Written by PETA
It's a hazy day here on the Right Coast. As I watch leaves fall and steam rise from my soy mocha, the mood is set for a lazy (yet highly skilled) meander through gossip rags for fun stuff. Here are my faves:
Thanks for stopping by! Catch you next time, and don't forget to hug all your vegetarian friends.
Written by Missy Lane
Sam Neill, star of that "oldie but goodie," er …
(pause)
… Shoot, what was that one?
… Oh, yeah, Jurassic Park! Anyway, Sam Neill's fossilizing career now has him plugging the consumption of artery-clogging meat from abused cows, pigs, and other animals in commercials for Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA).
In the ads, MLA has Mr. Neill suggesting that eating meat will make a person smarter (hardly) and more energetic (not so). And as if that weren't offensive enough, Sam's co-star in the two spots is an orangutan named Dennis.
Jason Baker, director of PETA Asia-Pacific, wasted no time—or words—in his letter to Mr. Neill:
"Seeing you pimp for an industry that is linked to the main killers of human beings as well as of animals is, well, sad."
Jason continues:
"Some of the most accomplished and brilliant thinkers in history were vegetarian—including Einstein, Leonardo de Vinci, Plato, Pythagoras, Mahatma Gandhi and Isaac Newton. Studies published in the British Medical Journal have shown that people with a higher IQ are more likely to go vegetarian—yes, it really is the smart choice."
It's a no-brainer. A vegetarian diet is better for your brain, animals, and environment. Hopefully, Mr. Neill will realize this and get out of the meat-promoting business before his career reaches full-blown extinction.
Written by Karin Bennett
Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on this Win It Wednesday. The winner of the Bella Dog Bed is Jeanette Rampersad. Congratulations!
Years ago, I used to bring my dog, Lulu, to work with me at the PETA office. Lulu was content to snore the afternoons away, burrowed deep in a box of recycled paper. She was comfy in her eco-friendly dog bed, but I thought it was a bit undignified. She was, after all, sleeping in a waste bin.
If Lulu were around today, I'm sure she'd be ecstatic to learn that today's canine siestas can be comfortable and eco-chic, thanks to the Bella Dog Bed, which is made from recycled plastic soft drink bottles. The folks at Modern Eco Homes, an online emporium that sources all its eco-friendly products from the Internet's most innovative green merchants, were able to contribute one Bella Dog Bed for us to give away. And if you want it, you got it—if you leave a comment with the most appropriate caption for the photo below:
The contest ends on July 29, 2009, and we'll choose one comment as the winner on July 31, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!
Last night, I was glued to the television for the Home Run Derby. I had to be there to support my boy, Prince Fielder, who was competing against some heavy hitters—including 2006 derby champ Ryan Howard. The competition was definitely fierce, but my man did not disappoint. He nailed 17 home runs in the first two rounds and then blasted six off in the championship … all to be crowned 2009 Home Run Derby Champion!
Not that I had any doubt in Prince. After all, this vegetarian is the youngest player in history to hit 50 homers in a season.
Prince's ability to knock the socks off the crowd while knocking ball after ball out of the park got us thinking about the power of tofu and the rest of the derby participants. It's no secret that they could benefit if they followed in Prince's footsteps and made the switch to a vegetarian diet. Not only would they likely see an improvement in their health, they might see an improvement in their game, too—as Prince Fielder is home run–hitting proof. So, in the hopes of "beefing" up the competition for next year's derby, we are sending a copy of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit" to each of this year's sluggers. Hopefully, they'll learn that by dropping the ballpark franks and picking up veggie dogs, they'll be hitting a grand slam for baseball fans and animals.
Written by Shawna Flavell
Yesterday, PETA's "Soy Cream" Ladies were willing to brave the 107-degree Arizona high-noon heat in order to bring delicious—and cruelty-free—frozen desserts to the citizens of Tucson. Not a single person who ventured past these lovely ladies was able to resist a free Tofutti Cutie or a sexy smile. The PETA gals gave away 200 of the frozen treats and even more leaflets explaining why dairy-free is always the way to go.
And remember: If it's iced coffee weather, it's absolutely Tofutti Cutie weather.
