Written by Michelle Kretzer
Today is a monumental day. Starting today, any cosmetics product or ingredient that is tested on animals anywhere in the world cannot be sold in the European Union. So every one of the 500 million EU consumers will be purchasing only cruelty-free cosmetics.
The European Parliament had already banned cosmetics companies from tormenting animals in cruel tests on EU soil. But now that the deadline for the last step of this historic phased-in ban on animal testing has arrived, companies eyeing the lucrative EU market will have to abandon all animal tests anywhere in the world for both their finished products and their ingredients. The ban has already led many companies to invest in advanced non-animal testing methods, sparing countless rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, rats, and other animals from having chemicals dumped into their eyes, poured down their throats, and ground into their skin.
The EU ban reflects the public's conviction that cosmetics should not be valued over animals' lives. People on this side of the pond can let our voices be heard, too—by purchasing only cruelty-free products. Please order PETA's free Beauty Without Bunnies Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide today, and PETA's online database of companies that don't test on animals—anywhere in the world—makes it as easy as point, click, and save lives.
Written by PETA
The following was written by Joel Bartlett.
StarCraft players gearing up for the launch of StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm will be getting a new perspective on the game's arthropodal extraterrestrials, the Zerg.
PETA—or, as we are renaming ourselves in honor of the expansion pack's launch, "Terrans for the Ethical Treatment of Zerglings"—will attend tonight's launch event in Irvine, California, and distribute copies of our new "Zerglings Have Feelings, Too" leaflets as a reminder that gamers and nongamers alike should have compassion for all beings—even those who are very different from us.
Heart for the Swarm
We always root for the underdogs (and undermice and underpigeons, etc.) at PETA. And when playing StarCraft, I had noticed how the Zerg were treated more like animals than like other people. I couldn't help but wonder if there would be an analog to PETA in the world of StarCraft. Tonight, my dream will come true.
People often wonder what PETA has against video games, especially after playing our Pokémon: Black and Blue or Super Tanooki Skin 2D parody games, which have each gotten millions of people to think about PETA's issues and, together, have led to more than 750,000 people watching PETA's hard-hitting videos. The truth is that as a gamer and a PETA staffer, I get excited about combining my passions.
So remember, while Zerglings are not real, there are many equally "strange" and exotic animals we share this planet with who deserve our empathy. Just because crocodiles and snakes look alien to us, that doesn't make it OK to skin them alive for a handbag, shoes, or a belt.
And if we had to share our world with the Zerg in reality, I'd like to think that we'd make an effort to understand and respect them rather than sending out the battlecruisers—because the alternative to having empathy for other beings is about as grim as it gets, whether you're a Terran, a Zerg, or a Protoss. OK, whoa, that got kind of serious there. What I am saying is look at the cute Zergling! How could anyone ever want to hurt a Zergling?
If all this talk of "Zerg rights" has you thinking, I recommend that you check out Animal Liberation, the groundbreaking book by Peter Singer, which is credited with kick-starting the modern animal rights movement. What does "animal liberation" even mean? See PETA's summary of the book here to find out.
International Women's Day, March 8, is a day for women to celebrate the many victories that we have achieved in our fight for equality, to honor all the gutsy gals who made it happen, and to collaborate to make the future bright for girls.
PETA has been proud to work with many powerful women of every age, race, and sexual orientation to help animals. The following brazen beauties used their most valuable asset—their minds—to speak up for the oppressed because, as Dr. Jane Goodall so eloquently put it, "If we do not do something to help these creatures, we make a mockery of the whole concept of justice":
1. Variety magazine honored Lea Michele at its annual Power of Women celebration for her work with PETA.
2. Joan Jett is a feminist icon—and she rocks for animals, too.
3. Not only does Taraji P. Henson have an angelic face, she also is an angel for our sisters in the animal kingdom, too.
4. Marlen Esparza is tough on her opponents and tough on cruelty.
5. Of course, women excel in science—and as Torrey DeVitto points out, they can do it humanely, too.
6. The list of PETA Honorary Director Pamela Anderson's brave acts for animals is endless. She proves that women can have beauty, brains, and brawn.
7. The fierce Kate del Castillo uses her powerful persona to help the defenseless.
8. WNBA star Candace Parker won't let male ballers soak up all the glory—and she won't let people glorify fur, either.
9. Ending cruelty and sexism? Jorja Fox is on the case.
10. Wendy Williams knows that women don't have to fit a cookie-cutter image to be a true beauty.
Girl power!
