Written by Jeff Mackey
As Canada's bloody annual seal massacre approaches again this spring, the at-risk animals can always count on their country's own superhero for animals, Pamela Anderson. The bombshell from British Columbia has submitted an appeal on behalf of PETA urging the World Trade Organization (WTO) to uphold the European Union's (EU) ban on seal-fur imports.
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The WTO's public hearings on trade arising from the cruel seal slaughter begin in Geneva on February 18. All major markets have banned seal-pelt imports, including the EU, the U.S., Taiwan, Mexico, and most recently Russia, which had been importing 95 percent of the Canadian sealskins, marking one of the biggest victories in the history of animal rights!
Please help Pam and PETA save seals from being bludgeoned and skinned alive for their fur—urge Canada's leaders to support Sen. Mac Harb's bill to end the commercial seal massacre today!
Written by PETA
Update: The European Commission has confirmed that it will uphold the original March 2013 deadline for the ban on the sale, within the European Union (EU), of any cosmetics or cosmetics ingredients that have been tested on animals. This marketing ban means that companies all around the world that want to sell cosmetics in Europe will have to abandon animal testing for cosmetics that they want to sell in the EU. The decision follows vigorous campaigning by PETA and its international affiliates that included public protests, phone calls, and more than 20,000 e-mails. New Commissioner Tonio Borg met with PETA U.K. to deliver the news personally, and the organization has sent a huge bouquet of flowers to the commission in thanks.
Originally posted on September 22nd, 2011:
PETA friend and animal advocate extraordinaire Pamela Anderson has written to European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy John Dalli urging him to honor the original 2013 deadline for banning the sale of cosmetics in the European Union that have been tested on animals. The European Commission is considering delaying the deadline for years—and perhaps indefinitely.
In her letter, Pamela states, "I love cosmetics, but there's no reason for animals to suffer for lip gloss and eye-liner; those cruel tests are from another era." She adds: "Today, there are effective and 100 percent humane non-animal testing methods. We also already know thousands of ingredients that have a long history of safe use. Hundreds of manufacturers have already been using them for years! Please, don't turn back the clock."
Please join Pamela in calling on the European Commission to stick to the 2013 deadline.
Wrongdoers, watch out—wearing animals' skins and fur is a total (and literal) rip-off, but PETA, as always, is on the case! October has been declared Crime Prevention Month by the National Crime Prevention Council, and we're glad to do our part here at The PETA Files—after all, it's the least any animal advocate could do for a group whose symbol is a dog.
What happens to animals who are killed for their skins may not be illegal in many places (yet), but it's a flagrant violation of their rights. Confined to cages, caught in steel-jaw traps, subjected to cruel abuses, nailed to trees, suffocated, electrocuted, gassed, poisoned, bludgeoned, hanged, and often skinned alive—together, it's a crime against common decency.
So PETA's walking the beat and throwing the book at offenders. The fabulous PETA "fashion police"—gotta love a cop in pleather!—hit the city streets to hand out tickets for leathery larceny and felony fur-flaunting. They've even braved that most hostile of precincts, New York Fashion Week, where they issued a citation to the cruelest of all fur hags, Vogue's Anna Wintour, proving that they never miss the meaner misdemeanors.
Some of PETA's famous friends are taking on crime-busting duties, too. Pink and Ricky Gervais use their voices to call out the skin trade for what it really is—theft—in PETA's attention-getting "Stolen for Fashion" video, while Tim Gunn reminds everyone that these aren't victimless crimes. Then there's the animals' own wonder woman, Pamela Anderson, who gets the message across that "cruelty doesn't fly" (with a little help from Steve-O, Andy Dick, and Carol Leifer) as only she can:
Keep on the straight and narrow—sign PETA's pledge that you'll shed everyone's skin but your own!
Written by Michelle Kretzer
Canadian-born Pamela Anderson got a warm reception when she met with a representative from Germany's Trade Ministry to deliver PETA's seal appeal. She asked him to encourage the European Commission and the World Trade Organization to dismiss Canada's challenge of Europe's ban on seal products.
