Written by PETA
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down as "overly broad" a law meant to ban the distribution of videos depicting illegal conduct such as "crush" videos, in which animals are slowly killed under a high heel or bare foot, and videos in which animals are forced to fight or tortured in other ways—but we fully expect the Court to uphold a narrower federal statute barring distribution of vile videos that depict indisputable cruelty to animals. The bill is already in the works. And in case anyone out there who takes pleasure in others' pain is rejoicing, please take note: Abusing animals or inciting others to do so is still illegal and will result in jail time.
Caring people agree that video depictions of cruelty to animals should only be legal when their purpose is to expose—not promote—cruelty to animals. PETA's undercover footage—which shows elephants as they are beaten by circus trainers, chickens as they are scalded to death in slaughterhouses, and snakes as they are skinned alive—truly motivate, rather than titillate, viewers and inspire them to get involved and help stop the suffering. Case in point: You and me. Tell us which PETA video inspired you (and then please do a good deed by forwarding it to someone who doesn't realize what's going on in the world).
Written by Karin Bennett
Like pretty much everyone else on the planet, we at PETA have a YouTube account. Unlike (most) other accounts, we use ours to broadcast and share PETA's funny and provocative ads and public service announcements. Turns out that some of our ads may have been a little too hot for TV YouTube.
After uploading our "Sexy Celebs" video—which features some of our best, hottest, and "nakedest" celebrity ads—we found that, within the week, the video had been rejected and our account temporarily suspended. Oops! Sorry, YouTube! We knew that PETA's ads are often too hot for TV—but we didn't know that you would object to a little friendly side-boob too!
Though YouTube might not be too happy with our video (maybe we'll work on one using burkas soon), we're still more than happy to show it to you if you promise to pass it on. Behold—a video you won't find anywhere else!
It's not just side-boob that YouTube has recently banned. They have also banned other videos of ours in the past, including our (actually pretty tame) "When I Grow Up" video and footage from our Turkey Farm Investigation. Give them a look and judge for yourself! Do you think YouTube was right to ban these videos?
Written by Sean Conner
The tabloids are constantly filled with breathless speculation about who various celebs might be sleeping with. But we already know who a few lovely stars are taking to bed: their mutts!
Some celebrities who are hooked on rescued mutts include Sandra Bullock, Simon Cowell, Kristen Bell, and—hopefully—even the next president of the good ol' U. S. of A. And according to ecorazzi, actor Kate Bosworth is so used to sharing her sheets with her mixed-breed rescue dog that any man who can't deal with those sleeping arrangements will find himself bounced. Of course, mutts are so cute that it's hard to resist a snuggle.
Even if you're not a star—and so many of us aren't these days—you can still get in on the mutt-loving action by entering your mixed-breed dog in PETA's Cutest Mutt Alive contest. PETA is celebrating mutts because they are typically healthier and live longer than their purebred cousins who are pumped out by puppy mills and other breeders. Plus, every mutt is one of a kind!
Written by Jeff Mackey
So today's a fairly slow news day (ya know, Labor Day weekend and all), but we wanted to be absolutely sure you all were fully prepped for your long weekends of not being at work! To give yourself one of those warm, fuzzy feelings, we thought we'd take a new direction with our videos and show you some cute videos for a change (instead of our typical videos that, ya know, make you think).
Enjoy!
Written by Christine Doré
If I were to say "Hari Puttar," what is the first thing that would come to mind? If you said "Harry Potter," you'd be wrong, according to Mumbai-based studio, Mirchi Movies. They pinky-promise that their film Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors bears no similarity or links to the popular Harry Potter book series/films/franchise/cult-like-following. Apparently, Warner Bros. Pictures thinks anything sounding like Harry Potter is their turf and their turf alone and has filed a lawsuit against Mirchi to protect their "intellectual property."
