A UK study has found that more litter is produced from customers at KFC, McDonald's, Subway, and UK chain Greggs than any other source. The government, along with environmental advocates, are calling for a more vigilant approach to litter than the companies have taken in the past (i.e. tiny recycle signs on the bottom of products).

I think this gives us a greater look into the mind of a KFC/McDonald's/Subway customer. They eat highly processed foods that are horrible for their bodies and throw the trash on the ground. Basically they have little regard for themselves or others. This has always been my suspicion but now it has been proven.

Here's some ways to keep the world clean and do something good for yourself in the UK and beyond.

Agweb.com reports that donations made toward animal rights groups are on the rise as animal abusing factory farmers quake in their boots. It seems that charitable donations to animal rights groups rose 11% in 2007 with part of the increased going toward what they called "extremist groups like PETA." If PETA is considered an extremist group I would love to hear what they think of the ALF.

This is great news for the movement and really bad news for its opponents. What I found really interesting was that the HUSA raised $130 million in 2007! I didn't realize they raised that much money, way to go!

Check out the article for the latest dollar figures from some of your favorite animal rights groups, I think you may find that it makes you happy.

The latest and the greatest, here's this week's round-up.

- Animal testing does not work.

- Don't swat! Mosquitoes sing love songs.

- Veganism and the end of global warming.

- Tyson CEO steps down due in part to poor sales.

- Pressure builds to end Japan's whaling.

- PETA seeks Top Chef to make "faux gras."

- The term "owner" replaced with the term "guardian" in animal related ordinances.

- ACTION ALERT! Fort Dix burns, stabs, shoots, and breaks the limbs of live pigs and goats.

As always, something to keep you smiling...real live dragons!


Have a great week!

A 140 year-old lobster was set to be served for dinner at New York restaurant but fortunately animal activists were able to dissuade the restaurant from cooking the lobster instead returning him to sea.

This lobster has outlived every human on earth! It would have been tragic for any human to eat him just to fulfill some sick ego.

Way to go everyone for pitching in and speaking up to help save this little guy from a horrific death that sadly many experience every day.

KFC employees have been caught on camera pulling chicken out of the garbage and putting it on a tray to serve to customers. The footage was taken by an employee that claims that this is a common practice at KFC. Apparently, employees stop cooking and throw everything away before the restaurant closes so if anyone orders before the doors close they just reach in the garbage and get it back out.

Here's the infamous video.

Trainers at the Oregon Zoo currently use violent and painful bullhooks on elephants. A bullhook is a long, heavy rod with a steel point and a hook at one end. Keepers jab bullhooks into the most sensitive parts of an elephant's body, such as behind the ears, inside the ear or mouth, in and around the anus, and in tender spots under the chin and around the feet.

Tell the Oregon Zoo to stop using bullhooks to hurt the elephants.

This video shows the use of a bullhook by a another violent organization, Ringling Brothers Circus.

Hope you've all had a good holiday. Here are some stories for you to check out this lazy Sunday.

- Man tries to lose weight on an all-jerky diet.

- ALF and SHAC 7 get international (negative) attention.

- New bill could reduce animal cruelty.

- Student poses as bidder and disrupts corrupt auction.

- Germany open soup kitchen to help hungry pets.

- Asia devours endangered U.S. animals.

- Aussies dump glue traps.

- Threatened species returns to England.

- ACTION ALERT: Pledge to go Veg in 2009!

As always, something to keep you smiling.


Have a good week.

WE DID IT!

From the obscure to the bizarre, here they are.

- Doctors warn of a new mad cow strain.

- FDA decides to protect the public and animal welfare.

- SHAC 7 prisoner Jake Conroy moved to new prison.

- Actor Jeremy Piven suffers from mercury poisoning possibly from eating fish.

- A WARNING: Animal activist turned police informant.

- Gang of wild cats raise baby.

- "Fashion" designer Donna Karan is gonna shit herself.

- Tyson Foods struggling to stay afloat.

- Vegetarian food producer Lightlife, looks to go more vegan.

- ACTION ALERT! Tell Urban Outfitters to Ditch Fur.

And as always, here's something to keep you smiling.



Take care.

Wanna hit animal abusers like Sarah Palin in the face with snowballs? Me too! Check out a new online video game where you get the opportunity to hit some of the most infamous animal abusers of 2008 in the face with snowballs to win big points.

Check out the new online game here...

Enjoy!

