Last Friday was especially good for animals. In honor of the Christian holiday Good Friday, PETA pigs were out in front of the HoneyBaked Ham store in Oakland, California, and lots of other stores, too, joined by friends holding signs like the one below and "It's a Good Friday to Go Vegan."

We also handed out copies of our "Glass Walls" video and vegan starter kits to curious customers, showing them what really happens to pigs before they become a honey-baked ham. (Spoiler: It's anything but merciful.) It was plenty of food for thought for Easter patrons.

How does your faith or philosophy about life influence your compassion for animals? Tell us in the comments below!

It seems like Miley Cyrus' actions for animals are never-ending. This week, she asked her fans to help get horses suffering in the horse-drawn carriage industry off New York's streets, tweeting, "NYC is just 761 signatures shy of 100,000 petition goal to #FreeTheHorsesNYC! Sign @NYCLASS petition at StopHorseAbuse.com." Miley's fans' signatures pushed the New Yorkers for Clean, Safe, and Livable Streets petition well above the 100,000 that the group needed. And Miley and her mother, Tish, gushed about their gratefulness to their Twitter followers.

Jason Mraz was likely grateful for all the help that he got from his Twitter followers, too. When he tweeted asking where to find the best vegan eats in Sydney, Australia, PETA and Jason's fans were quick to respond with some yummy suggestions.

And Miley and Jason aren't the only sexy stars whose tweets we've been eyeing this week:

We also caught a glimpse of yet another sweet quote from one of our Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity alums, Carrie Underwood. When The Guardian asked her about growing up on a cattle farm in Oklahoma, she answered, "The worst part of the year for me was when we took some off to sell, because they would cry for each other for a couple of days. That's why I don't eat meat."

Ricki Lake has been inspired to embrace plants, too. She is reportedly enjoying more vegan meals after watching Forks Over Knives. PETA sent her some love in the form of a vegetarian/vegan starter kit, Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet, and our meat industry exposé "Glass Walls," narrated by Paul McCartney.

Ricki's timing couldn't have been better, since this week marked Meatout 2013. Nikita's Maggie Q was in full celebration mode, encouraging all her Twitter followers to "[t]ry it!!!" 

Sam Simon joined in, challenging his friend, radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge, to watch "Glass Walls" and go vegan for one week. Sam asked PETA for help, so we sent "Lettuce Lady" Lindsay Rajt, associate director of campaigns, to Tampa, Florida, to help Bubba with the transition and to appear on his show all week to talk about it. Bubba says that he's enjoying the challenge and has a newfound love for vegan biscuits with meat-free gravy and rice milk.

While the shock jock is warming up to faux food, Shania Twain's faux fur is keeping her warm. Her new show in Las Vegas features "dazzling costumes," including only faux fur, of course.

And while Shania makes her point to the card sharks, Kyle Chandler is helping those other sharks. Alongside his daughter, Sawyer, he attended Humane Lobby Day in Austin, Texas, in support of a proposed bill that would ban shark-finning. 

To keep up with what all your favorite stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter. 

Ever since her red swimsuit days, people have been enamored with PETA's weapon of mass distraction, Pamela Anderson. And now you can have a little piece of the original "Lettuce Lady" for yourself. When Pam and PETA Vice President Dan Mathews spoke to Cambridge University about animal rights, she autographed copies of the Paul McCartney–narrated meat-industry exposé "Glass Walls" for the students. And she autographed a few more to give to lucky PETA Files readers.

To enter to win, simply leave a comment telling us about something Pam-like that you've done to help animals—her résumé is extensive, so there's plenty to choose from. Maybe you've attended a fur demonstration, spoken out against the Canadian seal slaughter, ditched meat, adopted a companion animal, given a speech about animal rights, switched to cruelty-free cosmetics, or acted to get horse-drawn carriages off the dangerous streets. 

Or maybe—like Pam—you've done all of the above. Just tell us about it, and two winners will be selected at random.