With all this insanity over a movie title, we'd like to draw attention to a more meaningful issue, like … I dunno … skinning animals and wearing portions of their remains as ridiculous clothing. Call me crazy, but this seems a bit more pressing. In my willingness to compromise, please allow me to call our fur ad series "Hairy PETA!" Enjoy and pass along, please—for wide distribution—PETA's "Hairy PETA" series!
Hairy PETA and the Water Closet of Secrets
Hairy PETA and the Vomit of Fur
Hairy PETA and the Piddler of Litter-Sand
Have a favorite among the action-packed Hairy PETA films? Leave a comment to let me know which one you like best!
Anjelica Huston has decades of experience on the set, tracing back to watching her father, John, filming during her childhood. Given her experiences with animals on the set, we were excited when she sat down with us to discuss the abuses endured by great apes used in film, television, and advertising.
U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors have documented that chimpanzees and orangutans were denied even minimal "environmental enrichment" and veterinary care in times of illness. And undercover investigations have shown that trainers beat and scream at great apes in order to force them to perform dumb, confusing tricks, take after take, under the burning arc lights.
Chimpanzees can live to be 60 years old and orangutans can live to be 50, but they grow too strong to be handled around age 8. That's when, useless to the industry, most are dumped in roadside hellholes, where they can live in barren cages, languishing amid their own waste or sold for use in experiments. There is no Hollywood actors' retirement home for them. You can see Anjelica's video about this business here:
Anjelica also spoke with us after the filming of the video, telling us how she grew so passionate about this issue, and why the abuse of great apes will never happen on her set:
I think without question that [when] one forcibly takes small simians, small apes away from their parents at [a young] age … and manipulating them into some sort of fake response for the amusement of humans or indeed human children—it's a very bad ethic. … I remember seeing this terribly sad, lonely elephant in Bath, England, at the zoo in the pouring rain with nothing but a football for companionship, and thinking, "No child on Earth would want to see that. No child on Earth who understands the predicament of this animal could possibly approve it."
Check out the b-roll from the video shoot here:
Thanks, Anjelica, from us and from them!
… a good thing. In fact, whether you're bored with the Olympics or simply can't wait for the new fall television season to start, there's plenty to see right here and right now on PETA TV.
Are you into the classics? Then be sure to check out "Meet Your Meat," narrated by Emmy- and Academy Award-nominated—and Golden Globe-winning actor—Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, The Cooler). If you see—or show a meat-eater—only one video this year about factory farming, make it "Meet Your Meat."
Then, over on peta2, there's a video the entire family can agree on—Full House of Horrors, starring everyone's favorite (and by "favorite," I mean most hated) twins, Hairy-Kate and Trashley Trollsen! They're all grown up, although you wouldn't know it by the way they act.
Remember Kentucky Fried Movie? Of course you don't! Well, you'll never forget Kentucky Fried Cruelty. You'll laugh, you'll cry … actually, you'll probably just cry. It's a real tear-jerker. Show it to someone you love. Speaking of love …
Love those gritty detective shows with storylines "ripped from the headlines"? Also, love all things China, especially after the Beijing Olympics? Well, while the networks have chosen to ignore this demographic, PETA TV invites you to go undercover with investigators from Swiss Animal Protection/EAST International in C.F.F. Hebei. Travel deep into China's Hebei Province to expose the "living hell" that is a Chinese fur farm.
So, the next time you get tired of channel surfing, surf on over to PETA TV. With hundreds of videos you can watch on-demand and free of charge, you're sure to find a video that will allow you to kill a little time and, hopefully, save an animal from being killed.
As you probably know, we’ve been in touch with Al Gore and the Live Earth folks about the whole meat production/global warming/environmental destruction connection. Well, I just found out that the video at this link was shown at the NYC Live Earth event last weekend, so it looks like they got the message. Pretty cool if you ask me.
And fyi, you still have time to enter our contest to win a $50 iTunes gift card by checking out the button below.
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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