This a great list that PETA has put on their blog about the 10 most karmic moments in animal abuse of 2008. I don't usually laugh at the misfortune of others, but when it comes to animal abusers they should have seen this coming. So here they are, 10 classic moments in animal abuse:

10. While striking his dog with a gun to make him release a bone, a man managed to shoot himself. Granted, I don't think there's any safe place to point a gun, but letting the "business end" face you as you swing it like a club? Wow. Maybe he'll think twice about hitting his dog next time—if he, ya know, survived.

9. What happens when you anger a 10-foot python who's been stuck in a cage for a long time? An intern at a Venezuelan zoo found out when he decided to play with the snake during his night shift. Turns out that snakes are fond of strangling and swallowing their prey (someone really should put that on Wikipedia).

8. Some people shoo wasps away with their hands. Others think it's fair play to go after them with lighted torches. One monk learned that when you play with fire, you (and your entire temple) might get burned (to the ground).

7. While tracking a deer whom he had shot and was in the process of killing, a hunter apparently misjudged a cliff's edge and fell off.

6. A New Jersey man tried to kill insects in his apartment with bug spray, but the propellant chemicals in the spray seemed to have some unforeseen consequences. He succeeded in killing many bugs, but probably not so much because of the poison as because of the explosion, which destroyed 80 percent of his apartment.

5. Though the purpose of "sea kitten hunting" is to dig a hook painfully into another being's skin, one guy seems to have misread the how-to manual and managed to drive the hook into his own hand.

4. Have you ever seen bears who were forced to perform in captivity and felt sorry for how helpless they look? Well, it turns out gigantic land mammals with sharp, sharp teeth aren't always that helpless—as demonstrated by the fatal attack that a bear at Predators in Action wild animal training center made against a trainer.

3. Why don't we allow children to drive? Because it's dangerous. Why do we allow children to kill animals with loaded firearms? Good question. Though some folks argue that children can be trusted with firearms if trained properly, I don't think that helps the two men who were allegedly shot by one eight-year-old boy who had reportedly been taught how to use a deadly weapon to hunt animals.

2. After being jailed on burglary charges, a man was attacked by another inmate who chewed off a part of his ear (ewww!). What are the odds that something so disgusting and awful would happen to someone? To top it off, what are the odds that it would happen to a man who had previously been charged with cutting off a dog's ears?!

1. Proving that using a .44 Magnum to kill mice is not a good idea, a trailer park resident managed to shoot herself and a bystander while trying to fire at a rodent who was simply trying to share her space. Is anyone else stunned that two accidental injuries occurred? PETA's humane mousetrap, on the other hand, has never hurt a living soul.

China currently supplies half of the fur garments imported and sold the the United States. PETA has just released a new investigation highlighting some of what goes on in Chinese Fur Farms.

"..many animals are still alive and struggling desperately when workers flip them onto their backs or hang them up by their legs or tails to skin them. When workers on these farms begin to cut the skin and fur from an animal's leg, the free limbs kick and writhe. Workers stomp on the necks and heads of animals who struggle too hard to allow a clean cut."

The first step to doing something is knowing something. Watch the video, get mad, and get active and never forget, WE have the power to stop this.


Pledge to go fur-free at PETA.org.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is opening up space for advertising on the bottom of shoe bins at American airports and PETA is all over it.

"The ad features the photograph of a 'missing' calf named Charlie, who was pulled away from his mother. Charlie was most likely branded without any pain relief, and eventually slaughtered for his meat. His skin was made into someone's shoes, belt, or jacket—the very same items that get tossed into the bins at security checkpoints."

I think this ad campaign will be very effective if PETA can get it going. This will really help people connect the fact that their shoes or belt used to be someone just like Charlie.

Leather is not a fashion statement, it's someone else skin.

As we near the end of the year, it's important to remember all of our victories. The year 2008 will be remembered as the year the wave of animal cruelty broke and new era of compassion began. The Humane Society of the United States has put together a great video of just some of the successes.

Please think of your favorite animal rights group this x-mas and let's work together to make 2009 the year of animal liberation.



Some of my favorite groups that I contribute to:

Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
Save the Manatee
The Gorilla Foundation
In Defense of Animals (IDA)

PETA's big turkey abuse investigation that broke last month has taken a dramatic turn. The corporation responsible for the abuse (Avigen, Inc.) has fired what they claimed to be "all involved personnel." This is great news! Hopefully these guys can seek some counseling to deal with their violent perversions. Here's a few horrific highlights from the Avigen, Inc. investigation:

• Employees stomped on turkeys' heads, punched turkeys, hit them on the head with a can of spray paint and pliers, and struck turkeys' heads against metal scaffolding.
• Men shoved feces and feed into turkeys' mouths and held turkeys' heads under water. Another bragged about jamming a broom stick 2 feet down a turkey's throat.
  
