The Food and Drug Administration just lowered the age at which girls can get the Plan B oral contraceptive without a prescription to 15. Critics argue that that's too young, but PETA insists that birth control should start as early as 8 weeks—for puppies and kittens. It's called "prepubescent sterilization," and to illustrate our point, we're planning to place this billboard in Oklahoma, which has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country: 

iStockphoto.com/Kati Neudert

Animals can't unwrap a condom, open a package of birth control pills, or walk into a pharmacy and request Plan B. So responsible animal guardians should start their young charges off on the right paw—by spaying and neutering them as soon as possible. This prevents "oops" litters before guardians realize that the animals are sexually mature. Cats, for example, can become pregnant as young as 4 months old.

Sterilization ensures that your animal companions won't contribute to the animal-overpopulation crisis. Just one unaltered female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies in only six years. In seven years, one female cat and her offspring can produce 370,000 kittens.

Early spaying and neutering has health benefits, too: It reduces animals' risk of some forms of cancer and other diseases. A study by the University of Georgia found that spayed and neutered dogs live an average of about a year and a half longer than unaltered animals.

Don't let your animal companions qualify for the next Teen Mom cast: Spay and neuter them. 

Janice and her son, Jayke, didn't know where else to turn. Penelope, a dog they had adopted from an animal shelter, had gotten out of the yard, been hit by a car, and had injured her right front leg so severely that it dangled uselessly, all nerve sensation lost. Although she had been treated by a veterinarian after the accident, there was nothing more that could be done for her permanently nerve-damaged leg.

Unable to use the numb limb, Penelope simply dragged it around, and it quickly became covered with bleeding sores. The only solution was amputation, but Janice is a single mother on a limited budget who couldn't afford the surgery. Heartbroken, she and Jayke were faced with euthanizing their otherwise healthy, happy dog.

In a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, Jayke describes what happened next: "Finally, I called PETA to see if they could help. They agreed to do the amputation in their mobile clinic and worked with us to make the cost manageable—about a tenth of what I had been told by the vet it would cost me. They saved my Penelope's life and helped us when no one else would. I am forever grateful to PETA for all they have done."

Happy to oblige! We're just glad that Penelope is on the road to recovery and back to greeting Janice and Jayke at the door with her signature hugs, albeit minus an "arm."

What You Can Do

Please support PETA's no-cost to low-cost mobile spay/neuter clinics, which also provide low-cost vaccinations, flea treatment, and the occasional emergency surgery. Because the clinics offer services below cost, they operate at a loss and therefore rely on donations to keep the doors open and the wheels rolling. 

Why are the staffers at the Sam Simon Center—PETA's Norfolk, Virginia, headquarters—having a hard time getting their work done right now? Because two little pups are making for one big distraction.

Daisy and Cupcake are as beautiful and sweet as their names suggest. They were given up by someone whose dachshund and Chihuahua didn't get "fixed," which resulted in several "oops" litters. 

And now at the PETA office, they are making for several "Oops, I've gotta get back to work" moments. What starts out as a brief trip to the kitchen or copier more often than not involves a detour to take Daisy and Cupcake for a walk or give them a tummy rub—both of which the pups love. The staffers who are seated near the "Daisy and Cupcake room" have resorted to earplugs to block out the near-constant squeals of delight from employees and pups.

So now, we are searching for the ideal home for the two—preferably together! Cupcake is about 3 months old, and even though she's still a tad shy, she's showing glimpses of that typical puppy personality: playful and always ready to make new friends. Daisy is about a year and a half old and is a bit more reserved. She would appreciate having a patient family who can coax her out of her shell.

These charming girls are crazy about each other, and we'd like them to go to a home together.  And as always, PETA will provide spay surgeries, vaccinations, and microchips. If your family can give Daisy and Cupcake the forever home that they deserve—and meet our rigorous adoption standards—please e-mail Adopt@peta.org.

