Written by Jeff Mackey
Wrongdoers, watch out—wearing animals' skins and fur is a total (and literal) rip-off, but PETA, as always, is on the case! October has been declared Crime Prevention Month by the National Crime Prevention Council, and we're glad to do our part here at The PETA Files—after all, it's the least any animal advocate could do for a group whose symbol is a dog.
What happens to animals who are killed for their skins may not be illegal in many places (yet), but it's a flagrant violation of their rights. Confined to cages, caught in steel-jaw traps, subjected to cruel abuses, nailed to trees, suffocated, electrocuted, gassed, poisoned, bludgeoned, hanged, and often skinned alive—together, it's a crime against common decency.
So PETA's walking the beat and throwing the book at offenders. The fabulous PETA "fashion police"—gotta love a cop in pleather!—hit the city streets to hand out tickets for leathery larceny and felony fur-flaunting. They've even braved that most hostile of precincts, New York Fashion Week, where they issued a citation to the cruelest of all fur hags, Vogue's Anna Wintour, proving that they never miss the meaner misdemeanors.
Some of PETA's famous friends are taking on crime-busting duties, too. Pink and Ricky Gervais use their voices to call out the skin trade for what it really is—theft—in PETA's attention-getting "Stolen for Fashion" video, while Tim Gunn reminds everyone that these aren't victimless crimes. Then there's the animals' own wonder woman, Pamela Anderson, who gets the message across that "cruelty doesn't fly" (with a little help from Steve-O, Andy Dick, and Carol Leifer) as only she can:
Keep on the straight and narrow—sign PETA's pledge that you'll shed everyone's skin but your own!
Writing for the website of the U.K.'s Daily Mail, Liz Jones brilliantly eviscerated bloated bag of ego "musician" Kanye West for his use of animal fur and skins in his Paris Fashion Week show.
Jones reminds readers that astrakhan, West's material of choice, "is the fur of an unborn lamb. Yes, a foetus. The sheep is slaughtered, and the unborn lamb is ripped from her womb, its coat still curly and unformed." Other designs featured crocodile skin and fox fur.
But the best part is when Jones speculates on West's motivation:
Well, for one, he was undoubtedly sponsored, probably by Saga furs, the body that governs and promotes the fur trade in North America. Second, he has no ideas, or anything new to give us. He doesn't know how to cut a pattern, or construct a seam, or even sew a buttonhole. But he wants us to think his collection is luxurious, elitist and covetable, so he falls back on the thing that all designers with no imagination or morals fall back on: electrocuting small animals via their vagina or rectum, and often skinning them alive.
Well, for one, he was undoubtedly sponsored, probably by Saga furs, the body that governs and promotes the fur trade in North America.
Second, he has no ideas, or anything new to give us. He doesn't know how to cut a pattern, or construct a seam, or even sew a buttonhole.
But he wants us to think his collection is luxurious, elitist and covetable, so he falls back on the thing that all designers with no imagination or morals fall back on: electrocuting small animals via their vagina or rectum, and often skinning them alive.
Brava!
This is the worst that Kanye has looked since his disastrous Auto-Tune–free appearance on Saturday Night Live. Or since his charity was caught giving nothing to, well, charity. Or since he gracelessly crashed Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the Video Music Awards. Or since … well, you get the idea.
Written by PETA
The weather is turning cooler, but that doesn't mean our hearts should too. Fall is a great time to make a fashion statement in support of clothes that warm our skin and don't cost animals theirs. One lucky PETA Files reader will snag this autumnal 'No Fur' Burnout Fitted V-Neck T-Shirt, perfect for layering, to take you into cooler weather in style.
To enter, just post a comment about why you won't shroud yourself in dead animals. A winner will be chosen at random.* (Just remember to wear the tee with your pleather shoes because animals used for leather suffer too.) Good luck!
*The winner will be chosen at random from submitted animal-friendly comments telling us why the commenter wears cruelty-free clothing. The contest ends October 7, 2011, and the winner will be notified October 21, 2011. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
The wedding of Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries is sure to be a lavish affair, so PETA sent the bride and groom an equally lavish gift: a luxurious faux fur throw donated by Donna Salyers' Fabulous-Furs.
