Here’s this week’s installment of DeFlocked!

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It’s no secret that Karl Rove is no friend of animals. And given the current state of affairs, I guess it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that Dubya’s bag man plans to spend the days immediately following his resignation literally blowing the international symbol of peace into oblivion. That is, he’s going dove hunting.

As you might imagine, PETA Prez Ingrid Newkirk had a few things to say about that, including some friendly advice that next time Mr. Rove takes a hunting trip, he should invite Dick Cheney along with him.

And reportedly, after his Labor Day killing spree, err, hunting trip, Rove is going back to Washington to fetch his wife and dogs before driving to their home in Florida. I just hope he hasn’t gotten any advice about traveling with dogs from Mitt Romney . . .

Maybe you’ve noticed our new campaign targeting the companion animal overpopulation crisis called the ABC campaign. Because, you know, animal birth control is, like, as easy as ABC. We just launched the campaign with this public service announcement featuring Tour de France rider Levi Leipheimer, which is pretty wonderful, don’t you think?

And not quite as wonderful, but cool nonetheless, is our new line of products bearing the ABC logo. It comes on a bunch of different kinds of T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and the like, and if none of that stuff suits your fancy, you can even get your very own Animal Birth Control wall clock, perfect for, well . . . I’m not really sure where a birth control—animal or otherwise—wall clock is perfect for to be honest.

In all seriousness, check the stuff out and let us know what you think. Personally, I’m just wondering why we’re not adding ABC to our ultra-classy thong designs . . .

Michael Vick's attorneys are reportedly engaged in plea negotiations with prosecutors, following the news that two more of his codefendants have stated that they will enter guilty pleas this week. Federal sentencing guidelines dictate that Vick will likely face jail time if he does reach a plea agreement.

PETA has written a letter to Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gill asking that he include a provision in any plea prohibiting Michael Vick from owning or harboring any animal in the future. It's absolutely vital—though sadly often overlooked—that criminals who are convicted in animal cruelty cases be permanently barred from owning animals, since the likelihood for repeat offenses is extremely high with this kind of crime. This is especially true of dogfighting, and when you're talking about cruelty as gruesome as the charges against Vick and his codefendants allege, the number one priority of the prosecutors should be ensuring that these guys are never allowed near an animal again if they’re found guilty of dogfighting.

You can read our letter to the prosecutor below, and I'll keep you updated on any developments in this case as it proceeds.

There's a story that's getting a lot of play in Canada right now about a humane society inspector named Tre Smith who has been suspended following what, based on all the facts I've been able to put together on this one, was nothing less than a heroic effort to save a dog's life in extreme circumstances.

Apparently, Smith responded to a call about a Rottweiler named Cyrus who was locked in an overheated car. Given that animals locked inside cars in the summer can die of heatstroke within 15 minutes, even on a relatively mild day, this was obviously a serious situation, and Cyrus was evidently slumped over and foaming at the mouth by the time the humane officer arrived. Smith reports that he smashed the car window to pull Cyrus out, and handcuffed the owner to the car so that he could rush the animal to the hospital rather than waiting for the police to arrive. He later told reporters:

The story gets a bit murky after that—apparently, the dog owner's neighbors were so enraged by his actions that someone took a swing at him, and the cops arrived to find the dude handcuffed to a car with his face bleeding. Which, well, nobody likes getting sucker punched, but nobody likes it when people leave their dogs to die either.

Based on everything I've heard so far, it sounds like Smith should be given a medal rather than being suspended. You can read more about the story here, and you can click here for some more info about why you should absolutely never, under any circumstances or for any amount of time, leave your dog alone in a parked car. Also, here's a picture of some happy dogs cooling off in a paddling pool.

exs/Creative Commons

But I digress. The letter, versions of which were also sent by French singer Renaud, figure skating champion Surya Bonaly, Baywatch's Alexandra Paul, and British supermodel Twiggy Lawson, urges the French president to intervene against the French "Bureau de Vérification de la Publicité" decision to ban a video calling for an end to bullfighting. I've posted the banned video below. Take that, French censorship bureau!