Written by Amanda Schinke
Back in May, we told you that a bill was under consideration in Bolivia to ban all animals from circuses—and that bill was recently made law! With the passage of law number 4040 by Bolivian President Evo Morales, the day has finally arrived when "It is forbidden to use wild and/or domestic animals in circuses throughout the country." As far as we know, Bolivia is the first country in the world to enact such a landmark measure for animals abused in circuses.
Bolivia is no stranger to looking out for animals. The country already set a precedent when it banned its military from mutilating dogs and other animals during training exercises. And with the passage of this new law, elephants, lions, tigers, horses, dogs, and all other animals who are forced to live in shackles or cages—and are routinely beaten into submission in order to perform unnatural circus "tricks"—will no longer be subjected to these cruelties in Bolivia.
And as if that weren't enough, PETA is now working closely with the Bolivian government on the country's first national animal protection framework law. If the measure is adopted, it would make Bolivia a global leader in animal welfare.
With the way things are moving, it seems that animals in Bolivia are on a fast track to having all the simple inalienable rights they deserve.
On behalf of animals in Bolivia, muchas gracias to President Morales, Member of Congress Ximena Flores, and concerned citizen Ana Serrano Revollo for all their hard work in making this law prohibiting animal circuses a reality!
Celebrate by watching this Creole (not cruel) "Running of the Bulls."
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) held its annual convention in Seattle this weekend and—despite public outcry—allowed attendees to participate in a dead-fish toss.
I don't know about y'all, but when I'm looking for an "outrageously fun" time, I go dancing. I don't throw around corpses. So to remind the AVMA that sea kittens feel pain just as dogs and cats do—and to provide a memorable image of the suffering that the AVMA willingly supports—we held a stunning demonstration in front of the conference for all attendees and Seattleites to see:
In the words of PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman, "The AVMA is a trade group that often sides with animal abusers, not with animals. People expect more from the very people who are charged with helping and protecting animals."
Hopefully the attention-grabbing demonstration armed people with some future lifesaving knowledge.
Written by Christine Doré
The G8 Summit has been all over the news this weekend. And one of the top stories to emerge from this gathering of great minds? Sarah Brown, wife of British prime minister Gordon Brown, shunned veal—not once but twice! She even tweeted about it:
This isn't the first time Mrs. Brown has refused to support the cruel veal industry. At the NATO Summit in Strasbourg earlier this year, she refused to eat veal or foie gras!
Mrs. Brown apparently realizes that in the veal industry, calves are ripped from their mothers' care immediately after they are born. They are then tethered in small, dark pens—unable to move more than a single step in any direction—and fed a diet lacking in necessary nutrients. All this is done in order to keep their flesh "tender" for when these babies are killed for someone's dinner.
Kudos to Mrs. Brown for taking a stand against animal abuse. You can follow her lead by ordering a free copy of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit" today.
The folks who scoffed at our proposal to buy SeaWorld and convert its facilities into non-animal theme parks might reconsider their stance after reading about the real cost of having these parks continue with business as usual.
Last week, we received word from a whistleblower that a dolphin named Dixie, who is exploited in SeaWorld's Discovery Cove "swim with dolphins" attraction in Orlando, gave birth to a stillborn infant. What's more, even though SeaWorld knew that Dixie was due to give birth, the park apparently did not have a veterinarian available for Dixie at any point during or after her labor. She was forced to endure this traumatic experience—and its aftermath—without proper care.
This information came to us just a few short weeks after another dolphin, Scarlet, and her unborn fetus died at Discovery Cove. In that case, we were told that the necropsy revealed that Scarlet's uterus had ruptured while she was pregnant, causing the calf to be released into her body cavity.
These disgraceful incidents clearly show that SeaWorld and other aquariums don't really care about the well-being of the animals they incarcerate, so we have filed a complaint with the USDA calling for investigations into Scarlet's death and the lack of care provided to Dixie.
We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, if you're going to Florida this summer (or any other time), there are lots of great places to visit where your money won't go toward hurting smart, sensitive animals.
Written by Jeff Mackey
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.
Follow PETA on Twitter!