• A supervisor said he saw workers kill 450 turkeys with 2-by-4s.
  
• One man said he saw a coworker fatally inject turkey semen and sulfuric acid into turkeys' heads.
  

Hayden Panettiere, the star of the show Heroes, is an outspoken advocate for the dolphins but when it comes to baby cows she would rather make them into a cute handbag. It was just released that Panettiere will sell an Italian calfskin clutch as part of her Spring 2009 line. This is very shocking considering Panettiere is an animal activist and "hardcore" vegetarian. The issue has many former veggie fans up in arms (link). This will no doubt hurt her career.

Hayden was awarded the "Compassion in Action Award" by PETA in 2007. The group released a confused statement saying that they were displeased with her decision to use leather but is "sure that she'll extend her concern for abused animals to those less popular, like cows who are skinned for bags and shoes, once she sees our undercover footage, which we'll be sending to her (link)."

Hayden may not know the truth behind the leather industry so it's up to us fellow animal activists to show her the light. Let's try and get her to take this out of her line.

Today is an annual international day of protest against fur. Even tough everyday is fur free, today will be official.

Fur is bad for so many reasons but I've compiled the top 5 (in no particular order) of why I'm against it:

5. On average it takes about 120 dead animals to make one fur coat. That's 120 lives that ended brutally so I could wear a something that makes me look like a complete douchebag.

4. Fur production is BAD for the environment. I like to think of myself as a steward of the earth and fur production uses 15 times more energy than faux-fur production (link).

3. Animals are gentle and caring and don't hurt anyone else unless threatened. The fur industry uses the sweetest animals for skinning (link).

2. No federal humane slaughter law protect animals in fur factory farms so owners are allowed to get away with some of the most gruesome and sadistic acts imaginable. Animals are killed with poison, gas, anal electrocution, neck breaking, and are often skinned alive (link).

1. I love my cat. Thousands of dogs and cats are made into the fur coats and trims that are sold around the world. If the fur is sold below a hundred dollars, manufacturers are not mandated to say wear the fur came from. Often times the pelts of dogs and cats are labeled faux fur (link).

Please speak out and help stop this horrible practice. Check out this website for more information of what Fur Free events are happening in your area today.

Please take to time to send this video to friends and family to remind them of the cruelty and inspire them to change.

I took this from PETA's Blog because I thought it was very cool. I hope everyone out there is enjoying your Tofurkies today.

Written by Bruce Friedrich

Did Sarah Palin's recent interview in front of a turkey-slaughter operation almost cause you to lose your lunch? If so, you're not alone. Even conservative pundit Joe Scarborough says he may well skip the bird this year. With Thanksgiving upon us, here without further ado are PETA's top 10 reasons to pardon a turkey this holiday season:

10. If you wouldn't eat your cat, you shouldn't eat a turkey.
As poultry scientist Tom Savage says, "I've always viewed turkeys as smart animals with personality and character, and keen awareness of their surroundings. The 'dumb' tag simply doesn't fit." They're as interesting and have personalities every bit as developed as those of any dog or cat.

When they're not forced to live on filthy factory farms, turkeys spend their days caring for their young, building nests, foraging for food, taking dust baths, preening themselves, and roosting high in trees. These social, playful birds relish having their feathers stroked and like to chirp, cluck, and gobble along to their favorite tunes.

9. Factory farms deny turkeys everything that is natural and important to them.
Ben Franklin called turkeys "true American originals." He had tremendous respect for their resourcefulness, agility, and beauty. In nature, turkeys can fly 55 miles an hour, run 25 miles an hour, and live up to four years. Yet turkeys raised for food are killed when they are only 5 or 6 months old. During their short lives, they will be denied even the simplest pleasures, such as running, building nests, and raising their young.

8. Turkey consumption might kill you.
Turkey flesh is brimming with fat and cholesterol. Just one homemade patty of ground, cooked turkey meat contains a whopping 244 mg of cholesterol, and half of its calories come from fat. Turkey flesh is also frequently tainted with salmonella, campylobacter bacteria, and other contaminants. And a vegan meal won't leave you sprawled on the couch, belt buckle undone, barely able to move.

7. You may stave off bird flu apocalypse.
Current factory-farm conditions are breeding grounds for disease. Turkeys are drugged and bred to grow so quickly that many become crippled and die from dehydration. Cooking meat should kill the bird flu virus, but it can be left behind on cutting boards and utensils and spread through something else you're eating.