Written by Alisa Mullins
Some might consider Rachel Alexandra lucky. In 2009, she became the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness Stakes. The next year, she was retired from the dangers of the track and training to live as a broodmare—a female horse used for breeding—on a farm in Kentucky. But motherhood isn't coming easily to her. After the birth of her first foal, Jess's Dream, last year, Rachel Alexandra experienced pain so severe that she had to be hospitalized. The birth of her second foal last month was even more hazardous: She sustained life-threatening injuries and had to have emergency surgery to remove parts of her large intestines, and she just had another surgery this week to treat an abscess. That is why PETA has written to Rachel Alexandra's owner, Barbara Banke, urging her to retire the mare from breeding before pregnancy or foaling kills her.
L.Burchfield | cc by 2.0
Many prize-winning horses—including Lady's Secret, Meadow Star, Typhoon Tracy, and Urban Sea—have died after giving birth. Rachel Alexandra's own mother, Lotta Kim, has a history of foaling complications: One of her foals was born prematurely and died, and another died at just 2 years of age because of wobbler syndrome. Lotta Kim rejected Rachel Alexandra, who then had to be raised by a nurse mare. Nurse mares, who are used to produce milk for orphaned foals and those whose mothers are being rebred, are routinely forced into a cycle of serial breeding, only to have their own babies torn away from them.
Tens of thousands of thoroughbreds are bred each year, often in assembly-line conditions like those documented by a PETA undercover investigator. Only a fraction of the 25,000 thoroughbred foals born every year will be winners, resulting in a "surplus" of about 20,000 unwanted thoroughbreds annually. Many of these horses, which can even include former Triple Crown race champions like Rachel Alexandra—and their offspring—are sold at auction and wind up in the hands of "kill buyers" who ship them to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico.
Surely, after earning more than $3 million for her owners, Rachel Alexandra has earned the right to a peaceful, leisurely retirement that is free of repeated pregnancies and dangerous foalings.
When rumors began swirling that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt intended to have live elephants as part of their wedding celebration, PETA wasn't buying it—after all, the couple had donated $2 million to an African wildlife sanctuary. A rep confirmed to us that Angelina and Brad have no intention of showcasing captive wild animals at their celebration and encouraged PETA to dispel the nasty rumor.
© StarMaxInc.com
The wildlife advocates at The Body Shop have a lovely new lady on their side. Leona Lewis is bringing her spirit to the company as its new brand activist. The cruelty-free company and the cruelty-free beauty will make one harmonious pair.
Looking at blue-eyed babe Jared Leto as he rocks the stage with 30 Seconds to Mars, it’s hard to believe that he’s 41! He credits his vegan diet and plenty of sleep for still looking like he did in his Urban Legend days.
It doesn't seem like 19 years since Tia Mowry burst onto the scene in Sister, Sister, either. Now that she's vegan, maybe she'll pull another sister act and get her twin, Tamera, on the bandwagon, too.
That wagon might fill up quickly, especially following the debut of Bill Maher's riotous take on the horse-meat scandal. The comedian threw in a scathing review of the meat industry for good measure.
Woody Harrelson got nothing but great reviews for his role in The Hunger Games, and while Catching Fire won't be out until the fall, Woody's already getting two thumbs up from animal advocates for requesting all-vegan clothes and accessories for the film.
And loads more PETA-loving peeps were on fire for animals this week, too:
To keep up with what all your favorite stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter.
Written by Jeff Mackey
Since PETA began campaigning to expose companies that conduct agonizing and deadly tests on animals, consumers have firmly supported cruelty-free businesses like those on PETA's list of companies that don't test on animals. Realizing this, some unscrupulous companies are concealing the whole truth from consumers about their animal testing policies, but you shouldn't buy their propaganda—or their products.
Recently, for instance, Shiseido announced that it would mostly stop testing on animals. While eliminating animal tests is welcome, the company added that it would continue to test ingredients on animals "where it is required by law." So money spent on Shiseido products will continue to fund cruel testing on animals in countries such as China, where animal testing is still required by the government (although PETA's working to change that, too)—meaning that the company has not eliminated animal testing entirely.
