Written by PETA
Here's what Jeff says about this week's masterpiece: "The strip is based on the sad measures that officials have to take in order to protect rhinos from poachers. And a little depravity thrown in for good measure."
He also let me know that, in honor of Earth Week, he sprayed this strip with 50 percent less pesticides. Which was very noble of him, I thought. Anyway, this one's a zinger—enjoy!
To check out the archives of past strips, click here.
"Brigitte Bardot asked Pamela to fill in for her today at her annual news conference to protest the Canadian seal slaughter (Brigitte is ill and couldn't make it). Pam of course did an amazing job. We arrived at Bardot's offices to a swarm of press. Pam read a 1-page statement about how, as a Canadian, she is appalled that the seal hunt continues...she described in graphic detail how the seals are beaten to death, and encouraged consumers to boycott designers who work with any fur. She then screened a graphic 2-minute video of the seal slaughter. The press were stunned. After a few words from the Bardot Foundation's campaigns director, Bardot herself called and was put on speakerphone...in front of all of the press, she thanked Pamela for continuing on the campaign in her place, and in broken English called Pam her daughter and her Valentine. Pam was so moved; it was very sweet. Pam was then presented with a heart-shaped bouquet of roses and a personal letter from BB. Then off we went to the Canadian embassy (with AP reporter and photographer and about 15 paparazzi in tow) where Pamela asked to see the Canadian ambassador so she could personally deliver a letter from BB to him in protest of the seal slaughter. Photographers went wild. We were turned away at security, but it made a great photo and a shocked guard promised to hand over the letter for her."
If you want to know what all the fuss is about, you can watch the footage Pam screened for press (and sign a petition asking the Canadian government to stop the seal hunt) here, and there are a few pics from the event here. Thank you Pam and Brigitte!
A little bit of star-spotting for you today, this one courtesy of People magazine. The lovely Sienna Miller was photographed this week wearing a stylin’ sweater with an animal rights message. Three of my favorite things in one picture: Seals, Sandwiches, and Sienna. Amazing.
I know, I know. But this comic strip made me laugh out loud. Enjoy!
Thanks to Snaggy and Nitrozac for letting me post the strip!
I just wanted to give you a quick update on the sealers trapped in the ice in Newfoundland.
Well, it turns out that there are still hundreds of hunters trapped, and now they’re starting to run out of food, water and fuel. The Canadian coast guard is working hard to rescue them before it’s too late. Now I don’t wish suffering on anyone, not even callous hunters who cruelly kill baby seals who are too young to even swim or get away, but the good news here is that since so many hunters have been stuck for so long, it looks like they’re going to come up around 60,000 seal pups short of their quota this year, which means that a whole bunch more of these cute little dudes will actually get to grow up . . . and that, of course, is a very good thing!
Is it me or is the karmic irony in this story almost too much to handle? Check out this ABC News piece for the full report.
PETA has a new Flickr account! Which is a very good thing, because up until now, we had thousands of photos of demonstrations, events, animal-friendly celebrities, and old PETA ads that were just kinda languishing in the vaults. I’m particularly proud of this project, because I had to upload a gazillion photos only to find out that the page had been marked as “restricted” because of the NSFW quality of some of our “Running of the Nudes” pics—which meant that only tech-savvy 12-year-olds who can figure out how to turn off their safe search would be able to view the account. But the issue was finally resolved yesterday, and the page is up and running, so if you have any animal-rights-specific photos that you think would fit the bill, you can send them to us by clicking here. Make sure to read the terms and conditions page before you submit the photos, or our lawyers will haunt you in your sleep like they do me.
P.S. I’ve noticed a few regular comments from folks who aren’t so interested in animal rights lately—which is really cool since a little debate on the issues is a very healthy thing for all parties involved—but while I genuinely appreciate the comments, I figured I should probably let Steve and Larry Buck know that pictures of you guys eating hamburgers won’t make it up onto the Flickr page. Sorry to disappoint.
It's difficult to say exactly why London Mayor Ken Livingstone hates pigeons with such a virulent passion. Perhaps he was bitten by a pigeon as a young child, or harassed by gangs of pigeon bullies as a schoolboy, but whatever the reason for it, his "war on pigeons" is well known in London, and his various attempts to poison and starve them out of his city have earned him the nickname of "Ken 'The Killer' Livingstone." OK, whatever, I made that nickname up, but you get the point. One last little tidbit about Ken Livingstone before I get to the actual point of this post (which is robotic peregrine falcons): In 2001, when Ken the Killer was at a news conference in Washington, an animal activist made international headlines by dousing him with a pitcher of water and shouting
"Your plan to poison pigeons is all wet. Mayor Livingstone starves pigeons to death."
P.S. There's some more information on humane pigeon control here.
So I’ve been vegetarian for kind of a long time, and back in the day, my choices for nonleather shoes and belts and so forth were pretty much nonexistent. If I found a decent pair of vegan shoes in my size, I’d snap up a couple of pairs at a time. Honestly, it was a little tough. But that was back in the dark ages, and today it couldn’t be easier. I don’t have to look hard at all to find cruelty-free clothes anymore, and as you can see from the picture, the results are positively devastating.
But I digress. The point is that I was really excited to see this Today Show piece about modern cruelty-free fashions. It makes it clear how easy it is nowadays to be cruelty-free and super fashionable at the same time, if that's your thing. Check it out:
I've talked about how rad The Netherlands are before—when the Dutch "Party for the Animals" (yes, Holland has a legitimate political party dedicated to animal protection which holds seats in parliament) paid to run spots of “Free Me” on Dutch national television. Well, the latest news from our clog-wearing friends is that Holland has just become the first country where vegetarians are eligible to receive discounted health-insurance because of their diet. According to Ode magazine, which reported on the story, the policy, called VegePolis, "operates on the principle that people who choose not to eat meat live healthier lives." Apparently, members also get a 10 percent discount on vegetarian dinners, and a portion of the insurance revenue goes to animal welfare groups. What a kickass country. Nice job, The Netherlands.
Fears of E. coli contamination have prompted California-based Richwood foods to recall more than 100,000 pounds of beef from grocery stores. The scare comes after three children became seriously ill. You can read about the story here if it hasn't come across your radar yet, but if you’re in the mood for a little bit of "I told you so" posturing from yours truly, stick with me.
In order to line the wallets of its executives, the meat industry crams animals by the tens of thousands into filthy sheds that are contaminated by feces, vomit, and other bodily fluids. Leaving aside the ethics of this practice for a second (which, well, you can probably guess where I stand on that issue), what this means from a health perspective is that most of the flesh from the 10 billion animals a year killed for meat in the U.S. is contaminated with dangerous bacteria like E. coli, campylobacter, and listeria. The fact is that this recall shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone—and it definitely won't be the last. Anyway, it's good that these products are being recalled when kids start getting sick, but if the meat industry wants to be consistent, it might want to pay attention to the significant role it plays in the 700,000 annual deaths from heart disease in this country, just for starters.
In other relevant news, companies like Boca and Morningstar Farms make these really delicious, 100 percent disease-free veggie burgers, which you can find at any grocery store. I'm just saying.
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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