Written by PETA
Here are links to the stories.
Cry of the Wild
Gorilla Warfare
Hugely Vulnerable- Q&A with Richard Leakey
A lot of people have been writing in to ask who won the Second Life anti-fur slogan contest I was talking up a few weeks ago. Well, the virtual ballots have been cast, and the winners have been announced. Here are the winning slogans, and the awesome Stella McCartney display stand that will memorialize their work in Second Life forever. “All we are saying is give fleece a chance.” Love it.
There are a few old lighthouses on the East Coast being offered up free of charge to a nonprofit or other qualified entity under the Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. So—of course—we’re applying for them. What international animal protection organization doesn’t need a lighthouse or two, right?
The first of the lighthouses we applied for is called the Penfield Reef Lighthouse—it's about a mile off the Connecticut coast, near the small town of Farifield. Here’s a story about it.
In all seriousness, we're applying for the lighthouses to serve as the international headquarters of our Fish Empathy Project, where we would install interactive displays promoting the protection of fish. Plus, it would be the perfect place to house the world’s first Fish Empathy Quilt.
After we submitted our application for the Penfield Reef Lighthouse, we found out that an official with the City of Fairfield—backed by the local Historical Society—is trying to obtain the lighthouse. So we wrote to him offering to bow out of the competition (which, incidentally, is just between us and him right now) if he can ensure that no cruelty to fish (such as angling or fish sticks) takes place on lighthouse grounds. Here’s the letter we sent. I’ll be sure to let you know if we get a response, but I wouldn’t start making vacation plans to visit the PETA Lighthouse just yet . . .
Dear Paris and Britney, So, you have popped into a pet store to pick up some more doggie arm candy. Your impulse purchases of dogs encourage others to follow suit, no matter how ill-equipped they are to provide a decade or more of care for a little dog who has feelings and needs and who requires patience, veterinary care, and stimulation other than nightclub music and bar laughter. Also, for every pet store puppy purchased, a pound puppy dies (and a breeder -- probably somewhere in Arkansas or Missouri -- is rewarded for adding yet another litter to the pet overpopulation crisis). A California bill that would have required most dogs and cats to be spayed or neutered-and therefore would have helped reduce the taxpayer burden for disposing of (killing) homeless animals-was recently defeated by greedy breeders. Perhaps you and other vacuous stars need to tattoo "Don't buy while pound pups die" on your foreheads to remind each other of that home truth. Very truly yours,Ingrid E. Newkirk, PresidentPETA
Dear Paris and Britney,
So, you have popped into a pet store to pick up some more doggie arm candy. Your impulse purchases of dogs encourage others to follow suit, no matter how ill-equipped they are to provide a decade or more of care for a little dog who has feelings and needs and who requires patience, veterinary care, and stimulation other than nightclub music and bar laughter. Also, for every pet store puppy purchased, a pound puppy dies (and a breeder -- probably somewhere in Arkansas or Missouri -- is rewarded for adding yet another litter to the pet overpopulation crisis). A California bill that would have required most dogs and cats to be spayed or neutered-and therefore would have helped reduce the taxpayer burden for disposing of (killing) homeless animals-was recently defeated by greedy breeders. Perhaps you and other vacuous stars need to tattoo "Don't buy while pound pups die" on your foreheads to remind each other of that home truth.
Very truly yours,
Ingrid E. Newkirk, PresidentPETA
Is it me or does Czech supermodel Petra Nemcova look more beautiful than ever lately? Well, I think I know why. I just came across this story about how she recently went vegan to make a statement and to save fish, so there ya go.
OK, I guess maybe her perfect genes could have a little something to do with it, but still . . . Seriously though, I can’t think of a better spokesperson for veganism than Petra. You go girl.
The folks in our Vegan department have asked me to remind everyone that the deadline for our Sizzling Summer BBQ Recipe Contest is midnight on July 4. So, if you want to be in the running to win a new grill, among other cool prizes, get your recipes in soon. The winning recipes will also be featured on VegCooking.com.
The sky's the limit as long as the dish is vegan and suitable for a barbecue. Appetizers, salads, entrees, desserts—show us what you've got! Our panel of PETA chefs will select three winners based on taste, creativity and theme.
All this food talk is making me kind of hungry. I wonder if I can somehow scam my way onto the recipe judging committee . . .
My friend and colleague Melissa sent me a couple of pics of her baby sisters’ college graduation over the weekend, and when I opened the email, I was totally expecting to see a couple of the usual stock family photos and move on. But instead I saw these amazing shots . . .
World, meet Stephanie and Kimberly Carpel, animal activists extraordinaire. They both just graduated from California State University—Northridge, where they started Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. After the graduation ceremony, their Mom and Dad (both vegan as well) threw them a huge reception (all the food was vegan of course) that wowed both the vegans and non-vegans alike.
Kimberly and Stephanie have a pretty exciting summer ahead of them as well. They’re soon heading off to Spain for the annual Running of the Nudes and shortly thereafter, they’ll be arriving here in Norfolk to intern at PETA for the summer.
Can’t wait to meet y'all!
So I walked into my local Taco Bell today, psyched to order my usual lunch, the always delicious and satisfying combo of a bean and rice burrito and a beef and potato burrito (substitute beans for beef and salsa for sour cream). The cashier was excited to see me (yes, all the employees know me and my pal Joel Bartlett, we eat there that much) and point out that, lo and behold, the new specialty item they’re pushing is vegetarian. It’s called a 7-Layer Crunchwrap, and it’s basically like a double bean tostada thing wrapped in a tortilla and grilled. Of course, they’ll gladly make it vegan by nixing the cheese and sour cream, which I guess makes the vegan version a 5-Layer Crunchwrap, huh?
Anyway, just wanted to share my newfound favorite menu item at the ultimate purveyor of Mexican fast food goodness, and holler at my favorite girl at the register. See you tomorrow, Kim.
So I’ve been vegetarian for kind of a long time, and back in the day, my choices for nonleather shoes and belts and so forth were pretty much nonexistent. If I found a decent pair of vegan shoes in my size, I’d snap up a couple of pairs at a time. Honestly, it was a little tough. But that was back in the dark ages, and today it couldn’t be easier. I don’t have to look hard at all to find cruelty-free clothes anymore, and as you can see from the picture, the results are positively devastating.
But I digress. The point is that I was really excited to see this Today Show piece about modern cruelty-free fashions. It makes it clear how easy it is nowadays to be cruelty-free and super fashionable at the same time, if that's your thing. Check it out:
So every now and then, we have these meetings at PETA where everyone in my department talks about the new animal-friendly features they have lined up for the website, and we brainstorm a few good ways to promote them on the Internet. The highlight of these meetings is always when my good friend Mylie starts raving about her latest project and we all make fun of her. Mylie, bless her heart, is the kind of girl who brings in, like, lotus nuts and fennel seeds for everyone to snack on at work, and while I haven't been able to substantiate this rumor yet, it's possible that she may have been raised on a commune. Anyway, the point of all this is that Mylie is even more pumped than usual about her new "DIY Vegan Candles" giveaway (yes, apparently not only is there such a thing as a vegan candle, but it's possible to actually construct one yourself somehow … out of soy), so I thought I'd give her feature a little love on the blog. To be fair to Mylie, the giveaway is doing really well so far, and—though I hate myself for saying this—the candles actually look kind of cool. So there you have it—you can enter to win some kickass DIY, 100 percent vegan, soy candles here. If you don't want to do it for the animals, do it for Mylie.
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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