Pam explained that most Canadians stand firmly with Germany and support the ban on seal products and the inevitable end of the seal slaughter.
"As the vast majority of Germans want the seal slaughter to end," her hand-delivered letter read, "including the more than 40,000 people in Germany who have urged Canada's prime minister to put a stop to it, I'm writing to ask that you please do all in your power to ensure that the E.U. ban on seal products remains in place."
Knowing Germany's progressive stance on the seal slaughter and the representative's positive visit with Pam, we're confident that the Trade Ministry will do exactly that.
Fur-free party animals gathered en masse at Stella McCartney's West Hollywood boutique on Friday for the release of Sir Paul McCartney's music video for "My Valentine," starring Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp.
Woody Harrelson undoubtedly enjoyed the vegetarian food, while Joan Jett rocked vegan boots, as did Gwyneth Paltrow, who has shunned fur for PETA.
Photo: Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic
PETA Vice President Dan Mathews and Honorary PETA Director Pamela Anderson made quite the striking pair, as always. They were greeted by Stella, who playfully scolded Pam, "How dare you wear clothes in my shop!" (Pam famously posed nude in the designer's London store window beneath a banner reading, "I'd rather bare skin than wear skin," to draw attention to Stella's fur- and leather-free fashions.)
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Dan and Pam thanked Gwen Stefani for keeping fur out of her fashion lines and were invited by Jane Fonda to sit at her table to discuss activism. The hot topic with Sir Paul was this year's Canadian seal slaughter—or what's left of it following sealskin bans by the U.S., the E.U., and Russia. Both Pam and Paul have helped lead this campaign for more than a decade, and their work is finally paying off. We can't think of a better "Valentine" for Sir Paul than to have thousands of baby seals' lives spared.
Yep, you read that right.
We want to thank Kanye West for the shout-out to PETA in his new song, "Theraflu." While the aptly named tune does make us want to reach for an over-the-counter remedy as Kanye opines about his inexplicable penchant for slinging tortured dead animals across his back, the song did make #tellPETA trend on Twitter worldwide, giving us a great opportunity to educate people about the revolting cruelty of the fur industry. #TellKanye that 60 beautiful minks have to die to make one ugly coat.
Compassionate rapper Waka Flocka Flame could give Ye some pointers—his "Only Cowards Abuse Animals" PETA ad appears in this month's YRB magazine. (Last month, the mag featured Chris "The Birdman" Andersen's colorful anti-fur ad.)
The cover of the May issue of Vanity Fair features the fair face of fur foe Grace Park, looking as stunning in white as she did in her PETA "Save the Seals" ad.
Fellow seal savior Christian Serratos tweeted her support for PETA's campaign this week: "The Canadian seal slaughter has begun. Pls help @PETA stop the bloody massacre NOW!"
Mickey Rourke saved a stray dog he found on a movie set in Romania. Now Foxy has a great new home with Rourke and his other beloved pups, including Jaws, who stars with Rourke in his animal birth control ad:
Photo: Faubel Christensen
When Pamela Anderson visited Turkey and noticed that the country's streets were also teeming with strays, she went on a mission to persuade officials there to adopt an aggressive spay-and-neuter campaign.
Ryan Gosling was a savior for a woman who was almost hit by a taxi in New York City. His lifesaving heroics for people and advocacy for chickens make Ryan a heartthrob with a heart of gold.
Lance Armstrong seems to be made of steel, and now he's living strong thanks to eating mostly vegan foods.
Maybe he'll start whipping up homemade meals from the Candle Café like Christina Applegate.
A vegan eatery led to love for Alec Baldwin, who got engaged this week to Hilaria Thomas, whom he met at Pure Food and Wine.
Christina Aguilera took both her loves—her boyfriend and her son—to Cirque du Soleil, scoring herself a thank-you card from PETA for supporting a circus with only human performers.
To keep up with what your favorite stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter.
Is Vince Vaughn a valorous vegan? It's sure looking that way. While filming Neighborhood Watch in Atlanta, he ate mostly vegan foods, and his mom bragged about his healthy lifestyle on The Marilyn Denis Show. We sent the funnyman some cookbooks to give him some delicious new meal ideas.