And if reading about all of Pam's compassionate actions has inspired you, plenty of animals still need your help, so get out there and get Pamelactive!

The contest will end on March 27, 2013, and we'll contact the winners by March 29, 2013. By commenting here, you're acknowledging that you've read and you agree to our contest terms and conditions and our privacy policy and you're also agreeing to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your personal info in accordance with those policies as well as to receiving e-mails from us.

Update: In deference to the wishes of Manti Te'o and his representatives, PETA is abandoning its plans to erect a billboard featuring an image of the Notre Dame standout next to the slogan "Sometimes Faking It Is Better. Score Faux-Chicken Super Bowl Recipes at PETA.org." Hopefully, people will still defer to the wishes of chickens and not rip their wings off.

Originally posted on January 28th, 2013:

Manti Te'o may have been buffaloed by a fake girlfriend, but he shouldn't feel too bad: Sometimes fake is actually better. That's why PETA created a billboard urging football fans to avoid unnecessary roughness to chickens on Super Bowl Sunday by intentionally grounding real chicken wings and opting for play-action fake fowl instead.

Those animals in PETA's "Glass Walls" video? Unlike Manti's make-believe girlfriend, their deaths are real. Birds slaughtered for their wings and other body parts are often dropped into tanks of scalding-hot water while they are still conscious and aren't covered by even the meager protections of the Humane Slaughter Act.  

The price of chicken wings is currently skyrocketing because of higher feed costs caused by this summer's drought, which makes now the perfect time to try vegan wings, such as Gardein Classic Style Buffalo Wings, a favorite of vegetarian and former Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams. 

This Super Bowl Sunday, opt for healthy and humane faux wings (find recipes at PETA's Living page). That way, nobody gets hurt. 

Would PETA miss the chance to educate nearly 1 million people about the benefits of vegan eating? Kale no!

Attendees of President Barack Obama's inauguration were so smitten by Chris P. Carrot, Celery Stalk, and Mother Earth that they actually lined up to have their pictures taken with the patriotic trio and snatched up vegetarian/vegan starter kits and copies of "Glass Walls"—a video narrated by Paul McCartney—while they were at it.

The vociferous vegetables even managed to win over a woman who was willing to consider eating fewer animals than she was wearing:

In his inaugural speech, President Obama promised to "respond to the threat of climate change." We can't think of an easier—or tastier—way to do that than by going vegan.

Are you still trying to cool off from the scorcher that was 2012? Scientists report that it was the hottest year on record for the U.S.—but instead of blaming Mother Nature, we can point the finger at ourselves. "It is abundantly clear that we are seeing [human-caused] climate change in action," according to Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

So PETA sent the greenest gals we know on a jaunt across Canada to show people how easy it is to go green—no bodypaint required. Since carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide together are the biggest contributors to climate change and raising animals for food is one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions and the single largest source of both methane and nitrous oxide emissions, going vegan has been called the "single most effective thing you can do" to combat climate change. 

People eagerly posed for pictures with the lime ladies, and they took home PETA's "Meat's Not Green" leaflets and copies of legendary animal and environmental advocate Paul McCartney's meat industry exposé, "Glass Walls." 

By simply opting for faux meats and dairy products over animal-based ones, we can make 2013 a lucky year for animals and help reduce climate change. And that's pretty cool.

PETA made sure that grocery shoppers didn't wind up in a pickle when the eco-friendly ban on plastic bags went into effect in Oakland, California. A convivial carrot and personable pickle offered shoppers at one grocery store free tote bags that were greener than a cucumber salad.

That's because not only did the bags help shoppers stop contributing to plastic-bag pollution, they also illustrated how much the meat industry pollutes the air, water, and soil. Inside their new bags, shoppers found a DVD of Paul McCartney's meat industry exposé "Glass Walls" and a vegetarian/vegan starter kit.

Many shoppers told the pair of produce that they were trying to be greener or were thinking about going vegan. And the green goodies were such a hit that employees came out of the store to ask if they could take some inside because customers were asking for them.

