Joan Jett, our co-favorite legendary rock goddess (seriously, don't even try to make us choose between Joan and Chrissie), was notably impressed with Twilight star Kristen Stewart's portrayal of her in The Runaways, which chronicled Jett's early career with a pioneering grrl-rock band.

However, in her audio commentary on the DVD release of the movie, Joan does point out one faux pas—although it should be noted that the movie's costumer was to blame:

"To me this is kind of strange," says Jett as Stewart is shown running along a street, "because I never wore leather pants."

Joan Jett—never missing a chance to speak up for animals: Rock on!

Written by Jeff Mackey

All animal abuse is despicable, but some abuses are so outrageously dumb and mind-blowingly cruel that I can only guess that they were thought up by drunk, heartless buffoons trying to "out-cruel" each other in a bar bet. Case in point:

"Entrepreneurs" in Southern Russia could face two years in jail for animal abuse after allegedly forcing a donkey to parasail over the Sea of Azov. Horrified beachgoers reported that the terrified donkey screamed nonstop—the animal was so high in the air that crying children asked why a "doggie" was tied to a parachute. But as a police spokesperson noted, "No one had the brains to call police."

The donkey's terrifying ordeal didn't end there: After crash-landing in the water, she was dragged behind a boat for several meters before she was finally pulled out of the water, barely alive.

Police are investigating the incident, which has made headlines all over the world and prompted an international outcry. Please make sure that officials at the Russian Embassy hear from you too.

Written by Karin Bennett

In a study that sounds like something dreamed up by the mischief-makers at The Onion, experimenters at the University of Colorado (CU) have determined that putting mice into uncomfortable cages and moving them from cage to cage upsets them to the point that it physically alters their brains. This, the experimenters conclude, "affects the outcomes of research." Gee, ya think?

Another stunning discovery: Introducing a strange mouse to this already stressful mix may even cause the animals to fight to protect their little bit of turf. Experimenters also injured the animals' noses and shoved them into cages with either low or high ventilation for a few weeks, killed them, and cut up their brains for examination.

"We assume that mice used in laboratories are all the same, but they are not," Diego Restrepo, director of CU's neuroscience program, told Science Daily. Wow, if only someone had called us, we could have saved Restrepo (and the mice) a lot of trouble—not to mention all the government grant money it would have saved the taxpayers. We also could have told him that housing animals in crowded cages and failing to provide prompt veterinary care and adequate anesthesia during painful surgeries (all of which has been documented at CU laboratories) can also skew research findings.

Anybody who has spent any time with mice knows that they each have individual personalities, just like cats, dogs, and all other animals do. They also feel pain and experience loneliness, boredom, and fear. So, yes, sticking them in cramped cages, hauling them out every once in a while to poke and prod them, and forcing them to live in close proximity with strangers upsets them. Apparently, Common Sense 101 isn't a prerequisite at CU.

Written by Alisa Mullins

A cap on the massive gusher in the Gulf of Mexico has stanched the flow of oil (although seepage has been detected), but millions of gallons of crude in the water continue to wreak havoc. According to an Associated Press article, oil has now coated up to 400 pelicans and hundreds of terns who live on Raccoon Island, Louisiana's largest seabird-nesting area. Ten thousand birds nest there, and biologists now think that the government's original estimate of the number of birds who have been affected by the oil may have been far too low.

So what can we do? Reduce our dependence on oil by biking, walking, or carpooling and switch to an Earth- and animal-friendly vegan diet. And if this news makes you want to get rude about the crude, we've got just the thing to help you tell BP what you think about its failure to save wildlife and prepare for catastrophes such as the recent oil spill.

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post

Remember Queen's classic pump-up hit "We Will Rock You"? Well, PETA U.K. has its own version, which its staffers recently taught to students at Great Missenden Church of England Combined School when they stopped by as part of their Meat-Free Monday outreach, now in its second year. Here's part of it (don't forget the "We Will Rock You"–style clapping and rhythm!):

Tomato pasta bake, orange-berry cake,
Apple-mango shake, aubergine* pie,
Spicy cashew roast, tofu strips on toast,
Lentils cooked with cloves, crispy stir-fry!

Meat-Free, Meat-Free Monday!
Meat-Free, Meat-Free Monday!

Catchy, huh? The "nippers" loved it.

The kids also learned a Meat-Free Monday rhyme, played a veggie-themed game, watched part of "Let's Ask the Animals," and helped prepare an easy Meat-Free Monday snack. They had a great time, but, most importantly, they learned the benefits of eating meatless meals.

Students all across the globe are enthusiastically taking part in the Meat-Free Monday movement. Schools in Helsinki, Finland, recently began celebrating a weekly vegetarian day, and schools in Baltimore have been hosting "Meatless Mondays" since last fall. New York City schools are currently considering a similar initiative as well. Sir Paul McCartney's efforts to push the campaign have helped put Meat-Free Monday on the international map.

And when Meat-Free Monday takes hold around the world, we'll start singing the praises of Tofu-Time Tuesday too. Or maybe Soy-Day Sunday …? What do you think?

Written by Heather Moore

*That's eggplant to you and me.