Maybe Vaughn will be the next Phil Collen of Def Leppard—vegetarian for 30 years and proud of it!
Designer Vivienne Westwood also has a lot to be proud of. Not only does she keep fur-bearing animals out of her designs, the newly minted vegetarian also keeps animals off her plate too.
Sexy vegan Jared Leto is a fellow fur foe. Here's what he and other celebs have been buzzing about on Twitter:
The cast members of The Real Housewives of Miami will need to rethink their furry wardrobe choices with animal defender and supermodel Joanna Krupa joining the show.
Photo: www.SebreePhoto.com | Hair and Makeup: Tony Yates | Styling: Joline Towers
Is there a week that goes by when Russell Simmons doesn't do something awesome for animals? (Answer: no.) This week, the hip-hop mogul and PETA's person of the year asked New York Gov. Andrew W. Cuomo to drop unhealthy milk as New York's state beverage.
Major League Soccer MVP Dwayne De Rosario, who has been vegan since he was 14, should be on board—he shook up Millions of Milkshakes with his own vegan creation.
Best wishes to another MVP, Baltimore Ravens running back Ricky Williams, who is retiring from the sport. We're sure that our MVP of animal rights isn't retiring from helping animals.
We hear that guests at vegetarian beauty Anne Hathaway's engagement party enjoyed delicious, cruelty-free fare, including vegan burgers and cupcakes.
Planning your own vegan wedding? Check out our animal-friendly tips for the big day.
In the latest issue of Marie Claire, PETA anti-fur star Eva Mendes does more than just grace the cover with her beauty. In the spread, Eva talks about ditching meat and the benefits it's brought to her life. Check out our free vegetarian/vegan starter kit to find out how vegetarian meals can be great for you and animals!
PETA's favorite vampire, Kellan Lutz, is helping PETA purchase a new rescue van for our Community Animal Project. The star has also asked all his Twitter followers to help too.
Photo: Collin Stark www.collinstark.com
Rock 'n' roll legend and legendary champion for animals Chrissie Hynde is urging Ohio to enforce its ban on the use of electric prods and similar devices on animals when Ringling and its bullhook-wielding "trainers" come to the state.
And Daniel Tosh was Tosh.Oh-so-sweet this week when he blasted cruel bull runs on his show.
In a crushing blow to Canada's annual seal slaughter, Russia, formerly Canada's top commercial market for seal fur, has banned the import of all harp-seal products.
After Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ended his country's seal slaughter in 2009, calling it a "bloody industry that should have been banned long ago," Pamela Anderson led an international appeal on PETA's behalf asking him to ban imports of seal pelts from her native country too. Now Russia, as well as Belarus and Kazakhstan, is joining the U.S., the European Union, and Mexico in refusing to support the shooting and bludgeoning of baby harp seals.
Will this be the death knell for the seal slaughter? The Canadian government is feverishly trying to overturn the ban, so please tell Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to quit postponing the inevitable and end the killing now before the massacre resumes in the spring.
The word on Twitter is that celebs are rejoicing over Ringling's being slapped with the largest penalty in circus history for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Other celebs are buzzing about going postal.
Chuck star Yvonne Strahovski gave dogs in animal shelters something to rejoice over, discussing her "Always Adopt, Never Buy" campaign with PETA in the winter issue of Modern Dog magazine and urging readers to hop on the adoption train. As if that weren't enough, she then asked them to think about where fur comes from.
Morrissey and his bandmates left little doubt over what they think of fur when the band donned PETA shirts with a, ahem, choice message at a show in L.A.
Wearing fur is such a faux pas that designers are hard-pressed to find celebs willing to look like a permutation of Bigfoot. Reigning Sexiest Vegetarian Kristen Wiig says she will "never wear fur," and cruelty-free fashion designer Stella McCartney snagged the Red Carpet Award at the British Fashion Awards for her fur- and leather-free designs.
This week, animals lost a great advocate when comedian Patrice O'Neal passed away. "I am … [an] extreme animal lover," he once said. "I get sick when I see animals suffering." Farewell, friend.
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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