Mary Kay is another corporation that seems to be playing word games with its customers, claiming that it doesn't "conduct" animal testing. Yet while Mary Kay might not perform the tests itself, the company does pay the Chinese government to test its products on animals.
PETA has also repeatedly contacted a number of other companies that refuse to reveal their animal testing policies. These companies—which should not be considered cruelty-free until they make a clear statement on animal testing—include the following:
What You Can Do
By refusing to support companies that test on animals, we leverage our collective buying power to send a distinct message that testing on animals for cosmetics is unacceptable. To make sure that you're shopping truly cruelty-free, please check the online listing of companies that do and that don't test on animals or order your free copy of PETA's first-ever global cruelty-free shopping guide!
PETA pal Stella McCartney never kills animals for her designs, but she certainly killed it at Paris Fashion Week with her cruelty-free collection. The star-studded front row raved about her fur- and leather-free autumn/winter 2013 ready-to-wear collection. An impressed Bono astutely observed to PETA Veep Dan Mathews, "Stella is PETA's number one ally in the fashion world." Jessica Alba said, "Her clothes are just as elegant as any line that uses animals." And Stella's proud pop, Paul McCartney, noted, "I thought it was beautiful. Very clean, very strong."
Stella's comfortable yet stylish designs are universally appealing to everyone from A-listers to young professionals like me, who make a beeline for the Stella rack at Last Call Neiman Marcus. They're comfortable pieces, yes, but there's also comfort in knowing that no animals died for my fashion statement. And there's comfort in knowing that my money is going to a design house that will continue blazing the path into a brave new fashion world where creativity reaches compassionate new heights.
Update: Amy's has generously agreed to donate another 1,000 cans of lentil soup, which PETA is sending to the soup kitchens of St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church in St. Louis, Missouri, and Samaritan House in Denver, Colorado, along with information on how Christians can honor Christ's message of love by choosing cruelty-free food.
The following was originally published on February 19, 2013:
PETA is celebrating the Lenten season with appropriately named legumes: lentils!
We've selected two faith-based soup kitchens to which we will give 500 cans of lentil soup apiece, generously donated by Amy's: Boston's Haley House and Newark's Saint John's Soup Kitchen. We're hoping to encourage the congregations that operate the soup kitchens to use this season of spiritual renewal to think about Scriptures that instruct us to show compassion to all of God's creation, including animals—verses such as "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (Luke 6:36), "They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain" (Isaiah 11:9), and "A new command I give you: Love one another" (John 13:34).
The prolonged and painful deaths that animals face in slaughterhouses couldn't be further from what God would deem loving or merciful. For Lent, those of us who are fortunate enough to choose our meals three times a day should pick healthy vegan foods and prevent God's creation from suffering.
To learn more, visit JesusVeg.com. And perhaps you would like to reach out to Christians at Lent with an offering of soup?
Update: Bob Barker has also written to Indiana legislators urging them to vote no on S.B. 373. The measure already has a strong Democratic opponent in Sen. Mark Stoops, so Barker, a lifelong Republican, hopes to unite lawmakers on both sides of the aisle against this unconstitutional bill.
The following was originally published on March 4, 2013:
Indiana's proposed "ag gag" bill made it through the Senate and has landed in the House. But multiplatinum musician Tony Kanal is calling on the state, where he spent time as a child, to do the right thing and squash this very wrong bill. Indiana Sen. Mark Stoops is joining Tony in speaking out against the bill, having likened it to his trip to Communist-era Romania, in which he was prohibited from taking photos. Says Sen. Stoops, "This is an attack on our 1st Amendment rights and another example of Big Government protecting industry at the expense of the public's welfare."
Like other "ag gag" bills, Indiana's version, Senate Bill (S.B.) 373, would make it illegal for people to film on factory farms. S.B. 373 would allow whistleblowers some protection if they handed over their video to authorities within 48 hours of capturing it. But this is a thinly veiled attempt to garner more support for the bill.
As PETA has witnessed time and again in our undercover investigations, it is crucial that investigators be able to prove that the abuse they documented was pervasive and systematic, rather than an isolated incident, in order to get the abusers convicted. In both our West Virginia Aviagen turkeys and Iowa Hormel supplier pig factory farm cases, investigators reported abuse to their supervisors, who failed to stop the abuse and, in some cases, took part in it themselves. Only with extensive video evidence was PETA able to get the abusers charged and convicted (and the abuse stopped), a point that Tony made in his letter to Speaker of the House Brian Bosma.
