As lawyers go, Ringling Bros. has some pretty fancy, expensive ones, but despite their best efforts last week, they couldn’t keep the circus from being dragged into the courtroom once again, this time on charges of (surprise, surprise) elephant abuse. Judge Emmet Sullivan announced Thursday that a last ditch attempt by Ringling’s attorneys to hold … Read more »
About seven years ago, PetSmart CEO Phillip Francis made a commitment not to sell rabbits in PetSmart stores because of the high numbers of bunnies who are dumped in shelters after the novelty of an impulse purchase wears off. “Our brand name stands for ethics, quality, health and good care for animals and we’re always … Read more »
In the wake of last week’s news about Spain banning bullfights from national TV comes this story from The Guardian about a man being gored to death while participating in a bull run. 30-year-old Jose Antonio Vaquero was tossed around on a bull’s horns while other runners tried to distract the animal, but apparently it … Read more »
At a weekend religious youth rally in Italy, Pope Benedict XVI told the more than 500,000 attendees that young Catholics should take the lead in the fight to save the earth. Check out what he said, “Before it’s too late, we need to make courageous choices that will recreate a strong alliance between man and … Read more »
For readers who may be unfamiliar with the British vernacular, a “21 bum salute” is a charming, classically understated English way of saying “Hey chaps, we respectfully disagree with your actions. Any chance you might reconsider?” By way of an example, here’s a pic from PETA UK’s recent protest against the Queen’s Guards’ use of … Read more »
Click here for an update CityUniversity/Creative Commons Whoopi Goldberg certainly didn’t shy away from controversy on her first appearance on The View—she came right out and offered the following defense of Michael Vick: “He’s from the South, from the Deep South … This is part of his cultural upbringing” I have no idea where she … Read more »
The sudden loss of Dame Anita Roddick, who pioneered the sale of cruelty-free beauty products in her Body Shop stores in the ’70s—declaring in letters a foot high, ‘against animal tests’—has left us a bit shaken at the PETA offices today. From the opening of her first Body Shop store in Brighton in 1974 to … Read more »
About/Creative Commons Last week, following a technical glitch on one of their planes, the folks at Nepal Airlines went ahead and sacrificed two goats on the runway to the god of sky protection in an utterly mind-boggling attempt at crisis management. I have a couple of thoughts about this from an animal rights perspective: Firstly, … Read more »
WildAboutTheWorld/Creative Commons The famous African Grey Parrot named Alex died late last week at Brandeis University outside of Boston. Alex knew English well enough to identify over 50 different objects, seven colors and numerous shapes by name. He could also count and was able to express desires, including, get this, his frustration with the repetitive … Read more »
Talking about the cosmetics company here. e.l.f. Stands for “Eyes, Lips, Face,” and these guys are pretty rad. In addition to selling 100 percent cruelty-free cosmetics, e.l.f. have teamed up with PETA for a promotion to help draw attention to our fur campaign. They made these handy little tweezers with a faux-leather case so that … Read more »
nytimes/Creative Commons After years of urging from PETA, the Alaska Zoo just announced that they will be sending Maggie, a 27-year-old African elephant, to the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary in California! Maggie was captured in Zimbabwe in 1981 during a cull, and likely watched as her entire family was slaughtered. She has lived at … Read more »
PETA India activists just held a protest outside Hotel Tunga Paradise, in a suburb of Mumbai, where a crab eating festival was taking place. My pal Nikunj told me that people were actually quite receptive, most never having thought of crabs as individuals who are capable of feeling pain when their legs are torn from … Read more »
Sometimes photos just speak for themselves, so I’m going to let this one do just that. Okay, just a few words first: Kudos to everyone at PETA Asia Pacific for putting together this demonstration at the Manila Zoo, in the Philippines. It really says it all about zoos in just a few words, don’t you … Read more »
For years, singer-songwriter Melissa Ferrick has worn her emotions on her sleeve, and used her music to draw attention to issues that are important to her. Well, now she’s speaking up for the millions of homeless animals euthanized in shelters each year in this stunning new ad promoting responsible animal guardianship. The shot may look … Read more »
Since we began preparations to launch our new initiative to fight animal overpopulation a little while ago, I’ve learned an awful lot about animal breeders—who positively swarmed to my recent entry about shelter animals in order to leave lengthy comments trying to dissuade readers from adopting. These folks came from online forums with descriptions like … Read more »