This vegansexuals story just won’t die. I can’t believe all the play it’s getting, especially on the Internet. There was a film crew in the office the other day shooting for this local piece, and it really got me thinking about how, at least here at PETA HQ, the vegansexual thing just doesn’t play. If anything, it’s the exact opposite. I’ve even heard rumors from old timers that Ingrid once forbade intra-office dating, simply on the grounds that she wanted the staff out meeting new people to make vegan.

Take my old boss, for instance. She has a foolproof system for taking the average unsuspecting meat-eating sailor or merchant marine under her wing and turning him into a hardcore vegan animal rights activist within a month. No joke. She’ll show up with these dudes and you can just tell that they’re completely helpless under her vegan goddess natural foods tantric love spell. Of course, once she gets them good and indoctrinated, she cuts them loose and finds her next prey, and with Norfolk being a big Navy town, with new guys arriving in port all the time, there is always another “victim” in line. Sometimes I feel a little bad for them, especially the ones that roll up wearing dress blues in their fancy raised pick-ups and by the time they leave they’re well on their way to joining an organic commune or living in a van and playing hacky sack all day. OK, so maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit, but seriously, you can’t make this stuff up.

Anyway, enjoy the video. And fair warning to the meat-eating readers out there, most animal rights folks aren’t of the vegansexual persuasion, so that hot guy or gal you’re eyeing at the bar just may be on their own personal mission to turn the world vegan one person at a time . . . by any means necessary.

Sure, Steve Carell is funny and everything, but being British and all, I’ve always held a special place in my heart for the cast of the original version of The Office. I absolutely love it. So imagine my delight when I found out that PETA UK just released an ad with Lucy Davis, who starred in Britain’s The Office and stateside, Studio 60. Now imagine my delight to find out that it was a naked ad urging the Ministry of Defense to stop using bear skins for the traditional caps the Queen’s Guards wear. Double wow.

Here’s what Davis had to say about it, “So much money is spent, and so much cruelty is spent, on what at the end of the day is a hat—and that is it. Not only was I horrified to find that it was one bear to make one hat, but also it's not really just one bear—in a way it can be one whole family. … That whole family dies, and again, it's just for a hat." Well put, indeed.

You can join Lucy in pressuring the Ministry of Defense to switch to cruelty-free headgear by clicking here. And be sure to catch her in the much anticipated David Duchovny series Californication on Showtime.

I think I've talked before about how amazing PETA Germany is at coming up with stuff that's totally out of left field. They're literalists, when it comes to demonstrations, and the results are often indescribably compelling. Faced with the problem of how to convey to people just how gruesome the force-feeding of ducks for foie gras is, the Germans simply brushed aside all objections and created the world's first-ever Force-Feeding Demo. Great work, PETA G. You guys rule.

With all the vegansexual talk lately, I thought it was a good time to bring back our “Pizza Boy” Super Bowl ad from a couple of years ago.

Enjoy . . .

That's right. Every year PETA's crack team of baseball and veggie hot dog experts scours the nation's baseball stadiums to rank the ten best according to an incredibly complex algorithm that takes into account such factors as deliciousness of the veggie dogs, crunchiness of the salads, and variety of the selection. The Philadelphia Phillies grabbed the number one spot this year on the strength of their Philly mock steak sandwich—and you can click the banner below to find out whether your city's stadium made it into the top ten. We also ranked the minor leaguers this year, which you can check out here.

As an Orioles fan, I was pleased to see that Camden Yards got an honorable mention. Enjoy it while you can, fellow O's enthusiasts—it's probably the only thing we'll win at all this year.

Since the latest outbreak of foot and mouth disease is such a hot topic of conversation in the UK right now, PETA Europe held this fantastic demonstration in London yesterday pointing out all of the deadly diseases caused by factory farming, and less than subtly pointed out the easiest fix for all of them: going vegetarian. Great job guys!

