"I just think about these animals that are there for months …. And the way they kill them—it's just not needed, it's not a necessity," said actor Mayte Garcia, speaking out against fur farms on the set of the new ad she shot for PETA. "Doing this shoot and getting into the cage and putting on the fur coat—it was overwhelming," she added. But while being caged and drenched in blood isn't anyone's idea of a good time, Mayte is hopeful that her graphic ad will make people think twice about buying the skins of animals who, as the ad makes clear, were "electrocuted, stomped on, beaten, and skinned alive." 

Photo: Kawai Matthews/AirPhilosphy.com Hair/makeup: Molly Greenwald/www.mollygreenwald.com

"[I]f I can educate one person to how these animals are treated, then I'll do it again," Mayte said on her reality show, VH1's Hollywood Exes, which filmed her PETA shoot. (Mayte is the famous "Hollywood ex" of Prince.) In this behind-the-scenes video, Mayte revealed the childhood experiences that made her want to speak up for animals and why she believes that everyone should adopt homeless animals instead of buying from breeders and pet stores, spay and neuter their animals, go vegetarian, and, of course, refuse to wear real fur. 

Follow Mayte's lead in standing up to the fur industry by joining the thousands of people who have already signed our Pledge to Be Fur-Free, and always speak out about the cruelty of fur.

As the sky-high temperatures across the country make clear, it's summer. But it's not vacation season for the staffers of PETA's mobile clinics division, who hit the road year-round to take low-cost to no-cost spay and neuter surgeries and other veterinary services to animals in need.

Too Hot to Be in Heat

We kicked off the summer in fine fashion—in June alone, the mobile clinics spayed and neutered 359 cats (84 of whom were feral) and 302 dogs, including 30 pit bulls. Here are some more stats to break it down even further:

• 127 of the animals were prepubescent, so they'll never reproduce and add to the overpopulation crisis.
• 105 surgeries were subsidized for indigent families.
• 32 animals were given door-to-door rides by PETA staff to and/or from our clinics.

In total, 661 animals were altered in June alone, including Booboo, whose guardian contacted PETA seeking help with flea prevention and grooming. He initially planned to breed this little Pomeranian, but when PETA offered to groom her for free, he gladly accepted the offer to have her spayed at the same time.

Another animal who caught the summer spay-and-neuter wave was Daisy, who was just about to come into heat for the first time. Fortunately, her guardians did not want that to happen, so PETA spayed her before she could have any puppies.

What You Can Do

Long summer days are the ideal time to help make life brighter for dogs and cats by pledging to end animal homelessness. One great way to start is to support PETA's work to address the homeless animal crisis—and you don't even have to go out in the heat to do it!

Our servicemembers aren't the only ones who make sacrifices for our freedom. Their companion animals often endure frequent moves, months of not seeing one of their beloved guardians, and all the other hardships that come with life in the military. To celebrate Independence Day, PETA honored the loyal four-legged companions of servicemembers in Southeastern Virginia by offering to spay or neuter and vaccinate them for just $4 each.

Partnering with the Virginia Beach SPCA (VBSPCA), one of our mobile veterinary clinics performed the spay and neuter surgeries, and the VBSPCA administered the vaccinations. Here are just a few photos from this event, after which many military mutts and freedom felines can now declare their independence from unwanted litters and many health problems: 

A 4-year-old pit bull named Sandy owes her life to a spay surgery that came not a moment too soon. Sandy's guardian had learned from her veterinarian that Sandy had a serious uterine infection, and while spay surgery would probably have cured it immediately, the vet's bill for the procedure would have been at least $900. Sandy's owner opted for far less costly antibiotic treatment, but two weeks later, Sandy's condition worsened. She stopped eating, and her distraught guardian called PETA for advice.

Sensing that Sandy was gravely ill, the head of our Mobile Clinics Division rearranged the clinics' schedules so that Sandy could be spayed the very next day (for free, a service that we offer for all pit bulls). During the operation, PETA's vet discovered that Sandy also had an enormous ovarian tumor. Suffering from two serious diseases, she almost certainly would have died, likely within days, without surgery.

Had Sandy been spayed as a puppy, she never would have developed the painful infection and ovarian tumor that put her life at risk. She is a living example of how spaying and neutering not only prevents unwanted animals from being born into a world bursting at the seams with them but also protects the health of those who are already here.

PETA's two mobile clinics spayed or neutered 770 animals in May, including Kharma, whose guardian was so grateful to have her spayed that despite his very limited income, he donated $75 to the program:

We also spayed Muffin, who had already had one litter of kittens for whom her guardian had difficulty finding homes:

Imagine stories like these occurring again and again each and every day, and you get some idea of the vital work performed by our mobile clinics every month.

June is "Adopt a Shelter Cat" Month, and I implore anyone who has the time, resources, energy and love to devote to a cat to consider opening their hearts and homes to a feline (or two!) in need. Shelters are overflowing with cats of every stripe—from frisky kittens to loyal "lap cats."

