Written by PETA
Ellen DeGeneres, Gordon Ramsay, and Entourage star Adrian Grenier are among the many stars who have recently done something noteworthy for animals:
Written by Alisa Mullins
My anger is mostly a civically oriented one ... I am tired of the little guy getting bullied by the rich, the mean and the opportunistic.
Call him Morrissey on steroids. Henry Rollins—the oft-apoplectic musician, DJ, author, and actor—has been tapped to host Animal Underworld, a new show on the National Geographic Wild channel that will explore humans' relationships with exotic animals. When those relationships turn abusive, you can expect Rollins, a self-described animal lover and "basically" vegetarian, to get testy.
One of Rollins' scheduled stops is at Seligman, Arizona's Road Kill Café, a kitschy Route 66 tourist trap where the "road kill" (taxidermied wildlife) mostly adorns the walls, as opposed to the menu. Nevertheless, we think it's safe to say that Rollins will give tourists something to take home on their iPhones.
Organizers of the Lokerse Feesten music festival in Belgium have assured their headlining act, PETA pal Morrissey, that in his honor, the festival will serve only vegetarian fare on the day of his performance. What, did you expect anything less from the man who did for vegetarian diets what Bret Michaels did for bandanas?
Instead of burgers and horse-meat sausages (yes, they eat horses in Belgium), organizers said festival food stands will offer "an array of healthy vegetarian dishes."
Perhaps after Morrissey performs "Meat Is Murder," they'll decide to keep it that way.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
PETA pal Morrissey isn't shy about telling British Prime Minister David Cameron what he thinks about Cameron's penchant for deer hunting. (Former Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr even publicly "forbade" Cameron from liking their music.) In a recent pre-concert interview, Morrissey told the BBC that he probably wouldn't even open his dressing room door for Cameron, saying, "It's a moral issue. Killing a stag is like killing a child. What's the difference?"
Perhaps the prime minister should have done some homework before expressing his fondness for The Smiths, whose second album was titled Meat Is Murder. Morrissey is a vegetarian who is outspoken about the Chinese fur trade, the Canadian seal slaughter, and The Queen's Guards' bearskin hats. In 2005 he grabbed PETA's Linda McCartney Memorial Award for reaching out to millions of people with a message of compassion. Maybe he can convince Cameron to be the next to follow in his kind footsteps.
Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe has earned kudos from the Mozfather himself for an opinion piece in the UK's Times that blasted the killing of Canadian bears for the Queen's Guards' hats.
In a letter that ran in yesterday's Times, Morrissey wrote, "I welcome Ann Widdecombe's views on the depravity of bear-baiting in order to serve the vanities of the British Army Guards. … [T]here is no sanity in making life difficult on purpose for the Canadian brown bear, especially for Guards' hats that look absurd in the first place, and which can easily be replaced by faux versions (thanks to the visionary Stella McCartney) with no death involved."
Morrissey has made clear in no uncertain terms that he wants the Guards to switch to faux fur right away. Please, please, please help him get what he wants.
I'm fascinated by some celebrities' bizarre backstage demands—the Backstreet Boys' list of "must-haves" includes black nail polish while John Mayer's concert rider includes a demand for four soft-headed toothbrushes.
The most recent celebrity requests to pop up during my Internet perusing left me giddy instead of scratching my head. Sir Paul McCartney, Chrissie Hynde, and Morrissey are making animal-friendly "front of stage" demands during their summer tours. Sir Paul has ensured that meat-free options are available for fans at his shows, two of the Pretenders' recent shows offered only vegetarian fare for concertgoers, and Morrissey requires people working his shows to abstain from meat.
I can think of a handful of celebrities who could learn a lot from these three about using their clout to help animals rather than hurt them.
Written by Karin Bennett
This past weekend, the Southern California desert town of Indio was steamier than usual. PETA's lettuce ladies made a special appearance at the three-day Coachella Music Festival—where our beloved Morrissey was performing—and wooed broiling-hot fans to the joy of soy by giving away free Tofutti Cuties. The ladies report that the icy-cold, nondairy treats were a smash hit and even turned skeptics into fans.
And what about Morrissey, you ask? Well, he proved once again that he will never let animals down. In front of a crowd of thousands, Mr. M. halted his own performance to let the meat vendors inside the venue know their presence was not welcome, shouting: "I smell burning flesh, and I hope to God it's human. This smell of burning animals is making me sick."
Check out some photos of our ladies at the festival:
Hmm, anyone else think a Morrissey and Lettuce Ladies world tour is in order?
Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky
Happy "Win It" Wednesday to you! With Canada's annual seal slaughter looming this month, we decided that a real hero for seals should be featured in our weekly giveaway. Musician and animal rights activist Morrissey has refused to play shows in Canada until the government agrees to stop letting hunters smash in baby seals' skulls. The former Smiths frontman just released his ninth solo album, Years of Refusal, and we snagged three limited-edition vinyl copies to pass along to you.
How do you win? Post a comment about your favorite thing that Morrissey has done for animals. The three people who post the most heartfelt answers will each win a copy of this limited-edition vinyl.
The contest ends on March 18, 2009, and we'll contact the winners on March 20, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Check back every Wednesday for new prizes. Good luck!
Written by Lianne Turner
"Morrissey never dined at STK nor did we report that he did, but as a matter of policy, of course, STK welcomes him and vegetarians of all stripes. There's loads of vegetarian options: roasted beet, organic arugula and hearts of romaine salads; nine vegetable options … and on and on."
And as far as the second point is concerned, you can read my dissertation on the subject here.
Morrissey’s rep also very kindly contacted us last night to alert us to the STK statement and point out that the TMZ piece “also erroneously alluded to a disagreement between Morrissey and PETA who remain mutual supporters and admirers.” True dat!
In late June the Montreal Symphony are hosting a TV Special to salute Buffy Sainte-Marie's 50th year making music. I am honored to be asked to take part. I first bought a Buffy Sainte-Marie record when I was 12, and her music has always remained with me. In the 1960s, as a political activist, Buffy's lyrics were fearless, and I'm very grateful for all the risks that she took.I am also pleased to be asked to join the bill at the V Festival at the Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver, and also at Fort Calgary in Calgary.However, as we all know, the psychologically and constitutionally sickening Canadian seal-kill has started and is once again in full-cry.The horror of the Canadian seal-kill is untranslatable, and although I fully realize that highly concentrated evil exists in other countries - Japan's dolphin slaughter, Iceland's newly-revived whaling, the cat-skinning trade in Switzerland, and China with just about every injustice imaginable - there is something especially menacing about Canada's seal-kill.Loyola Sullivan (Canada's Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation) is a man of glacial coldness who claims that the seal-kill is "humane" - a view he might alter if his own skull were cracked open with a spiked axe.The fact that the seal-kill provides a livelihood for fishermen is an insultingly dim excuse for it to take place - after all, the German gas chambers of World War 2 also provided work for someone.The seal-kill takes place to satisfy greed for fur-pelts, and this Canadian government is happy to drag the global image of its own country down, and make it a place that people such as I couldn't bear to visit.-Morrissey, 29 March 2008.
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!