If you didn't get one of the totes, don't go out of your gourd. Pick up a vegetarian/vegan starter kit, a "Glass Walls" DVD, and a PETA bunny tote to help you be healthier and more Earth-friendly, and make your friends go green with envy. 

Ne-Yo is making it a happy New Year for animals: The rapper has resolved to go vegan in 2013. When Ne-Yo first tweeted his New Year's resolution, he deemed it a discipline test. But after he learned about the cruelty of the meat and dairy industries, he said that there was "much more meaning to it." PETA sent him vegan dining expert chef Tal Ronnen's The Conscious Cook: Delicious Vegan Recipes That Will Change the Way You Eat, a vegetarian/vegan starter kit, and fellow music legend Paul McCartney's meat industry exposé, "Glass Walls." 

Ne-Yo has been keeping his Twitter followers up to date on his progress and has received an outpouring of support, as have animals:

Maybe Ne-Yo will give Anderson Cooper the inspiration that he needs to help him make the switch. When Anderson invited vegan Alan Cumming onto his show, the pair noshed on meat-free chicken wings and Anderson talked about his vegan aspirations.

PETA friend Kelly Osbourne says it was her boyfriend, vegan chef Matthew Mosshart, who helped her drop pounds and feel better. "That's because he cooks for me! He's a vegan chef so he makes sure I eat healthily," she says. "I'm happy with how I look now."

Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are happy with how their family looks now, with the addition of their new rescued dog, Ren. They took the pup in as foster parents, but it took the couple only a few days to make it official. PETA sent Ren a homecoming present of treats and toys.

To keep up with what all your favorite stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter. 

In the giant melting pot that we call "home," the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population is people of Latin-American descent. We've seen how strongly this demographic has influenced American culture—including politics, food, and entertainment—and now it's time to unleash that power to benefit animals.

To help mobilize the Latino community's animal advocacy efforts, PETA has unveiled a new program, PETA Latino. 

PETA Latino, a new outreach division, will provide all of PETA's valuable resources in Spanish and English so that our Latino supporters can choose which language they prefer to receive information in, and no one will be denied the chance to speak up for animals because of a language barrier. PETALatino.com will also include delicious vegan recipes inspired by favorite traditional dishes, testimonials and ads by popular Latino stars, the new Spanish version of our hard-hitting meat-industry exposé "Glass Walls" (narrated by Mexican television personality Marco Antonio Regil), and much more.

And because Latinos can now receive alerts about demonstrations in their areas written in Spanish, the site will help bring English and Spanish speakers together for our common goal.

¡Vamos PETA Latino! And here's to all the victories for animals to come!

Joan Jett is nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, but she's already snagged one coveted award: PETA's Nanci Alexander Activist Award. The top-notch animal advocate for whom the award is named is also the proud owner of one of South Florida's premier vegan eateries, Sublime. Every year, celebrities and PETA supporters pack Sublime and celebrate one dedicated advocate—and Joan is well deserving of the honor.

She's been working to end animal suffering for years, including launching PETA's vegetarian/vegan starter kit at newsstands in New York City, protesting McDonald's cruel chicken-slaughter methods, and recording a rocking video vegetarian testimonial. She even used this opportunity to unveil yet another PETA campaign: her new vegetarian ad.

Joan's new PETA ad is just like her: smart, hip, and animal-friendly.

Fellow animal-friendly rocker Iggy Pop presented Joan with her award amid a rousing chorus of cheers and applause. "If there's anything I love more than rock 'n' roll, it's animals," said a smiling Joan.

Iggy Pop and Joan Jett rocked the party.

And Joan wasn't the day's only winner: Spanish-language TV host Marco Antonio Regil picked up a "One Can Make a Difference" Award for his efforts to promote vegan eating.

Telemundo star Pablo Azar congratulates Marco. 

He recently narrated Paul McCartney's meat industry exposé "Glass Walls" in Spanish, making it accessible for Spanish speakers around the world.