If you live in Indiana, please urge your representative to vote "No" on S.B. 373.
Because if factory farms have nothing to hide, why are they pushing so hard to make videotaping illegal?
The little dachshund was allowed to roam, and that's what he was doing when he probably got attacked by another dog, sustaining an eye injury that became painfully abscessed and swollen. Untreated, Slim's infected eye bulged grotesquely out of its socket.
When PETA learned about Slim, we pressured local animal control officials to compel the owner to get veterinary care for the suffering dog. The owner made a vet appointment, but the cost of the recommended surgery was beyond his means. When animal control told the owner that his only two options were to get Slim the surgery that he desperately needed or to surrender him to people who would, the owner relinquished him.
Within 72 hours, Slim had the surgery. Now, he is on the mend in a foster home, and as he awaits adoption, he is finally receiving the loving care and attention that every dog deserves.
It could almost be a story out of The Onion, but it's completely true. Shoemaker PMK designed a pair of sneakers for Beyoncé, called "King Beys," made of calf hair and crocodile, anaconda, stingray, and ostrich skins. The company started marketing the shoes on its website, and, incredibly, told consumers that "[n]o animals were beaten, harmed, or killed" for the shoes. I think the five different species of animals who were most certainly beaten, harmed, and killed for the shoes would beg to differ.
In response, PETA's legal counsel has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Andre Scott, the CEO of PMK, demanding that the company immediately stop issuing false and misleading statements to customers or face legal action.
If Scott and other executives are in doubt, PETA invited them to watch our video exposé "Cold-Blooded Horrors," narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, which shows how many of the exotic animals they used are beaten, stabbed, and flayed alive.
PMK isn't exactly known for being a by-the-book company. On January 23, Ohio's attorney general filed a lawsuit against it and Scott for violating customer protection laws. The suit alleges that consumers paid for but did not receive products nor did they receive refunds from the company. PMK also received an "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau.
We're giving PMK an "F," too—for "false," "fraudulent," and "facing a lawsuit."
It's fitting that a man who sold dogs to laboratories may end up behind bars himself. A federal court sentenced Floyd Martin to a year in prison after he and his wife, Susan, illegally purchased hundreds of dogs and sold them to laboratories. Susan Martin was convicted of conspiracy and received probation. The couple was fined $300,000. They had pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars from selling dogs to be tormented and, in all likelihood, killed.
And the dogs weren't tormented only when they got to the laboratories. A U.S. Department of Agriculture investigation of the Martins' dingy facility, Chestnut Grove Kennel, resulted in citations for violations of animal welfare laws, such as housing incompatible dogs together, leaving dogs with injuries seemingly untreated, having dangerous enclosures, and more. PETA obtained these never-before-released pictures from inside the facility:
It's not illegal for animal dealers like the Martins to buy animals from "bunchers," people who pick animals up off the streets, steal them from backyards, or obtain them from animal shelters or "free to a good home" ads. But federal law limits the Martins and other "random source" dealers—like notorious R&R Research, which PETA exposed not long ago—to purchasing only 24 animals a year from each buncher in order to try to keep illegal acts to a minimum. The Martins purchased hundreds of dogs from just two individuals, then lied on documents to cover it up.
Because of such rampant illegal activity and abuse of animals, PETA and others have long campaigned for lawmakers to shut down random source dealers. And our efforts are paying off: The National Institutes of Health, which funds most experiments on animals in the U.S., won't allow the use of animals from Class B dealers after 2015. And last session, Congress introduced the Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2011, which would prohibit Class B dealers from selling animals to laboratories.
Update: Prompted by PETA's complaint about a child who was bitten by a dolphin at SeaWorld, the USDA conducted an investigation and cited the marine park for several violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including the use of expired surgical materials, some almost a decade old. "The use of expired medications and materials … is not an appropriate method to treat injuries, or to prevent, control, & diagnose diseases," the report noted. The USDA also documented that a dolphin tank and the areas surrounding the orca performance tank were in disrepair, including containing cracked and crumbling concrete and rusty beams that could pose a threat to the health and safety of both the animals and workers. The USDA pointed out that the unsafe conditions "might create a health risk if these pieces of concrete fall off into the pool and get ingested, or if they become abrasive" and that they "do not facilitate cleaning and disinfection."
