Mario Barth is a trendsetter in the tattoo world—he owns and runs the internationally renowned Starlight Tattoo, hosts the annual Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth, and has a loyal celebrity clientèle.

Mario might look tough, but he has a soft spot for animals. That's why he's taking a stand for those exploited by the fur industry and is starring in PETA's latest "Ink, Not Mink" ad.

Yesterday, Mario unveiled his ad at the star-studded opening day of this year's Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth:

Uh, which one's the real Mario and which one's the ad?

Tommy Lee, who starred in his own "Ink, Not Mink" ad, checks out the latest in the series.

Eager for more? Go watch the behind-the-scenes interview to see what Mario has to say to anyone who wears fur.

Written by Liz Graffeo

Dear Guys,

Wearing Axe's new leather-inspired "Instinct" fragrance will not get you mobbed by a horde of horny honeys swooning over the smell of cow hides.

There's nothing sexy about smelling like or sporting rotten animal skins. (And yes, we have sexpert Pamela Anderson backing us up here.)

To prove that point, PETA is creating a much more realistic, slaughterhouse-inspired leather scent:

Ah, the essence of blood, guts, urine, feces, and fear—all bottled up.

Believe us, if you show up for a date wearing "Instinct," leather, or even our own "Eau D' Abattoir," our first instinct will be to slam the door in your face.

Our advice? Pleather yourself, pronto.

Love,

The girls from PETA

Alright people, fun’s over. You had your day with Joel talking about soy nog and “smiles”. Now it’s time to get back to work. Today we will be going over the finer points of whether a coherent liberationist ethic can be constructed from strictly utilitarian arguments (or whether some sort of deontological consequentialism is necessary to round out the debate), and throughout next week, I will be doing a series on recent addenda to the Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act. There will be a quiz on Friday to make sure everyone takes it all in.

Now, here’s a picture of the serious work I was doing yesterday while Joel was goofing off back at the office. We spent the afternoon outside the British Embassy in DC to remind the British Ministry of Defense that the “world is watching” while they continue to needlessly slaughter black bears for their ceremonial hats. Apparently this required that we remove all of our clothes and paint our naked bodies like flags. Hey, I just do what I’m told. The demonstration was a blast—we met some great activists, some friendly photographers, and some very bewildered passersby, and I think the pictures came out really well. Check em out.

A bunch of flags

Here’s a blog that I’ve been pushing Amy at our VegCooking blog to write since the idea of having a PETA food blog was still in its infancy. Amy, however, is against processed foods. I’ve been hoping Amy would go on vacation, or be sick, or something so that I could fill in for her on her blog, but I’ll have to settle for posting on The PETA Files while Jack is out.

This is a blog to spotlight the glory of McCain’s SMILES fries. According to McCain’s web site, “Mealtime is fun time with McCain SMILES® Fun Shaped Potatoes. Everyone enjoys these fun shaped potatoes that add fun and excitement to everyone’s meal!” And you know what—they aren’t lying! Sure, I love French fries as much as the next guy, but there’s just no denying that SMILES fries are like French fries deep fried in fun.

SMILES, like basically all fries, are vegan and that’s how I’m justifying writing about them on PETA’s blog. Take that, Amy!

Another food I really like is Vans’ vegan waffles.

- Joel Bartlett

P.S. Feel free to comment about how you think I’m a better blogger than Jack and Amy.

P.P.S. Don’t worry Amy, when you’re out someday I’ll post SMILES recipes on the VegCooking Blog.

A couple of weeks ago, The Daily Mail reported on the bloody reality behind the sick new trend in the fashion industry of wearing reptiles on the runway, with the headline "Pythons Skinned and Left to Die." The article describes the procedure that monsters like Naomi Campbell are trying to make popular as follows:

To help draw attention to this industry, the beautiful Lisa B unveiled her new ad for PETA UK today. Check it out — it really is something special.

You know what I’m saying? Seriously, it just makes me happy to be alive. Her name is Annamarie, the place is Fresno, and there was evidently a bit of a traffic jam for a while. As Annamarie puts it, "I’ll gladly bare some of my skin if it will help save animals’ skins. With all the luxurious alternatives available, there’s absolutely no excuse to wear animal skins."

And finally, in the interest of fairness, here are some boys too.