Spain to Grant Legal Rights to Great Apes June 30, 2008

Posted by Marta at June 30, 2008 5:13 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 5 ) | TrackBack

Los animals no son nuestros para comer, llevar, experimentar, o usar para diversión!

Any Spanish speakers in the house? If so, please join me in a huge round of felicitaciones for our friends over in Spain. No, not for their big Euro 08 soccer win, although that was pretty sweet too. The Spanish Parliament have begun the process of passing groundbreaking legislation granting great apes the rights to life and freedom. Read that sentence again. Great apes. The right to life and freedom. I know. It's incredible.

Susanad813 / Creative Commons
It'll be a while before the law passes, but once it does, it means that it'll be illegal to perform harmful experiments on great apes in Spain, as well as use them in circuses or movies & television. In Germany, the basic rights of animals have been guaranteed by the federal constitution since 2002, but this new law in Spain marks the first time specific rights have been granted to individual non-human animals.

For a country where some people still get their kicks by forcing pissed-off bulls to chase them around town, this is a pretty amazing step forward. The world is changing as we speak, people. Viva la revolución!

—Dan

Posted by Marta

The Meatout Is Coming! March 17, 2008

Posted by Pulin Modi at March 17, 2008 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBack

March 20 is the Meatout, where people all around the world will encourage their friends and family to give up eating dead animals' flesh (a.k.a. meat). Whether it's for a day (good), a month (better), or forever (best), the important thing is that people start taking steps towards going vegetarian. You can take the pledge here.

Remember, there are a ton of really great reasons to go vegetarian or vegan. If you need some inspiration, consider the great work that Jamie has been up to at his school. When given the chance to write a persuasive essay and do a presentation for his honors English course, Jamie immediately knew he wanted to discuss vegetarianism. His presentation included a PowerPoint presentation, handouts (we're always happy to send you stuff for free), and a bunch of photos showing his classmates exactly how animals are exploited for their flesh.

Jamie said that by the end of the presentation his classmates had a lot more respect for his vegetarianism. Not only that, he said that it was "one of the happiest times in (his) life to know (he) can make a difference and to know that (his) voice was heard." Right on!

If you're looking to spread the word for the Meatout or any other time of the year, make sure you join the peta2 Street Team and especially check out the Take Charge section to get updates on all the latest campaigns!

Thanks!

-Pulin

P.S.- If you have cool photos or stories about your school presentations on animal rights, let us know!

Posted by Pulin

peta2 Rocks Chicago, and Heads for Canada! March 11, 2008

Posted by Ryan at March 11, 2008 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 13 ) | TrackBack

Thanks to everybody who attended peta2's Take Action Conference in Chicago this past weekend! We had over 100 students attend the event, for a day full of discussions and talks about "how to answer tough questions," "helping animals online," and much, much more!

Here are a few of the highlights:

Assistant Director of Youth Campaigns, Dan Shannon, during the opening of the conference



A student sharing his story of becoming a vegetarian during the "Living the Life" segment



Everyone wave to the blog-readers!



At the post-conference KFC protest!

Pictures are still coming in from Street Teamers, so make sure to keep checking our Flickr page to see them all, and share your stories from the conference on our peta2 message boards!

FINALLY, in response to demand from Street Teamers way up north, the next peta2 Take Action Conference will be in TORONTO! All of the details are available here, so make sure to reserve your spot NOW!

Ready, set, go!

- Ryan!

Posted by Ryan

We Want To Meet YOU This Weekend! February 6, 2008

Posted by Ryan at February 6, 2008 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 7 ) | TrackBack

This Sunday is the first peta2 Take Action Conference in the South! Our whole crew will be flying down to Texas for a day full of discussion panels about animal rights and "how to answer the tough questions", with a HUGE protest at KFC afterwards! If you've ever been in an argument with friends or family about vegetarianism, fur, or any other topic, we'll give you the answers you need to win that argument! :)

IF YOU ARE ATTENDING, we have a special offer for this conference!! If you have already registered, you can BRING UP TO TWO FRIENDS WITH YOU FOR FREE!! That's right, we want to encourage you to bring friends who have not bought tickets for the event as well, and at no cost!

All you have to do is email me to let me know who you will be bringing, and I'll book them the spaces (and lunch)!

IF YOU HAVEN'T RESERVED YOUR SPACE YET, there's still time! Click HERE or on the adorable picture of us to book your space now!



See you soon!!

- Ryan!

P.S. - If you live anywhere within driving distance of Austin, TX (I'm talking to you Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana!), you DEFINITELY won't want to miss this event. It will be a while before we return to the area, so make sure to get some friends or your parents to drive you to this conference if you can! Road trip!!

P.P.S - IF FOR SOME REASON you cannot register online (or if you're broke), just contact me so that we can find a way for you to go!

Posted by Ryan

An Anti-KFC Comic To Brighten Your Day January 28, 2008

Posted by Pulin Modi at January 28, 2008 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 8 ) | TrackBack

Thanks to Pop Culture Shock Therapy who actually has entire books of funny comics available.

If you have any animal rights related art, send it to us. And if you haven't already, check out some ways to get involved in the Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign.

-Pulin

Posted by Pulin

"Girls Next Door" Star, Holly Madison, for peta2! March 14, 2007

Posted by Ryan at March 14, 2007 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack

You might see Playboy model Holly Madison, star of The Girls Next Door, wearing bunny ears, but one thing you’ll never see her in is bunny fur (or any animal's fur, for that matter). Hugh Hefner's number one honey bunny—who shares both Hef and his home with fellow Girls Next Door stars Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson in the popular E! channel reality show—is so passionate about saving animals killed for their fur that she posed naked for one of peta2's anti-fur ads!

It’s no wonder that this "mistress of the Mansion pooches"—who adores all animals, especially the nine lucky pups currently bunking with the trio of buxom beauties—was outraged when we told her that animals, including cats and dogs, are kept in tiny cages and strangled, beaten, electrocuted, and often skinned alive for their fur.

Holly's philosophy? "You don't need fur. And if you want the look of fur … there's faux fur," she says. "There is just no reason for it."

As Holly knows, nice girls—and guys, too!—always fake it. With so many beautiful and warm faux furs available, there’s no reason—or excuse—to kill animals for their fur.

Posted by Ryan