If you've ever read one of PETA's "Piense Antes de Comer" leaflets or seen actor Constance Marie's spay-and-neuter billboard—or any of our countless other Spanish materials—you're already familiar with our outreach to Latinos. But at Mama's International Tamales in downtown Los Angeles yesterday, we celebrated a groundbreaking moment with the official launch of our newest outreach division, PETA Latino! And the stars were out to celebrate with us. Television star Marco Antonio Regil hosted the event, and actor Patricia De León unveiled her new pro-vegetarian ad, reading (in Spanish), "Eat Your Vegetables. They're Very Tasty." Hollywood beauties Daniella Alonso and Mayte Garcia were also there to show off their PETA ads and sample the delicious food.

Marco and Patricia both gave impassioned speeches about the importance of reaching out to the Spanish-speaking community and adopting a meat-free diet for animals, human health, and the planet. And PETA's vice president of communications, Lisa Lange, rounded out the afternoon with some words on PETA's ongoing commitment to the Latino community and anyone who wants to live a compassionate lifestyle, no matter what language he or she speaks. "Our goal," she said, "is to make PETA Latino an indispensible resource for everyone in this community."

Marco and Patricia mingled with the dozens of supporters and reporters who came out to share this groundbreaking moment for animals and even stopped to snap a picture with their matching Pure bracelets (made of all-vegan materials, of course!), made by Energy Muse, which is donating a portion of the sales of the stylish bracelet to PETA's lifesaving campaigns.

But the fun didn't end when we were done munching on delicious vegan taquitos, tamales, and pupusas. Back at the Bob Barker Building, we got back to work strengthening PETA Latino with new Spanish outreach materials, videos, and content for PETALatino.com. Check it out!

Nickelodeon star Daniella Monet unveiled her new ad for peta2—in which she encourages young people to let fish off the hook by not eating them—at a star-studded reception at the wildly popular all-vegan Sublime restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Sunday.

In an interview that can be viewed on peta2.com, Monet explains why she went vegetarian at the age of 5: "I went to a dude ranch with my family, and I asked a lot of questions. And I got answers that I probably needed to hear." As for people who say that they're "vegetarian" but still eat fish? "Fish aren't veggies," she says. "Fish have feelings, too, and fish are trying to live a life as well." She adds, "You don't need fish. Let the fish swim with the mermaids."

Monet also presented 12-year-old Rose McCoy—a lifelong vegan and animal rights defender—with the Nanci Alexander Activist Award, named for the owner of Sublime and a longtime PETA member. Among Rose's many accomplishments, she has spoken (remember—she's 12) at a McDonald's annual meeting and at New York City Council meetings, has formed an animal rights club, and donates a portion of her cat-sitting money to PETA's spay/neuter mobile clinics. 

Also in attendance were Mexican soap star Pablo Azar, who showed off his dramatic new anti-circus PETA ad, and NY Ink star Ami James, who did likewise with a new ad starring himself and his adorable dog, Bella.

Among other stars lending glamour to the festivities was model and TV host Elisabetta Canalis, a vocal animal advocate who would rather go naked than wear fur and who memorably locked herself in a sweltering car last summer to illustrate the need to protect dogs from the heat. 

It would break your heart to see the difference that a simple doghouse can make in a dog's life. One recent beneficiary of PETA's doghouse delivery program is Passion, who was spotted by a PETA fieldworker when our Community Animal Project visited the trailer park in which she lives to help a neighbor transport her dog to our no-cost to low-cost spay/neuter clinic. Our fieldworker found Passion—and her pitiful excuse for a doghouse, a collection of metal and wood filled with gaps that had done virtually nothing to keep her warm or dry this winter.

We replaced her decaying, makeshift lean-to with a sturdy, weatherproof doghouse and filled it with straw (which doesn't freeze as towels and blankets do when they get wet). Like all our outdoor clients, Passion also received a lightweight, tangle-free tie-out to replace her heavy chain, a toy and a treat, clean water, and a few minutes of affection, which means the world to a dog stuck outside alone 24 hours a day. Passion was so excited by her new house and all the attention she was getting that her whole body wiggled with delight. It was as if she'd won the lottery.