It's no secret that Kim has a penchant for wearing fur, but we're hoping that this elegant velvet-lined throw—the same style that is used at premier resorts—will help convince the future Ms. Humphries to say "I do!" to being kind to animals. If Kim follows in her little sis Khloe's footsteps and dons Donna's luxurious faux furs, she'll join other Fabulous-Furs customers like Kate Moss, Brooklyn Decker, Ice-T and Coco, and Aretha Franklin in saving animals from being bludgeoned, anally and vaginally electrocuted, and skinned alive. Here's hoping that Kim will ditch fur for good and always choose compassion over cruelty.
For more fabulous fakes, see PETA's Cruelty-Free Clothing Guide.
What do cows, snakes, and foxes all agree on? That they would prefer to keep their skin right where it is, thank you very much. All three species (represented by body-painted PETA members) joined forces in Knoxville, Tennessee, to ask people to wear their own skin, not animals'.
The "animals" grabbed a lot of attention from people coming and going from the surrounding offices, and many people took home leaflets about animals killed for their skins. Even the local police couldn't get enough of the models, assuring them that they would "keep an eye on things." They certainly did—with huge smiles on their faces!
Before Pamela Anderson, before Eva Mendes, before Dennis Rodman, there were the Go-Go's. The iconic ladies of pop-punk weren't just pioneers for women in music, they were also animal rights innovators, as the first celebs to proclaim that they would rather go naked than wear fur.
Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine, Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, and Charlotte Caffey were music to animals' ears when they launched PETA's "naked" ad campaign in 1991.
Today, as the Go-Go's are being honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, PETA would like to celebrate them, too, for getting our "rather go naked" campaign go-go-going and inspiring people all around the world to follow their beat. What will you do to celebrate being fur-free?
PETA's macabre protest outside the Louisville, Kentucky, leather goods store Leatherheads on Tuesday morning was apparently really scary—so scary that employees refused to open the store until our corpses made ghosts of themselves.
Instead of a dead animal skins, everyone who passed by Leatherheads during our protest left with pictures of the "deceased" and information about how cows and other animals are abused and killed for their skin. And while the police were at first busy trying to figure out something they could put the protestors in the pokey for, they relented and took pictures instead.
Not into the zombie look? See our guide to fun, not fatal, fashion.
PETA's newest sexy mascot, a "cow," teamed up with our lovely "leopard" and "tiger" to spread the news to Toronto Fashion Week attendees that animal prints are in style but leather, suede, and other animal skins are always vile.
Our brazen beauties were joined by students, one of whom brought her dad—and the caring crew grew as passersby joined in to help get the word out. There was also some unexpected action—as a photographer from the Toronto Sun drew his camera, security officers nearly put up their fists in an effort to stop the media from taking photos. Luckily, we managed to snap some shots:
Thanks to everyone who participated. May they be your inspiration to take action!
Written by Karin Bennett
There's a whole lot of cruelty-free fashion in store for men and women at everybody's favorite mall retailer, Express, ever since the release of its fall (Minus the) Collection, which includes sexy skirts, fabulous footwear, outrageously chic outerwear, and much, much more that is clearly, Expressly free of fur, wool, and skins.
Express has long been fur-free—and for extending its compassion to cows, sheep, snakes, and other animals by creating these skin-free fashions, the Columbus-based company has received PETA's Proggy Award for "Most Compassionate 2010 Fall Clothing Line."
Shopaholics, if you ever felt that you had to justify a new purchase, know that adding pieces from (Minus the) Collection to your wardrobe will assure Express—and the other retailers who will eye the consumer response to this line—that compassionate fashionistas crave cruelty-free styles. Please thank Express—and "like" the company's post about the Proggy Award on its Facebook wall.
Decisions, decisions...Which (Minus the) fur embellished vest should I get? Both!
Now, I'll race you to the checkout line: Ready … set … shop!
A photo essay in the September issue of Harper's Bazaar features celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe—whose catch phrase is "I die"—being knocked off by various designers. We were struck by how easily the photo in which infamously furry Project Runway judge Michael Kors "bags" Zoe could be mistaken for a PETA ad:
I thought PETA had the market cornered on using corpses to highlight the fact that fur—and all animal skins—are dead, as in this spooky PETA ad featuring former Twin Peaks star Sheryl Lee:
Thanks, Michael, for helping make the case for us. Maybe this is the first step toward bagging fur and exotic skins.
Written by Alisa Mullins
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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