(c) Kencredible

As The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights points out, this is because breeders insist on cranking out more litters, pet shop owners know that they can make a buck by selling kittens and too many people don't consider the consequences of not having their cats (or the ones they've been feeding by the back door) spayed or neutered. 

On any given day, the number of stray and surrendered cats who pass through animal shelters' doors far exceeds that of the people who are qualified and willing to give them homes. This leaves shelters in the heartbreaking position of having to euthanize many cats in order to accommodate the newcomers.

Adopting is important, but in the end, it's like trying to bail out a sinking ship with a teaspoon. We can bail for all we're worth, but the ship is going to go down anyway unless we plug the hole in the bottom. Preventing more cats and dogs from ending up homeless in the first place, by passing mandatory spay/neuter legislation and restricting breeding, is the solution.

Read the entire article on Huffington Post. 

Some people may know about PETA only from what they see on TV or read online or in the gossip mags, but celebrities aren't the only stars who work for PETA. I'm talking about our hardworking superstar spay-and-neuter clinic staffers, of course.

Six—sometimes seven!—days a week, PETA's mobile clinics provide animals in Virginia and North Carolina with free to low-cost sterilization surgeries. In April alone, the mobile clinics spayed or neutered 717 animals, and PETA's Community Animal Project fieldworkers even transported 29 more to and from the clinics. Here are just a few of the lucky animals "SNIP'ed" by our fabulous medical team this month:

Fluffy

Blackie Jr.

Layla

Missy

Charlotte

You can help end the animal homelessness crisis by volunteering at a spay-and-neuter clinic in your area or offering to transport an animal belonging to someone without transportation to a spay or neuter appointment.

Mexican superstar Kate del Castillo, named one of the “25 most influential women” by People en Español, is just as fierce off-screen protecting animals as she is on-screen in her Telemundo hit La Reina del Sur and in the upcoming thriller No Good Deed. Yesterday, she urged all guardians to be their animals' biggest defender when she unveiled her new PETA ad, which reads, in Spanish, "Fiercely Protect Your Animals."

As Spanish and English-speaking media swarmed around, the upbeat crowd got their own miniature versions of Kate's ad to take home, complete with dog-care tips on the back, including advice to spay and neuter and never leave animals to fend for themselves. 

And since May 10 is Mother's Day in Mexico, as well as the adoptiversary of Kate's rescued dog, Lola, it was the perfect day for Kate and Lola to celebrate their relationship by fostering other mother-dogter bonds.

Enter to win an autographed copy of Kate's ad! 

Update: The correct answer is that during March, PETA's three mobile clinics spayed or neutered a whopping 882 animals. Thanks for participating in our contest and for your generous donations that keep the mobile clinics running. 

Every day, PETA's fleet of mobile veterinary clinics provides animals in Virginia and North Carolina with no-cost to low-cost spay-and-neuter surgeries. If you can correctly guess how many animals PETA "snipped" in March, you could win a dog-pampering set, complete with a new bowl, a Kong, treats, toys, and Ingrid E. Newkirk's book Let's Have a Dog Party! 

Meet Bridgette and Lucy, just two of the animals who won't be "littering," thanks to their low-cost surgeries in March:

Submit your guesstimates for how many animals PETA snipped in March in the comments section. The person whose guess comes closest to the actual number will win.

Good luck!

Written by Michelle Sherrow

The person whose answer comes closest to the actual number of animals PETA spayed and neutered in March will be the winner. In the event of a tie, a random drawing will be held to determine the winner. The contest will end on April 18, and we'll contact the winner on April 20. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.

Some folks have wondered what the dog and cat (and occasionally lizard and rat and seagull and chicken) rooms at PETA headquarters look like. Well, they don't usually look like this …

 
"Who? Me?"

… but this one did just a few hours after the little dog seen here, Precious—a dachshund mix—arrived for a pajama party. Everything seemed quiet after she had been taken for a long, long walk, but by 5:30 a.m., the couch was down to the wooden frame. Who'd have guessed that such a little dog could wreak so much havoc?

Dogs often tear things up when they feel bored, frustrated, or anxious. If your home contains a canine demolition crew, make sure their need for stimulation and attention is being met. Provide plenty of playtime, tummy rubs, and walks (a reputable dog walker can help when you can't get home yourself), and please don't crate them—after all, they're dogs, not cargo.

Sometimes, though, you have to cut your losses—literally: The sofa had to be chopped in half with a chain saw and thrown out. While Precious was being spayed in one of PETA's mobile clinics, staffers were at the Hope House thrift shop picking up a comfy new (or, rather, gently used) couch. And, hey, at least she had fun!

Want to help animals in need—and, perhaps, replace a shredded sofa or two? Join PETA.

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.