Countless neglected "backyard dogs" don't have so much as a cardboard box to shelter them from the wind and rain. PETA fieldworkers have found dogs shivering during lashing nor'easters with nothing more to protect them from the elements than end tables, patio chairs, overturned barrels, shells of air-conditioning units, and pieces of plywood propped against fences. Some didn't even have those. During the winter, these dogs run the risk of suffering from exposure or frostbite or becoming dehydrated when water bowls freeze. During the summer, lack of access to water or shade can be fatal when the temperatures soar.

Dogs are pack animals who crave the companionship of others. There are few things worse for a dog than "solitary confinement" on a chain or in a pen or kennel. That constant barking that drives the neighbors crazy? It's a cry for help.

If you know someone with an "outdoor dog," offer to play or go on walks with the pup. Take treats and toys, which mean so much to a dog who would otherwise have nothing to do but watch the mud dry. Make sure that the dog has adequate food, water, and shelter (required by law), and report neglect to animal control. And use our resources to help get a chaining ban passed in your community.

Just what exactly is PETA doing to help combat the animal overpopulation crisis and provide vulnerable animals with assistance? This infographic breaks it down:

What You Can Do

Help animals in your neighborhood as well as low-income areas get spayed and neutered, promote adoption from animal shelters instead of buying from breeders or pet stores, and demand appropriate animal-care standards in your community.

Visit PETASaves.com for more information.

Got your dancing shoes on? Several of PETA's celebrity supporters do, and they've been showing off their best moves on ABC's Dancing With the Stars (DWTS). The animal-friendly folks tripping the light fantastic this season include the following:

Andy Dick 

Before he began cutting a rug on DWTS, this compassionate  comic took on the cutting-up of animals for dissection and (with a valuable assist from Martin Short) hilariously showed the unfunny side of a certain fast-food clown in his memorable spots for PETA.

Karina Smirnoff 

The lovely professional dancer dazzled us in her PETA ad declaring that she'd rather dance naked than wear fur!

© StarMaxInc.com

Kellie Pickler 

The country chanteuse (who's also fur-free) has been wowing the judges with her moves and winning over viewers with her sweet smile—not to mention the fit physique that earned her PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian Alive title. Being good to animals is good for your body, too!

© StarMaxInc.com

Zendaya Coleman 

Zendaya has already shown that she has all the right moves on Disney's Shake It Up—and by helping PETA help animals with a fundraiser at the vegan-friendly Millions of Milkshakes. 

Carrie Ann Inaba 

This PETA pal, who is seated at the DWTS judges' table, partnered with her beloved late cat, Shadow, in a stunning ad promoting spaying and neutering to end the animal-overpopulation crisis. 

Keep on dancing, y'all—we'll be cheering you on every week. To us, though, everyone who steps up for animals is a Mirror Ball winner!

Back in February, PETA sent out a news release about the number of sick, injured, elderly, and otherwise unadoptable animals we had to euthanize during the previous year. PETA openly publishes these figures every single year and simultaneously calls on the government and citizens to help promote anti-chaining ordinances (many of the dogs our caseworkers encounter are aggressive or horrifically neglected after having been chained outside for their entire lives), to help reduce the cost of euthanasia of old and ill animals who belong to people with a low income (these account for many of the animals PETA helps), and to implement sterilization programs and laws to reduce the homeless-animal crisis.

In other words, old news is now being regurgitated with a vindictive spin by—among others—a front group for Philip Morris, Outback Steakhouse, KFC, cattle ranchers, and other animal exploiters that kill millions of animals every year—and which do so not out of compassion but out of greed. Before falling prey to the hysteria, please have a look at BermanExposed.org and ConsumerDeception.com.

PETA's statistics are also often used, as they are being used now, in a truly perverted way by some "no-kill" evangelists to try to turn people away from the "evil" of what is actually a dignified, merciful release from suffering. They never give a complete picture, and they always use inflammatory language and labels like "puppies" and "kittens," even if the animal was a 17-year-old dog who was unable to breathe properly because of a heart condition. Such people are sure that if you shuffle enough animals around from shelters to hoarders' basements or just throw stones at shelter workers and call them "psycho" and so on, people will join their number. But they offer no realistic solution to the multiple tragic problems associated with easily acquired and easily discarded "pets."

