Chick-fil-A's so-called "Cow Appreciation Day" involved giving chicken flesh to people who dressed up as cows. We think cows (and chickens) deserve better than that, so here's our new and improved Cow Appreciation Day. We're giving away The Compassionate Cook, our back-by-popular-demand, original vegan cookbook, featuring more than 225 recipes in which no cows, chickens, or any other animals were harmed. Just take the quiz below to learn why intelligent, sensitive cows aren't milk machines and then enter for your chance to win:

1. Just like people, cows are known to ________ when a loved one dies or is separated from them. 

2. True or False: Cows' sense of smell is even stronger in some ways than that of most dogs—they can detect scents up to 5 miles away.

3. This picture is of: 

A) a pipe cutter

B) one of the torture devices used in the Saw films

C) a guillotine dehorner, used by dairy farmers to chop off cows' sensitive horns

D) a Halloween haunted house prop

4. In nature, cows may nurse their calves for up to _____ years.

5.  After years of being kept almost constantly, forcibly pregnant and having their beloved babies repeatedly taken away from them so that their milk can be sold instead, when cows' milk production wanes, they are: 

A) put out to pasture on the farm to live out their days

B) retired to a sanctuary

C) feted with cake and alfalfa-flavored ice cream

D) sent to slaughter 

6. True or False: A Holstein's spots are like a fingerprint—no two cows' spots are exactly the same.

7. Guys, get ready to squirm: Male calves who are taken from their mothers are usually _______ without so much as an aspirin.

8. True or False: Like people, cows communicate with each other using different vocal sounds, body positions, and subtle facial expressions.

9. A dairy industry study reports that by the time they are killed, nearly _____ percent of cows are lame because of the intensive confinement to the concrete floors of milking barns, the strain of being kept almost constantly pregnant, and being made to stand ankle-deep in their own dung.

A) 10

B) 20

C) 30

D) 40

10.  True or False: Bovines love a good brain teaser, such as figuring out how to open a gate's latch to let themselves out, and they get so excited that some even kick up their heels when they figure out the solution. 

*****

Check out the answer key below to see how you did, and then repost some of these interesting cow facts to show your friends why it's sour to steal cows' milk.

To enter to win The Compassionate Cook, just leave a comment telling us how you did on the quiz. A winner will be chosen at random. (Your score on the quiz does not affect your chances of winning.)

The contest will end on October 25, 2012, and we'll contact the winner by October 29, 2012. 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.

Answers: 1) shed tears 2) True 3) C 4) three 5) D 6) True 7) castrated 8) True 9) D 10) True

How well do you know your animal facts? Test your knowledge with our quiz, and then tell us how you did for a chance to win a PETA lunch bag.

1. Which animals are reportedly the closest living relatives of the Tyrannosaurus rex?
2. Which animals' brains are able to fully repair themselves after they have experienced trauma?
3. Which animals are such great parents that in ancient Rome, it was considered a compliment to be told that you must have been raised by that animal?
4. Which small animals are so brave that they will fight powerful predators such as eagles and foxes to protect their young?
5. Which animals were able to find their way through a maze with a speed comparable to that of dogs?
6. Which animals have more bones in their necks than giraffes do?
7. Which animals can talk to their mothers from inside their eggshells before they have hatched?
8. Which animals' legs can detect vibrations on the ground and in the atmosphere, allowing them to sense when predators are approaching?
9. Like Paul Reveres of the animal kingdom, which animals use different warning calls when predators are approaching by land rather than approaching by air?
10. Which animals can remember the faces and social ranks of more than 100 other animals in their group, even after being separated from them for months before being reunited?

Answers

Did you guess "chickens" for any of the questions? Did you figure out that "chickens" was the answer to all the questions? Chickens are inquisitive, sensitive, highly social animals whose intellect has been compared to dogs, cats, primates, and human children. For National Chicken Month, please share this contest and encourage everyone you know to stop eating chickens. 

To enter to win PETA's "I Am Not a Nugget" lunch bag, leave a comment telling us how you did on the game, and a winner will be chosen at random. (Your score on the game will not affect your chances of winning.)

Good luck!

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.

Tampa, Florida, is crowded with "elephants," and Charlotte, North Carolina, will soon be filled with "donkeys" as Republicans and Democrats gather for their respective national conventions. But which real animal would win in a showdown between an elephant and a donkey? PETA takes stock of the competition:

© iStockphoto.com/Francois6

Physical prowess: Elephants are active for 18 hours a day and can travel up to 30 miles a day. But donkeys are no couch potatoes, either. They can run up to 30 miles per hour and are sure-footed on rocky mountain crags.

Compassion: Elephants wince when they see another elephant in pain, and an entire group will pitch in to help a mother elephant rescue her drowning baby. But donkeys are often prized companion animals because they are affectionate and are patient with children. Donkeys are also often tasked with watching over herds of sheep or goats.

Beauty: Standing up to 13 feet tall with trunks that can reach for 7 feet, elephants make for quite a majestic sight. Donkeys, the smallest members of the horse family, are beautiful in their own right, with soft coats of fawn, chocolate, red, or black fur and a graceful gait.

Intelligence: In an experiment to see if elephants could figure out that they had to work together, both pulling opposite ends of a rope, in order to move food close to them, the elephants not only succeeded but also figured out a shortcut that researchers hadn't thought of. Donkeys aren't short on smarts, either. Companion donkeys answer to their names, go for walks off leash, and can even learn to pull carts through obstacle courses.

Enjoying leisure time: Elephants like to cool off by using their trunks to spray water all over their bodies. They also flirt with other elephants they are interested in. Donkeys know how to relax, too, by finding a shady spot in which to curl up to escape the afternoon heat or rolling on their backs in the grass or dirt. Companion donkeys also love receiving treats and ear rubs.

© iStockphoto.com/mihaperosa

As close as it is, I think we have to call this one a tie. Please "cast your vote" in favor of protecting elephants by refusing to support circuses and zoos and protecting donkeys by opposing donkey basketball games and the roundup and slaughter of wild horses and donkeys.