Originally posted on December 3rd, 2012:
Following the release of video footage showing a dolphin biting the hand of a young girl at SeaWorld Orlando, PETA submitted a complaint to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requesting an investigation to determine whether the incident stemmed from Animal Welfare Act (AWA) violations.
The video shows 8-year-old Jillian Thomas feeding fish to the dolphin as part of the Dolphin Cove attraction at the park. When she raises up the paper carton used to hold the fish, the dolphin surges up to grab it, biting Jillian's hand in the process. The girl sustained puncture wounds to her hand, and the dolphin may have ingested the entire paper carton.
AWA regulations require that animal attractions have "sufficient distance and/or barriers between the animal and the general viewing public so as to assure the safety of animals and the public." PETA has also asked the USDA to ensure that if the dolphin did ingest the carton, the animal receive proper veterinary care, per AWA requirements.
A similar incident occurred in 2006, when a dolphin's mouth had to be pried open to free a 7-year-old boy's hand. It was the second time in three weeks that a child had been bitten at the attraction, but SeaWorld refused to change anything.
These episodes provide further reminders (as if more were needed) of how little SeaWorld is concerned with safety in its parks—except, of course, for the protection of its ticket sales. Not only has its unwillingness to take necessary precautions caused children to be harmed, it's also resulted in severe injuries and even the deaths of its trainer and the animals it holds captive.
Even if SeaWorld implemented every safety procedure possible, though, life in captivity would still be miserable for the dolphins, orcas, and other animals imprisoned in its parks. Deprived of their families, social lives, and freedom of movement, these smart, sensitive beings grow increasingly frustrated, contributing to the risk for sudden, violent behavior.
Unlike SeaWorld, young Jillian is showing compassion—according to an Associated Press article, she prayed for the dolphin who bit her and hopes the animal "didn't get sick from eating the paper carton."
Teach kids to be kind: Please don't ever take your family to SeaWorld or any other attraction that holds animals captive in cages or tanks.
Update 2: Thanks for your calls and e-mails in Nosey's behalf. We have learned that Nosey is no longer appearing with UniverSoul Circus. PETA will, of course, continue to monitor her situation, and we'll post updates here. Please learn more about ways to help animals used for entertainment.
Update: As UniverSoul Circus prepares to force Nosey to perform next week in Tallahassee, Florida, actor Cheryl Hines has written an urgent letter to the manager of the North Florida Fairgrounds imploring him to cancel the ailing elephant's appearances. Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons has also added his voice in a plea to stop UniverSoul Circus from allowing Nosey to perform. Local activists have also planned to demonstrate at the fairgrounds in Nosey's behalf.
Originally posted on February 20th, 2013:
Can you help us help Nosey, an ailing elephant exhibited by Hugo Liebel? Recent photographs of her led an elephant expert to conclude that her health is worsening, and PETA is calling on local law enforcement and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to confiscate Nosey, who will soon be forced to perform with UniverSoul Circus.
The photos were taken during a recent Liebel Family Circus show in Davenport, Florida. (PETA had urged Davenport officials to cancel the show, but they failed to act to protect Nosey.) Upon review, a veterinarian with decades of experience treating and caring for elephants determined that Nosey's painful skin condition continues to deteriorate and that she is suffering as a result.
In addition to these welfare concerns, records just obtained by PETA reveal that Nosey tested positive on a StatPak test for tuberculosis (TB) antibodies in January 2012. A positive test can be an early indicator of TB infection, which is highly transmissible between elephants and humans. Indeed, direct contact with a TB-positive elephant is not necessary for transmission of the disease. This is particularly worrisome given Liebel's record of unlawful unsupervised and dangerous contact between Nosey and the public.
Liebel has been abusing and neglecting Nosey for years. PETA has been filing complaints against the circus with the USDA for nearly a decade—more than a dozen of them since 2009. In March, Liebel is set to face almost three dozen formal charges for violations of the Animal Welfare Act—most of them relating to Nosey, including repeatedly chaining her so tightly that she could barely move and repeatedly denying her veterinary care.
Upon learning through a public records request that UniverSoul Circus planned to use Nosey in its Florida shows, PETA implored UniverSoul CEO Cedric Walker to spare the suffering elephant but has received no response, so the group is stepping up its campaign to get Nosey the help that she so desperately requires.