Anyone who reads our website or receives our newsletters, in which we discuss this issue regularly, knows that PETA has a division that does hands-on work with animals. We run a shelter but in the most merciful way. We help—because no one else will—the animals who are society's rejects in the area near our Virginia headquarters. These animals are aggressive, feral, on death's door (often with large tumors hanging from their bodies), or otherwise unadoptable. We have published many blog posts about our caseworkers' heartbreaking work over the years, and more information can be found at PETASaves.com. 

It's important to note that the figures used by anti-PETA campaigners are deliberately chosen because they are just the euthanasia figures. They do not include perspective—i.e., the more than 10,000 dogs and cats PETA provided with no-cost to low-cost spay and neuter surgeries and other veterinary services in the last 12 months alone, the hundreds of animals delivered to large high-traffic shelter facilities for adoption, the counseling and aid services that PETA provides in order to enable people to keep and properly care for their animals, and the animals we have put up for adoption, like the cat currently featured on our website, whom we nursed back to (almost) good health and who is still seeking a permanent home.

The "no-kill" shelters in the area surrounding PETA's headquarters, like many such places that sing the "no-kill" refrain for fundraising purposes, actually not only refuse admission to animals (because they are constantly "too full") and reject dogs and cats who are injured, sick, or dying but also refer these "undesirable" animals to PETA, which bears the veterinary or euthanasia costs. For more information on this topic, visit PETASaves.com.

People who are shocked to learn how many healthy or adoptable animals have to be euthanized annually or are questioning PETA's euthanasia record should ask themselves if they are spaying and neutering their own animal companions, helping people with a low income "fix" theirs, adopting from shelters instead of buying from breeders and pet stores, funding education campaigns about proper animal care and adoption (among other things), and demanding higher animal-protection standards in their own communities. They should also look carefully at the photographs of the animals who come out of the impoverished areas that PETA serves. Of course, they should definitely not be eating or wearing animals or their skins, using products tested on animals (who are usually killed at the end of the tests), or engaging in any activity that results in killing animals not out of mercy but for selfish reasons.

PETA is proud to continue to stand tall and roll up its sleeves to help animals. 

When people talk about PETA's euthanasia statistics, those aren't just abstract figures to me—my dog was one of those animals. Kodah, aka "Bug," was technically "taken into custody and euthanized within 24 hours." It was more like euthanized in minutes. That's because she was dying.

Kodah-Bug was diagnosed with cancer on a Friday and went downhill quickly. By 1 a.m. the next night, she was suffering, struggling to breathe. I called PETA, and without a moment's hesitation, someone met me at the building in the wee hours of the morning. The PETA staffers who are certified to perform euthanasia are the most caring, compassionate, gentle people I know. My sweet girl deserved the most peaceful and painless end possible. She found it at PETA.

Almost a year after Kodah's passing, a PETA worker found a dog running loose on the streets. She was a starving, terrified stray who had to be lured with food morsels over the course of several hours. I fostered Emma for several months, getting the word out by putting up fliers, posting her picture on social media, and blogging about her and her need for a good home. No takers. Luckily for her (and me), I was in a position to adopt her. What would have happened to Emma had PETA not rescued her?

PETA's euthanasia numbers are decried by "no-kill" fanatics and others in order to upset people. But behind those numbers, there are animals who need help, and they wouldn't get it elsewhere. No one seems to talk about the much higher numbers of animals helped by PETA's spay-and-neuter program—PETA has sterilized more than 90,000 animals for free or at a fraction of a standard vet's office fee since 2001, preventing millions of animals from being born into a world already overflowing with homeless ones. But those numbers aren't as "sexy." "PETA Saves Countless Dogs and Cats From Abandonment, Abuse, and Neglect" just doesn't have quite the same shock value.

Unfortunately, PETA's mobile spay-and-neuter clinics can't get to all the animals in need, and there just aren't enough good homes out there for the millions of animals who need them. The shelters are full, and people keep buying from breeders or giving up their animals when their lives change.

If you're angry about euthanasia, volunteer at an animal shelter or donate to PETA's spay-and-neuter efforts—go out and do something. No one should point fingers and complain because everyone is needed to do something good, to take action and make a difference.

Written by Kristen Stine