Here's a tip as we head toward Fur-Free Friday: If you really want folks to understand how gruesomely cruel the fur trade is, sometimes you just gotta confront them with a "bloody carcass" or two three.

Now, before you send us an angry e-mail, please note the quotation marks above—the carcasses (and the blood) were fake, but their intent was all too real: persuading shareholders attending the annual meeting of fashion retailer Coach to back PETA's resolution calling on the company to stop selling fur. Since we knew we might only have a few seconds to get our message across, we presented the grisly props as an instant reminder that many animals killed for their fur are electrocuted with rods that are forced into their orifices, have their legs or necks crushed in cruel traps, or simply have the skin cut and ripped from their bodies while they are still conscious.

Ready to get in the fight against fur? Great—let's get started!

Written by Jeff Mackey

Smithfield execs, who live high off the hog—actually, it's more like about 27 million hogs—have just decided that they cannot keep their promise to phase out gestation crates over the next 10 years.

Smithfield states, "Due to recent significant operating losses incurred by our Hog Production segment, we have delayed capital expenditures for the program such that we no longer expect to complete the phase-out within ten years of the original announcement."

These gestation crates that Smithfield is dragging its feet on phasing out are called "iron maidens" after medieval torture devices, and for good reason—sows kept in them cannot turn around, and their muscles atrophy. Over time, pigs kept in these horrid conditions develop sores from lying on filthy concrete and go insane from the confinement.

Consider that just three years' compensation for Smithfield's directors would more than cover the cost of a complete crate phase-out. Smithfield's claim that it can't spare pennies a pig to improve these animals' living conditions makes Ebenezer Scrooge look like a philanthropist and erodes any trust the company hopes to build with its consumers or with PETA.

Once again, animal welfare has taken a backseat to corporate profit. Smithfield can rest assured that we'll be at its annual meeting this August, making sure that pigs are heard.

Written by Karin Bennett

PETA is poised to take the mic on Wednesday to speak in behalf of chickens at McDonald's shareholder meeting in Oakbrook, Illinois. We're all set to grill CEO Jim Skinner and plan on asking him to change the way that his restaurants' suppliers slaughter birds by switching to controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK), a less cruel slaughter method.

For years, we've tried to convince McDonald's to require its suppliers to use CAK, which would eliminate some of the worst abuses suffered by the millions of chickens who are turned into McNuggets every year. But despite our efforts, the company still refuses to implement CAK.

After the meeting at 12 noon, we'll lead a protest at a nearby McDonald's restaurant, during which two PETA members will soak in "bloody" water to draw attention to the fact that many chickens at slaughterhouses that supply McDonald's are boiled alive in scalding-hot water.

If you live in the Chicago area, feel free to join the festivities!

Written by Karin Bennett