You probably read how third-ranked competitive eater Takeru "The Tsunami" Kobayashi was forcibly removed from this year's Coney Island Fourth of July hot dog–eating contest after crashing the stage at the close of the event. Kobayashi didn't compete in the contest, having refused to sign a contract with Major League Eating (I'm not making this up) because "he wanted to be free to compete in contests sanctioned by other groups."

Well, then, Tsunami-san, why not take the Veggie Dog Hall of Fame Challenge at Corner Bar in Rockford, Michigan? You'd not only prove your independence, you'd also save yourself from the potential health problems associated with eating gluttonous amounts of meat. Not that we advocate overeating, but given how other contests mean that herds of cows are killed and eaten just so that they can be thrown up later, Corner Bar's contest has earned the restaurant PETA's first-ever "Animal-Friendly Eating Competition Award."

Maybe we'll see the start of a whole new veggie-eating circuit! You don't even have to stuff yourself silly—ready to sign up?

Written by Jeff Mackey

Perhaps impressed by the likes of manly men Mac Danzig, Jake Shields, and Rich Roll, Old Spice Man (aka former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Isaiah Mustafa) has embarked on a vegan cleanse. It's a dangerous voyage, fraught with all the perils that come along with really great food that contains no hormones, antibiotics, cholesterol, or arsenic, but we are confident that OSM is not one to back down from a challenge that is, well, not really all that challenging. Maybe he could make it a little more interesting by cooking all his food on a stove that he welded by hand from iron that he mined himself and fueled it with coal that he hauled from West Virginia in a train car that he pulled with his teeth. Just an idea.

I guess that makes Old Spice Man the man your man could eat like—if only he would stop eating those sissy Double Downs and pork rinds.

Join us as we tweet words of encouragement to OSM (not that he needs it, of course) and ask him to make at least one more video for us. He can't be done yet—I'm still waiting for a video response to Alyssa Milano.

Written by Alisa Mullins

P.S. We're glad to see Old Spice manufacturer P&G finally do something right by hiring OSM. Now if only he could convince them to stop testing on animals.

USA Today is going to have a hard time convincing me to contribute to the new online photo album that Paw Print Post blogger Janice Lloyd is setting up to feature animals who were adopted from shelters. After all, anybody who knows me knows that there is nothing I hate more than singing the praises of my own former shelter dog, Keeley.

Oh, well, if you insist. Keeley, aka The Best Dog in the Universe, has come a long way from being the pathetic bag of bones who spent nearly a week curled up in the corner of a kennel at a shelter in rural Virginia. He was so filthy when he was brought to the shelter that the workers thought his fur was brown. After I spotted his handsome mug on Petfinder.com, I knew that he was the dog for me. What can I say? It was love at first sight. As you can see from his photo, he has blossomed. No more hiding in corners—unless there's a fly in the house, of course (flies are his sworn enemies).

How about you? Do you have a shelter dog or cat (or two or three) you're just dying to brag about? Send a photo and a description of your furry bundle of joy to Janice Lloyd (and be sure to include the animal's name in the subject line). All the cool kids are doing it.

Speaking of incurable adorableness, don't forget to visit PETAPrime.org on August 2—that's when the judging begins for PETA Prime's Cutest Cat Contest. Ready, set, purr!

Written by Alisa Mullins

Fashion fast-forward with the latest cruelty-free design: "Leather" made from green tea cultures! In a new process being developed by visionary designer Suzanne Lee, bacterial cultures are extracted from vats of green tea and then formed into eco-friendly cellulose sheets. Suzanne uses this "textile biomaterial" to make fashionable and cruelty-free jackets and dresses.

© Suzanne Lee

© Suzanne Lee

Unlike real leather—animal flesh coated in toxic preservatives such as formaldehyde and chromium to keep it from decomposing—BioCouture clothing is safe for animals and the environment. It isn't commercially available yet, but some of Lee's fresh and fabulous designs are on display at the Science Museum in London until early next year.

Via treehugger

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

photofinish2009 / CC by 2.0

Two recent news stories underscore the importance of making sure that dogs are kept indoors when temperatures soar.

In South Carolina, a man named Charles Bell has been charged with cruelty after Animal Control officers reportedly discovered that a dog had died in a small wire crate in the man's backyard while temperatures soared as high as 114 degrees. The dog had apparently been trapped in the crate in direct sunlight for three days with no food or water. According to news reports, authorities were alerted by a man who had approached the house to ask that the dog be moved into the shade only to have a woman slam the door in his face. Crating a dog is always a terrible idea, but in this case it was a formula for tragedy.

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, thanks to one dog's ingenuity, disaster was narrowly averted. When a dog named Max was inadvertently left in a hot car, he began to honk the car's horn. After being doused in water and then rushed to a vet, Max made a full recovery from his heat exhaustion—but most dogs aren't as lucky.

Even in the shade, temperatures inside a car in warm weather can soar to lethal levels. To cool themselves, dogs must pant, and they can only perspire through their paw pads. Please protect your dog, and if you see other dogs in distress, always take action—you could save a life!

Written by Jeff Mackey