6. Don't support their crack habit.
Dosing turkeys with antibiotics to stimulate their growth and to keep them alive in filthy, disease-ridden conditions that would otherwise kill them poses even more risks for people who eat them. Leading health organizations—including the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, and the American Public Health Association—have warned that the factory farming industry is possibly creating long-term risks to human health through the spread of antibiotic-resistant supergerms. That's why the use of drugs to promote growth in animals used for food has been banned for many years in Europe.

5. There are healthy, humane alternatives.
Everyone can give thanks for animal-friendly holiday meals such as Tofurky, Celebration Roast, and Garden Protein's new Veggie Turkey Breast With Wild Rice and Cranberry Stuffing. PETA's scrumptious holiday recipes will please every palate and make it easier to give up the giblets.

4. Eating birds supports cruelty to animals.
When the time comes for slaughter, turkeys are thrown into transport trucks. At the slaughterhouse, they are hung upside-down and their heads are dragged through an electrified "stunning tank," which immobilizes them but does not kill them. Many birds dodge the tank and are still conscious when their throats are cut. If the knife fails to properly cut the birds' throats, the birds are scalded to death in the defeathering tanks.

3. Turkey consumption is bad for the environment.
Turkeys and other animals raised for food produce 130 times as much excrement as the entire human population—all without the benefit of waste-treatment systems. There are no federal guidelines to regulate how factory farms treat, store, and dispose of the trillions of pounds of concentrated, untreated animal excrement that they produce each year.

2. Turkey farming contributes to human starvation.
Turkeys have to be fed grains, soy, oats, and corn that could otherwise be fed to human beings. Only a fraction of the calories fed to a turkey are turned into meat calories. While there is ample and justified moral indignation about the diversion of 100 million tons of grain for biofuels, more than seven times as much (760 million tons) is fed to farmed animals so that people can eat meat. Is the diversion of crops to our cars a moral issue? Yes, but it's about one-eighth the issue that meat-eating is.

And the number one reason to give the birds a break:

1. Factory-farmed turkeys have nothing to be thankful for.
On factory farms, turkeys live for months in sheds where they are packed so tightly that flapping a wing or stretching a leg is nearly impossible. They stand mired in waste; urine and ammonia fumes burn their eyes and lungs. To keep the birds from killing one another in these crowded conditions, parts of the turkeys' toes and beaks are cut off, as are the males' snoods (the flap of skin under the chin). All this is done without any pain relievers.

A PETA investigator recently went undercover at a massive turkey-breeding facility in West Virginia and documented workers stomping on turkeys, punching them, beating them with pipes and boards, and twisting their necks repeatedly. One worker even bragged about shoving a broomstick down a turkey's throat because the bird had pecked at him. Our previous investigations show that such gratuitous abuse is the norm on turkey farms.

Check out VegCooking.com for tasty alternatives that will allow the turkeys to give thanks this Holiday season along with you and your family.

Happy eating!

What were your favorite recipes this Thanksgiving?

Animal tormentor Michael Vick pleaded guilty today to his dog fighting charge. The plea reduced his sentence from 3 years in prison to 4 years probation with 'good behavior.' He was also issued an additional fine of $2,500 (link).

Vick really got off easy in this case. The horror that he inflicted on dozens of animals is not easy to ignore. Unfortunately, both the courts and the NFL do find it easy; there's rumor that Vick will return to the NFL next season (link).

Vick was not only participating in cruel dog fighting he was running the whole show. Between 2001 and 2007 Vick ran 'Bad Newz Kennels' and made thousands of dollars at the expense of animals. In 2007 he was convicted of shooting, downing, hanging, electrocuting and killing dogs by slamming them down on the ground (link).

Hopefully the NFL will not allow Vick to represent the organization by playing next season.

Do you think Michael Vick served his time? Will he go back to committing animal abuse?

Here's a round-up of things you should check out this week.

- 52 whales die in mass stranding (link).

- PETA's 'Mama Kills Animals' web game is a hit attracting millions of hits! (link).

- Whole foods not wholly honest about what's in their products (link).

- ACTION ALERT! NBA team uses tiger cubs in halftime show (link).

- What all vegans should try before they die (link).

- LA Times wants to know 'Is red meat really bad?' (link).

- Portland's Nutshell Restaurant shuts down after pissing off vegans (link).

Something to keep you happy...


Enjoy and have a great week.