Ick Magazine/Creative Commons

Bartiromo is quoted as saying “Chic, sexy clothes are the real me . . . The coat is spectacular; the fur cuffs give it just the right amount of glamour.” But when Page 6 asked about it, her rep insisted that despite the More article, the newswoman doesn't approve of fur, doesn't own any, and that wearing the coat for the shoot was a "mistake." Yes it was.

We’re getting in touch to clarify Bartiromo’s position, and I’ll let you know what we find out.

The other day, my pal Michael had a work assignment I’d have killed for. He went to a photo shoot with the one and only Jenna Jameson. Um, wow . . . Apparently, Jenna saw Earthlings a year or so ago and it changed her life, and we’re certainly glad to have her on board.

Unfortunately, the shots that are going to be in upcoming ads are being kept on the super down low for now, but check out this sneak peek of Jenna looking super hot in our Kentucky Fried Cruelty T-shirt that I was able to get my hands on.

Of course, Jenna isn’t the first hottie to speak out against KFC’s cruelty to chicks. If you haven’t seen Pamela Anderson’s anti-KFC video, you can click here to check that out.

Andy Hurley and Gabe Saporta are in a couple of bands called Fall Out Boy and Cobra Starship that have enjoyed a degree of success. Like, the #1 on the Billboard charts kind of success—which is why it was very kind of them indeed to remember their old friends (those hopelessly trendy Rebels With a Cause over at peta2) and do this interview about what got them into animal rights. This is the first in a series in which Gabe and Andy discuss animal issues with each other, and I can't wait for the next ones to come out. These guys are both articulate, thoughtful spokesmen for animal rights, and it's awesome to see them take time to reach out to their millions of fans about veganism.

Seriously. If you have a store that could use a kickass elephant display for a few months, tell us where, why, and perhaps we can deliver it to you. It stands about 5½ feet tall when on its base, and about 3 feet wide. Ella weighs 150 lbs and the base an additional 700 pounds. A permit may be needed. She's leaving NY and looking for a home since the circus took away her mom. You can read more about Ella’s story here.

There is an end in sight, and while this isn't going to stop us from doing everything in our power to end all abuses of cows right now, the announcement this week by the American Veal Association that they will phase out veal crates by 2017 is a major landmark for the animal protection movement and proof that decades of pressure on the industry to end its cruel practices has paid off.

Veal, which rates a full 10 out of 10 on the WTF? scale, is made by chaining calves by their necks inside solitary crates for up to 23 weeks. The AVA's decision to finally abandon this torture means an end in sight for what will one day be regarded as among the most vile practices in human history.

This announcement marks the latest in a series of victories for the animal protection movement in its long struggle to eliminate the solitary, intensive confinement of farmed animals. Earlier this year, three of the world's largest pig meat producers—Smithfield Foods, Maple Leaf Foods, and Cargill Meat Solutions—took steps to phase out gestation crates for pigs, and recently, following years of discussions with PETA, Burger King made a commitment to buy 20 percent of its pig meat from suppliers that do not use gestation crates and 5 percent of its eggs from sources that do not confine chickens to battery cages. Shortly afterwards, Wendy's followed suit, pledging to purchase 20 percent crate-free pork by the end of 2008 and increase that percentage over time.

This is an important step forward, and, put together with these other victories for animals, it's clearly part of a trend. As Ingrid Newkirk puts it, "While the best way to prevent cruelty to animals is to simply stop eating them, any progress made toward mitigating their suffering is commendable."

Griedel/Creative Commons

The piece is incredibly interesting, especially when you consider Gellman’s perspective. Gellman, a Rabbi, uses moving vignettes from his grandfather (a zookeeper) throughout his article, which is one of the most thoughtful pieces I’ve read in ages on the issue of animals in captivity. Here’s just one interesting bit:

Amazing . . .

You can check out the full piece here.