Written by PETA
Last Monday, popular vlogger Dan Brown (not to be confused with the Da Vinci Code guy) started a new online show, Dan 3.0, which allows viewers to submit ideas and vote to determine what Dan should do over the course of the next year. One person has wisely suggested that Dan give up meat for a month, which could be a great opportunity for his more than a quarter million fans to get a taste of what it's like to go vegetarian.
To vote for Dan to give meat-free living a go, you'll have to register with the site (I did, and it's quick and easy), and then jump over here and click "Yeah, do it Dan!" And if that puts you in the mood to help other folks go veg, we can hook you up.
Written by Jeff Mackey
If you've been watching Dancing With the Stars (DWTS), you already know that Pamela Anderson's got the moves, but it's what she does for animals that moves us. Here's what you can do to help Pam snag that cool disco-ball trophy: Call 1-800-868-3411; text the word "vote" to 3411; or go online and vote for Pam eight times.
Here are the top eight reasons to get everyone you know (yes, even people who have never seen the show) to give their eight online votes to Pam tonight:
BTW—DWTS is on at 8 p.m. tonight. Isn't eight great? Call everyone you know and have them call in to help Pam win!
Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth
Last week, your votes ensured that Pamela Anderson's wildly entertaining and uniquely activist run on Dancing With the Stars (DWTS) would continue. (Her anti-bullfighting paso doble was the first of its kind.) To say thanks, we're giving away two bottles of Pamela's new cruelty-free Malibu perfume.
Watch DWTS tonight and vote for Pamela by calling 1-800-868-3411, texting "vote" to 3411 from any AT&T phone, and visiting ABC's Web site. You can vote by texting and calling up to 30 minutes after the show ends, and you can vote online until 11 a.m. ET tomorrow.
Then enter our contest by posting a comment below to tell us which of her many memorable moments on DWTS has been your favorite.The contest ends on April 16, 2010, and we'll pick two winners at random on April 19, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!
Written by Logan Scherer
A reportedly "startled" elephant kicked a circus trainer or groom so hard that he was thrown 20 feet and died of his injuries at the scene. The attack occurred backstage at a Shrine Circus performance Friday evening in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
The elephant involved is believed to be an African elephant named Dumbo, who was captured in Africa in 1985 and belongs to Terry Frisco. PETA has previously caught Terry's brother, Tim Frisco, beating elephants behind the scenes.
No word yet on whether circus mouthpieces are attempting to claim that the elephant was "playing" with the trainer, but if a "startled" elephant can be this dangerous, imagine the damage that a really angry elephant can inflict. It makes the video that we told you about last week—in which a trainer with the Liebel Family Circus holds a toddler in one hand as she uses a bullhook in the other to jab an elephant—all the more harrowing.
This isn't the first time that an elephant has lethally lashed out at the guy wielding the bullhook, and it almost certainly won't be the last. Circuses rely on an abusive training regimen that starts with beatings and intimidation from the time that elephants are still babies and doesn't stop until they've performed their last headstand. Is it any wonder that some of these gentle giants eventually get fed up and fight back?
PETA has been trying to convince the Shriners to stop using animal circuses as fundraisers for years to no avail, despite the fact that their circuses are connected to a growing list of dangerous and deadly incidents involving wild animals. Last year, two elephants performing at the Murat Shrine Circus in Indianapolis, Indiana, knocked down a mobile staircase during elephant rides, resulting in a dozen children being treated by paramedics. In 2005, a trainer was stomped to death by an elephant used in a Shrine Circus in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 2002 and again in 2003, elephants bolted from the Shrine Circus tents and went on rampages in Wisconsin and Michigan, respectively. It's sad to think that this tragic list of deaths and injuries has failed to make the Shriners come to their senses.
Update: Recent news reports are claiming that Dumbo was trying to protect the groomer whom she stomped to death. But this happens every time someone is bludgeoned or stomped to death by an elephant or an orca: Those who profit from keeping the animals miserably bound in chains or confined to small pools always say that the animal was playing or trying to protect the person. The public should stand up and say, "Enough! We are not that gullible!" These animals are extremely intelligent. They know when to be gentle, and they know that you don't protect or play with human beings by smashing them into the ground or the bottom of the pool. After a lifetime of being told, "Do this, do that," being hurt with electric prods and bullhooks, and having their food withheld unless they stand on their head or tail, they crack.
There may be a crazy number of flavors at West Hollywood's Millions of Milkshakes, but this afternoon, everyone was lined up for the one-and-only "Pamela Anderson":
The Dancing With the Stars (DWTS) cha-cha-challenger ducked out of her busy rehearsal schedule today to personally introduce a heavenly vegan vanilla, pineapple, and coconut creation named in her honor. Pamela, who never turns down an opportunity to shake things up for animals, insisted that the concoction be completely dairy-free in order "to prove that one can create a truly delicious treat without having to rely on any animal products in the process."
Since I couldn't make it to Millions of Milkshakes in person, I know what I'll be doing Monday. I'll get some Tofutti and blend my own "Pamela Anderson," and then I'll lean back and toast DWTS' most compassionate contestant as she wows millions of viewers again. Sound good?
Written by Karin Bennett
The Alps. Chocolate. Here's another reason to love la Suisse: Swiss laws already make it illegal to keep fish or any other naturally social animals isolated from others of their own species (no more lonely fish in bowls); require farmers to let horses and cattle out for exercise in winter; and require citizens to make sure that their companion dogs get exercise. And each year in Zurich, a government-paid "animal lawyer" represents between 150 and 200 animals whose rights have been violated in some way. Cases range from a woman with 149 cats to an incident involving an angler who kept a fish dangling on the line for too long.
So it's no surprise that last weekend, 30 percent of Swiss citizens voted in favor of a referendum to expand Zurich's groundbreaking approach to animal protection to the entire country. Although the referendum didn't pass, the vote brought international attention to the importance of expanding and enforcing legal protections for animals. Swiss Animal Protection—the country's largest animal rights organization—has already taken this opportunity to urge officials to step up their enforcement of the country's stringent animal-welfare laws and new Animal Welfare Act.
If you could pass an animal protection law in your state, what would it be?
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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