We figured that with all the talk about food and food sources (see the stirring documentary Food, Inc. or read The Omnivore’s Dilemma or Fast Food Nation) that people can make their own decision about where their McNuggets come from and if they want to munch on them.

PETA often creates outrageous ads and they definitely like to stir the pot. Their ads, seen or not, often start a dialogue which we like. Dialogue about our fast food nation – we’re loving it.

Hot drama star Kelly Carlson is the newest face to grace the cover of PETA’s cruelty-free shopping guide encouraging folks to shop only for “products that have not been smeared in rabbits’ eyes, injected into mice, or force-fed to guinea pigs.”

Effective alternatives that don’t involve hurting animals are available everywhere, yet how is it that millions of animals are forced to undergo excruciatingly painful testing year after year to see if it is right for humans?

It ain’t right, it isn’t necessary and it’s time to expose and end these horrors.

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The Toro de la Vega festival is an annual event held each year in Tordesillas, Spain.  Like many festivals, crowds of people look forward to the event and line the streets.  But unlike many fests held around the world, this event is known for one particular tradition.

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We’ve all got used to the idea of a supply chain for products and the ‘reporting’ of that supply chain so that consumers can make decisions based on the ethicality or origin of a product or recognise its pedigree as a fair-trade, recycled, animal-friendly, organic, packaging free or whatever-else-is-the-current-preoccupation kind of purchase.

But there are supply chains we know almost nothing about, even when their ‘end product’ is a subject of hot and angry debate.

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Earlier this week, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) released undercover video footage showing employees of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus allegedly abusing elephants and tigers.

The abuse, caught on tape by an undercover PETA investigator, allegedly occurred in seven different states across America over several months. The footage shows handlers allegedly whipping and beating 11 circus elephants in the face, chest, ears and legs with bullhooks.  

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Music legend Sir Paul McCartney is seeking to enlist the help of an unlikely candidate in the battle to solve climate change, ex-baywatch starlet Pamela Anderson.

Apparently, his royal beatleness made the plea in a direct two page letter to Anderson, following her ongoing loyal support of animal rights group PETA. McCartney, a staunch advocate of vegetarianism for more than thirty years, was spurred on by a growing awareness that reduced meat consumption or vegetarianism is the “single most effective” way to tackle global warming.

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Did you hear about KFC’s offer to fill the potholes in Louisville and four other US cities? Well, they’ve asked to be allowed to stencil an ad onto the pavement in exchange. Predictably, PETA and their KFC Cruelthy campaign now want some of the action.

“KFC might concentrate instead on improving conditions for the chickens it abuses, but it won’t, so we’re offering to double the money that KFC offered the City of Louisville—if the city will use our ads against KFC cruelty on its potholes instead,” reads a post today on PETA’s blog.

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Australian musician Ben Lee brilliantly weaves daunting issues such as the global water crisis, religious intolerance, consumerism, hunger, greed, renewable energy and global warming into this inescapably catchy pop song. Lee has also been nominated as one of PETA’s world’s sexiest vegetarians.

Despite evidence that increasing the seal hunt quota could bring the harp seal population down the dangerous levels, the Canadian government has approved a 55,000 seal increase to quota for the upcoming commercial seal hunt.

The increase brings the total to 338,000 young seals scheduled to be brutally killed. Canada’s Humane Society said the higher quota could bring the downfall of the species, much like times in the past when the population dropped two-thirds in a decade with an inflated quota.

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In fact, these events merely mark the latest in a string of 938 instances over the last 3 years where elephants have run amok. During that span, 207 of the animals have died from mistreatment, and 70 mahouts, or elephant trainers, have been killed in the wake.

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PETA already has a website dedicated to pressuring Al Gore to drop the meat from his diet, but when they caught wind of his proposed new .ECO domain, they couldn’t resist the opportunity to take another stab at him.

Ingrid Newkirk, PETA’s president and founder, sent a letter to the CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers announcing PETA’s support for the new domain and their intention to register www.OffsetAlGore.eco if the application for the domain suceeds.

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The Canadian seal hunt comes around once a year, and along with the hunt comes the international day of action against it: March 15th.

This year is looking more promising than ever. The European Union is considering a complete ban on seal products, a bill to ban the hunt has been introduced in the Canadian senate for the first time since the ’70s, and the general demand for seal products is shrinking worldwide.

An end to the hunt seems inevitable, but it won’t happen without continued pressure. Here are 5 simple ways you can help stop the hunt next Saturday:

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The US Fish and Wildlife Service rejected an attempt by trophy hunters to re-allow shipments of polar bear parts from countries where it is legal to kill the embattled species.

The Humane Society of the United States lobbied the agency hard against the proposed reopening of the trade. The animals are listed as a threatened species in the United States, but other countries still allow the bears to be hunted.

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Oregon State Representative Ben Cannon has proposed a 1900% increase in state beer tax, leading PETA to issue a letter asking him to instead consider a small meat tax in the state.

PETA reminded Cannon that eating meat can lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems. They claim that taxing it would persuade people to eat less meat, and instead eat more plant-based proteins, thus improving health and welfare in the state.

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The original campaign against McDonald’s was launched in 2000, and after the company worked with PETA to make some basic animal welfare changes, the campaign was withdrawn. Now, PETA says, there are more humane methods of killing animals such as chickens, but McDonald’s won’t use them. Controlled Atmosphere Killing (CAK) would allow chickens in McDonald’s suppliers’ slaughterhouses to die relatively painlessly, but they have refused to consider asking their suppliers to switch to CAK—a move that would cost McDonald’s nothing—and so PETA has unleashed their wrath at McCruelty.com. PETA says:

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The 120-year-old lobster was out the door and heading towards freedom, but then an obstinate UPS driver wouldn’t agree to give the lobster’s box careful handling on its way back to the Atlantic.

Craig the 20-pound lobster made headlines after PETA asked Brooklyn restaurant owner Gina Ng to allow the animal to be released back into the wild. But yesterday, when PETA volunteers and a UPS driver arrived to take Craig away, the plan fell apart.

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The longstanding and notoriously outspoken punk outfit Propagandhi has released their new two-track single as a high-quality download for fans who donate $1 to $10 to Sea Shepherd, PETA2, or Partners in Health.

The two songs, “Supporting Caste” on the A-side and “Human(e) Meat” on the B-side, come from their upcoming new record. The downloads are available through G7 Welcoming Committee, a record label collective that became download-only for environmental reasons in 2007.

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Shackled, Beaten, Abused is the tagline of a new PETA ad designed to raise awareness about the mistreatment of captive elephants.

It features Celina Jaitley, who is a popular actress in India. Last year she also participated in an elephant conservation fundraiser in Switzerland that raised one million francs.

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Many zoos are having a tough time surviving in this economy, but PETA has an idea that could help save them, and improve the lives of the animals inside.

The soon-to-be approved stimulus plan includes the (slightly altered) Coburn Amendment which essentially tries to guarantee that no one is allowed to have fun during the recession, at least not on the government’s check. While parks and museums have been spared from the chopping block, zoos have been denied any extra assistance in the economic downturn.

PETA has offered a solution to zoos facing budget woes: they’ll pay them $1,000 per animal if the zoo agrees to end its breeding programs and change their focus to being a sanctuary “for exotic animals rescued from circuses, abusive owners, and roadside attractions.”

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Conservationists are aghast at a plan to kill thousands of grey squirrels across Scotland in order to allow the red squirrel population room to grow.

“There are alternatives to a cull,” said Ross Minett of the UK’s Advocates for Animals. “There needs to be more research into immunocontraception for greys and there could be a focus on improving the red squirrel habitat.”

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