Update: Thanks to all of you who responded to PETA's action alert, New Hampshire House Bill (H.B.) 110 has stalled in committee, meaning that investigators can continue to uncover cruelty on factory farms in the state. H.B. 110 is likely to come up again this fall, so please keep checking back here to learn how you can help PETA continue to defeat this and other attempts to shield abusers from exposure!
Originally posted on January 31st, 2013:
How badly do corporate animal abusers want to keep the public from knowing what happens on factory farms and in slaughterhouses? Bad enough to enlist accomplices in government to try to stop any efforts to document their cruelty. But after a New Hampshire state legislator reportedly made a false allegation about PETA in support of his bill to block undercover investigations, we're more determined than ever to make sure that animal suffering can be documented and the abusers are held accountable.
PETA has written Rep. Robert Haefner, the sponsor of House Bill (H.B.) 110, New Hampshire's "ag gag" bill (which would require evidence of abuse to be turned over to authorities in 24 hours, shutting down long-term undercover investigations), asking him to retract a false statement that he reportedly made about our Aviagen Turkeys, Inc., investigation. PETA turned over evidence of animal abuse from its investigation of Aviagen's West Virginia turkey factory farms two business days after the end of the investigation—not 13 months, as Haefner allegedly claimed at a public hearing on the bill last week. Within three months of receiving the video footage, grand jurors issued the first-ever felony indictments for cruelty to turkeys on factory farms. All three former Aviagen workers were later convicted. At the hearing, Haefner used this false claim to justify to New Hampshire citizens his proposed bill to stop long-term undercover investigations on factory farms, according to witnesses.
Investigations conducted by PETA and other organizations on factory farms have been instrumental in opening people's eyes to the cruelty inherent in intensive animal agriculture and have led to successful prosecutions of the perpetrators, but Haefner's bill would make it practically impossible for whistleblowers and undercover investigators to secure sufficient evidence to show a pattern of cruelty, as preferred by police and prosecutors.
We're delighted to announce a crucial victory in PETA's AirCruelty campaign. This morning, China Eastern Airlines informed PETA that as of March 1, 2013, it will no longer ship primates to laboratories to be used in experiments!
This ends the export of monkeys from China for use in laboratories! Prior to this exciting development, the majority of primates imported into the United States for experimental use were from China—in 2012, more than 10,000 primates destined for U.S. laboratories came from China. After both China Southern and Air China stopped primate shipments for experiments following pressure from PETA, China Eastern was left as the sole transporter of monkeys from that country to laboratories. Its compassionate new policy means that animal experimenters are left without a single airline to transport primates from China and PETA has now been successful in shutting down this market.
In recent months, PETA had stepped up pressure on China Eastern by encouraging our members and supporters to contact the airline via phone and e-mail. More than 100,000 of you took action. (Thank you!) Local activists with Empty Cages Los Angeles and other groups also helped increase pressure recently by conducting protests at China Eastern offices around the world.
This is an important advance in keeping primates away from experimenters, but PETA won't rest until these smart and sensitive animals are safe once and for all—and we hope you're in it for the long haul, too! Please urge the last three remaining holdouts to follow China Eastern's example and adopt a formal policy prohibiting the transport of primates destined for laboratories.
Pro athletes don't do anything halfway. So studly New York Jets safety Bret Lockett wasn't content simply to pose with a strategically placed faux-leather football for his PETA anti-fur campaign. Instead, he decided to play spread offense and turn his ad unveiling into a whole weekend. First, he helped PETA dedicate our Norfolk, Virginia, headquarters to longtime supporter and Hollywood heavyweight Sam Simon.
Later that evening, Bret hosted an unveiling party at Hampton Roads hotspot the Granby Theater, greeted fans, and talked about why fur should be sidelined. "What really hurt me was when I saw that an animal was still able to move and lift [his] head up after he was completely skinned," he said. "It brought tears to my eyes."
© Charles Long Photography/PETA
And the next night, he went with the PETA gang to laugh aloud as Bill Maher made fun of hunters and other animal abusers in his stand-up performance. All weekend, wherever he went, Bret dined on vegan food, sported PETA T-shirts, and enthusiastically discussed animal rights issues with fans who approached him.
It's easy to see why No. 26 is No. 1 for animals.
