporting seal followed Mexican President Felipe Calderón around to all his stops during his visit to Canada on Thursday.
President Calderón's visit received tons of media attention, and PETA's seal even got a shout-out from Canwest News Service. The seal almost got to shake hands—er, flippers—with President Calderón, but I'm sure that the seal would have preferred to give him a hug, considering that Mexico banned seal imports years ago.
On Monday, PETA's seal was back in action—this time wearing a yarmulke—while tailing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Canada.
What hat will PETA's seal wear next? Stay tuned for updates. And in the meantime, why not let Canadian officials know that the cruel seal slaughter makes you want to blow your top.
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
Revenge for seals is just a click away. In Adult Swim's addictive new game, Polar Bear Payback, you control a bloodthirsty polar bear as he battles through hordes of seal slaughterers (level 1 of the game) and whalers (level 2), all while saving animals and the environment.
And bloodthirsty is right. To keep your health meter high, you must bite the heads off the animal abusers and suck the blood from their skulls. After you spit out the skull, one of your baby-seal companions will use his head to toss it like a rubber ball. No, this game is not for the faint of heart.
The release of Polar Bear Payback, created by Smashing Ideas, couldn't have come at a better time for taking action to save Canada's seals. Today is the International Day of Action for Seals, so one of the many things you can do for seals today is to kill a bunch of (virtual) sealers.
Written by Joel Bartlett
When you're friends with Pamela Anderson, it seems like anything is possible … even snagging tickets to one of the hottest events in Canada.
After delivering our petition against the seal slaughter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Dancing With the Stars beauty graciously gave her tickets for Sunday's Olympic closing ceremony to PETA's seal mascot. While Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morissette, and Neil Young performed, our seal was busy educating Olympic fans from across the globe about Canada's upcoming seal slaughter.
Written by Logan Scherer
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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