Want to incite a media circus that almost—but not quite—descends into fisticuffs? Just put on a white sheet outside the AKC's biggest dog show and let the dog biscuits fall where they may. Check out these photos from the protest at Madison Square Garden:

No, there wasn't a biker convention going on. Apparently, some New Yorkers just love their black jackets made from cows. The focus of the media cameras (just outside the frame) is PETA spokesperson Michael McGraw, who was interviewed by tons of reporters.

Some folks looked like they expected Howie Mandel to jump out at them any moment. Others started talking about the whole thing on their cell phones.

The dour-looking woman to the right is a dog-breeder type attempting to stage a counter-protest—proving our point about the wealth of "Glamour Don'ts" to be found at Westminster.

Our star leaflet distributor was young Rose, who has no idea what the KKK is, but loves dogs of all sizes, shapes, and colors.

Written by Alisa Mullins

If you watch the USA network, then you are probably aware that the Westminster dog show is next week. They're promoting it out the wazoo—I know this from being forced to sit through commercial breaks during House because the Best Cat in the Universe is snoozing on my lap.

Anyhoo, PETA wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to get dog breeders' dander up, so we'll be outside Madison Square Garden during the show.

Last year, we held giant posters bearing the image of a sad-eyed shelter dog and reading "Breeders Kill Shelter Dogs' Chances." This year, we're up to something different and thought-provoking: We'll show up dressed as Klansmen to point out some of the eerie similarities between the AKC and the KKK. Pure bloodlines, master race/master pedigree, woeful lack of fashion sense. Creepy, isn't it?

To give you a sneak peek, here's the leaflet that our "KKK recruiter" will hand out:

And here's the banner that our hooded henchmen will brandish:

Purebreds only? Wrong for people. Wrong for dogs.

Written by Alisa Mullins

Earlier today, we launched the latest and (IMHO) greatest installment of the new video series for our Animal Birth Control Campaign. Just in time for the American Kennel Club-sponsored Westminster Dog Show, this one makes a few telling points about the folks who run the AKC—a group which discourages spay/neuter legislation and bills aimed at protecting pets from abuse as part of its agenda to cash in on the animal-breeding business, while millions of homeless animals die in shelters and on the streets. I love this video.

That’s right. It’s officially the Year of the Rat today, and in honor of the new year’s murine mascots, PETA is asking people to, um, be a bit nicer to them. For regular folk, doing that could be as simple as looking into humane options for dealing with rats who may end up in their home. And for people like the executives at Mars Candy, it would probably mean discontinuing those experiments where they torture and kill the little guys. This recent demonstration outside a Mars factory in Chicago helped to drive that point home (at the expense of some completely frozen protesters):

Meanwhile, the folks in PETA Asia Pacific have been busy as hell bringing in the New Year with demonstrations aimed at encouraging people to stop buying glue traps. You can see some pics from those demos here.

So, a very happy Year of the Rat to everyone! Hopefully it’ll be a good year for rats, too. It’s about time they caught a break.

PETA's 'Year of the Rat' Pack