PETA's Norfolk, Virginia, headquarters has a new moniker—the Sam Simon Center—in honor of entertainment giant Sam Simon, the multiple Emmy Award–winning co-creator of The Simpsons and the writing genius behind hit shows like Taxi, Barney Miller, Cheers, The Tracey Ullman Show, The Drew Carey Show, and Charlie Sheen's new FX series, Anger Management. Accompanied by a Dixieland jazz band, Simon arrived by boat to cut the ribbon at a dedication ceremony today, which was also attended by New York Jets safety Bret Lockett and other luminaries, including the glamorous Jennifer Tilly, TV host and producer Mark Thompson, and World Series of Poker champion Phil Laak.
Simon, who serves on PETA's Executive Committee, has been a vegetarian since he was 19 and a vegan since joining PETA years later. He is known for his work with The Sam Simon Foundation, which rescues dogs from shelters and trains them to help soldiers who return from war with physical and mental trauma. He attacks animal homelessness at its roots by sponsoring spay and neuter surgeries in low-income areas of Los Angeles. He also helped PETA launch our newest mobile spay-and-neuter clinic and hosts annual PETA fundraisers at his home in L.A.
Perhaps because he works in the entertainment industry, the plight of animals in entertainment is especially close to Simon's heart. He is an outspoken opponent of cruelty in circuses, roadside zoos, and marine parks, and he recently attended a PETA news conference with Bob Barker to call attention to the plight of animals on TV and movie sets. "[I]f you can't afford the CGI [computer-generated imagery], either do a rewrite," he said, "or do a cartoon show like I did."
Simon once donated his fee for an episode of The Drew Carey Show to PETA because the plot involved greyhound racing, and he felt that he could not in good conscience keep the money. As if he's not busy enough, Simon also hosts a weekly Friday Internet radio show on Radioio.com in which he always keeps animal issues in the spotlight.
"Sam Simon may be a big Hollywood figure, but it's his big heart that makes him a PETA soulmate," said PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk.
How tweet it is: Ricky Martin announced to fans over Twitter that he's gone vegetarian! To help the singer get his bon-bon in top form, PETA sent him a vegetarian/vegan starter kit, copies of "Glass Walls" in both English and Spanish, and a cookbook of vegan recipes for Latin food lovers, Viva Vegan.
A little birdie also told us that many other celebrities were tweeting for animals this week as well:
Maybe Ricky will start his twin sons out on the healthy veggie path, too? Emily Deschanel is doing just that with her little one, Henry: She told Mother Nature Network, "We are raising Henry vegetarian; he will be mostly vegan and always have a choice in the matter, but we will educate him about why we make the choices we do with our food."
And vegan racecar driver Leilani Münter is putting her cause célèbre on the fast track. After the success of her Cove–themed racecar last season, this year Leilani is aiming to burn rubber in a vegan-themed car that will expose 80 million NASCAR fans to the benefits of plant-based foods.
After we're done cheering for Leilani, we'll be switching the channel over to this season of Dancing With the Stars to root for our buds Andy Dick and Kellie Pickler.
And when the cameras were pointed at Russell Simmons during New York Fashion Week, they may have gotten more than they bargained for. One of animals' greatest defenders, Simmons took the opportunity to express his feelings about fur:
I did see something that hurt my heart and it has nothing to do with Max [Azria] only, it has to do with the whole industry: the use of so much fur. And my first instinct was it must be fake—because it hurt my heart. … I just wish that all the designers would reconsider because there's such great Italian fake fur, there's such great Japanese fake fur, so much beautiful fake fur.
To keep up with what Russell and all your favorite stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter.
Whether the new month is coming in like a lion or a lamb, March 1 is National Pig Day, which, according to its cofounder, has been set aside "to accord the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place" as a smart and social animal. George Clooney and his dear departed companion pig would agree.
And while there are plenty of great ways to celebrate our curly-tailed pals, none of them involves eating pork. Pigs raised and killed for meat spend their entire lives in cramped, filthy warehouses under the constant stress of intense confinement and are denied everything that is natural and important to them before being violently slaughtered.
Now, some folks would like you to believe that you can have your (nonfakin') bacon and a clear conscience, too—but that's a bigger load of, um, manure than even a factory farm generates. Long story short: There is no such thing as "humane meat."
But here's PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk to explain that (and read a cute poem):
The good news is that March is also the month for the annual observance of Meatout, so there's no better time than right now to kick the cruelty habit in favor of healthy and humane vegan foods—and PETA can help you get started!
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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