Following discussions with PETA, PUMA—one of the world's largest designers and developers of sports footwear, apparel, and accessories—has pledged never to use animal fur, wool that comes from mulesed (i.e., mutilated) Australian sheep, or exotic-animal skins. How appropriate that a company named after one of nature's most beautiful animals would help protect so many others!

Photo: Nick Saglimbeni for SlickForceStudio|Hair and makeup: Glenn Nutley for Celestine Agency|Body art: Nelly Rechhia for Aim Artists

For help in making animal-friendly choices, check out PETA's cruelty-free shopping guide.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

PETA "cops" were out in force at the Sundance Film Festival, making arrests for fashion felonies. Anyone wearing wool, leather, exotic skins, or fur saw the light. A flashing blue one, that is.

The crime: Ripping off an animal

The punishment: A public scolding

The penance: Buying a coat that didn't claim a life

It never hurts to brush up on answers to questions about animal issues—even seasoned protesters can get a stumper from passersby now and then. See if you know the answers to the following five questions that often pop up in discussions about animal rights: 

What's wrong with eggs and dairy products from "free-range" animals? There are no standards for what "free-range" means, so animals on such farms may still spend most of their time in filthy, crowded sheds. Cruel practices such as searing off hens' beaks with a hot blade and relegating male calves to veal crates occur, and when the animals stop producing enough eggs or milk, they are sent to the same slaughterhouses as factory-farmed animals.

If we don't test on animals, what other methods are available? Computer simulations, cell cultures, human cadavers, and clinical trials are just some of the many options researchers can use instead of animal testing to obtain more accurate and cost-effective results.

davedehtre|cc by 2.0

What's wrong with wearing wool? In Australia—where most of the world's merino wool comes from—sheep have been bred to have excessively wrinkled skin in order to produce more wool. The wrinkles collect moisture, which attracts flies, so many farmers resort to "mulesing," a gruesome and cruel procedure in which huge chunks of skin and flesh are cut from lambs' backsides in a crude attempt to prevent flystrike.

Should we put endangered animals in zoos? Endangered animals bred in zoos are rarely released into the wild. Instead, they will spend their lives "warehoused" in cramped enclosures that cannot come close to replicating their natural habitats. As a result, many develop stereotypic behaviors such as pacing, rocking from side to side, and self-mutilation. The only humane and effective way to combat extinction is to protect animals' habitats.

What's wrong with using a choke or prong collar on my dog? As their names imply, choke and prong collars inflict discomfort and pain, and they can severely injure dogs' necks and throats. Far safer and more humane options are no-pull harnesses and halters like the Easy Walk, Halti, or even a standard figure-H harness. For cruelty-free dog-training tips, check out celebrity dog trainer Tamar Geller's video series for PETA.

Have another animal rights question that you've always wondered about? Visit PETA's Frequently Asked Questions page.

If you were gliding around an ice rink and spotted two leopards, your first response would probably be to jump out of your skin. And that's exactly the response that PETA's sultry "leopards" are hoping to get from people who are wearing skins stolen from animals. 

The cool cats were at an ice rink in Washington, D.C., this week to ask skaters to shun fur, leather, and wool. Since we're well past the Ice Age, it's high time to don cruelty-free fashions and leave animal skins on their original owners.

Elvis Presley has left the building—to help PETA's hound dog "fox" and "rabbit" ask Nashville shoppers to leave animal skins off their holiday gift lists. 

One shopper who stopped to talk had to fight back tears—and not because she touched the King of Rock and Roll. She was appalled when the demonstrators explained how sheep used for wool have chunks of skin and flesh cut off their backsides with little to no pain relief.

There's nothing "tender" about the way animals killed for fur are beaten, electrocuted, and skinned alive or the way animals killed for leather have their throats cut and are skinned and dismembered, often while still conscious.

Even if you don't live in Music City, you can still make your holiday shopping list music to animals' ears by choosing gifts that are free of animal skins. And if you receive a dead animal's skin as a present, you can gently "return to sender" and explain why. We think the King would approve.

Staking out towns throughout Ontario, Canada, PETA's sexy cops are after the robbers who stole the skin right off animals' backs.

If you're thinking that maybe it wouldn't be so bad for one of these arrestingly beautiful officers to read you your rights, think again. They're showing no mercy to people who buy fur ripped off live animals, leather from cows and other animals who are routinely hacked apart while still conscious, or wool, which often comes from sheep whose backsides have been mutilated.

Considering that these offenders only got tickets, they got off easy. Click here to check out what "TSA Agent" Pamela Anderson does to would-be airline passengers who are swathed in skin that isn't their own.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

There's nothing chic about mutilating sheep, and the Australian wool industry's efforts to make the sweater set appeal to the younger set via its Facebook page have hit a snag. After PETA asked its supporters to post photos from our "We ♥ Sheep" album, which show the unlovely cruelty behind the wool industry's "We ♥ Wool" page, the page was shut down!

The wool industry is notorious for mutilating millions of gentle lambs every year with "mulesing," a crude and cruel attempt to prevent a maggot infestation known as "flystrike." Farmers cut huge chunks of flesh—not just skin—from lambs' backsides, usually with little or no pain relief. In agony, the mulesed lambs scuttle sideways like crabs, and the deep wounds can take weeks to heal, often becoming infected before they do.

You can help save sheep's skin—and get under the wool industry's skin—by shopping for cruelty-free clothing

Written by Heather Faraid Drennan

Update: After the Australian RSPCA was at last permitted to board the disabled ship, they discovered that at least 200 sheep had already died. The surviving sheep are being unloaded and sent to a feedlot, a process that is expected to take several days. Australia's agriculture minister acknowledged that hundreds of sheep had died but shrugged off the deaths as being "expected."

The following was first published on August 16th.

For the past week, 67,000 sheep have struggled to survive inside a crowded, filthy multitier ship in Australia. We're betting that not all of them have made it. The sheep―either discarded by the wool industry or bred for meat―were bound for slaughter in the Middle East, a grueling journey, but when the ship experienced mechanical problems, the captain turned the ship around and returned to Australia.

Now the ship is sitting at  the dock, and the sheep have been left on board to suffer in cramped quarters, mired in their own waste. Eventually, one supposes, it will be back out to sea again for these unfortunate animals.

The voyage from Australia to the Middle East can take weeks, during which time many sheep commonly starve to death, are trampled, or become ill and die, their bodies tossed overboard. Upon arrival, the survivors are dragged from the ship, thrown into the backs of trucks, and driven to slaughter, where they have their throats cut while fully conscious.

Please urge Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to put a stop to the immense suffering endured by millions of sheep and other animals every year by banning live export. 

Written by Michelle Sherrow

According to a statement on its website, athletic behemoth Adidas has sworn off the skins of exotic animals—including crocodiles, snakes, sharks, and fish—joining compassionate companies such as Nike and Cole Haan, H&M, Overstock.com, and Victoria's Secret that rock the mock croc. Adidas also refuses to use fur or wool from sheep who were mulesed in any of its shoes or clothing. 
 

Like many animals used for their skin, snakes are often skinned alive, sometimes after being nailed to a tree.

 
We applaud Adidas for making great strides for so many animals, and look forward to the day when all its footwear is faux.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

And here's our favorite caption for this weeks' "10% Wool" comic contest! We're in process of contacting the winner, so be sure to check your inbox!

I learned it by watching ewe, Dad!

Click here for larger version

Don't forget to check out past 10% Wool comic strips and get more information on the series and the writer here, and learn how to get Jeff's other comic, DeFlocked, into your local paper here.