We have a video on Friction.tv! Click below to find out more about why PETA did this naked farrowing crate protest yesterday in Covent Garden, and see what onlookers thought about it. I love the comment ‘Get your boobs out to get your point across.’

Today, a letter from the former MP Tony Benn was hand delivered by a PETA campaigner to Burberry, asking them to have a rethink on their outdated fur policy. The letter is addressed to the CEO and urges Burberry to end the use of fur in its designs. Benn, a staunch advocate of animal rights, doesn’t meddle with his words and says, “How desperately sad then that Burberry has taken this huge moral step backwards by choosing to adorn its garments with a product of such misery and suffering, a product that is unacceptable by any British standard.”

PETA continues to campaign against the fashion company until it drops real fur from its collections. When questioned on their use of fur and the letter, a spokesman unsurprisingly had very little to say.

Click to view the letter in full.

So today is the day – will you be proposing to your boyfriend… that he go veg? Or are you expecting the proposal from your miss at some point today?

Going vegetarian or vegan is a great way to celebrate this special day, and your heart will thank you for it (so will the animals.) I want to know if you did this and what the results are! Joleen, Noemy at al – how did the big proposal go?

One blogger decided to give veganism a go for lent after seeing my entry on it and the results after just three weeks show a great success.

Kudos to the USPCA in Northern Ireland for putting a stop to Norman Elder’s stunt of allowing the public to interact with the “pet” tiger at the dangerous animal pound in Benvarden. He hit the news after the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (USPCA) evicted the keeper when photos of visitors stroking Sonya the tiger leaked onto the internet. I don’t think officers were overly impressed when one of them was struck and hospitalised by a van during Elder’s eviction.

What was then discovered is the most shocking of all. Four decapitated lions were unearthed at the pound, a former safari park, with their heads completely removed. Although the lions are reported to have been put down humanely, officials say there was no need for them to have been beheaded.

Captivity denies tigers’, and all animals’ for that matter, wild instincts and natural urges like seeking out mates, raising families and swimming – not to mention the denial of roaming over vast areas of land. Subjecting the tiger to a barrage of human interaction is a bit like lighting a fuse and expecting it not to blow. Using animals as photo props causes animal suffering and is hazardous to public safety. Basically it’s irresponsible to animals and people alike.

Image: BBC / Creative Commons

It’s almost Mother’s Day! So PETA thought it the perfect opportunity to get people talking about what happens to mothers all over the world… pig mothers, that is. Today in Covent Garden as shoppers dashed around for gifts for their mothers, PETA’s very pregnant Noemie stripped, got down on all fours and knelt in a replica farrowing crate with the banner ‘Unhappy Mother’s Day for Pigs, Go Vegetarian.’

Mother’s Day is a time to show love, respect and gratitude for mothers so it is only fitting that we extend that kindness to mothers that have a really tough time all year round – sows, who are squeezed into narrow metal stalls barely bigger than their own bodies. Unable to turn around, nuzzle their piglets or do anything that comes naturally to them, they live in misery. When weaned, the piglets are taken away to be fattened for slaughter, and the mothers are put through the process all over again.

Massive thanks to Noemie on this one, you’re a star.

In a disgusting display of arrogance last night, Jean-Paul Gaultier sent his models down the Paris Fashion Week catwalks wearing the heads of foxes. Yes, you read right – foxes’ heads. Among other furry items.

PETA’s managing director Ingrid Newkirk said: “I adore gay men, but this one must be so phobic of women that he fears even the skinny ones could bite his head off at any moment, so year after year he sticks teeth on their heads.” It certainly seems like he’s trying to make up for the fact he’s a has-been by going way over the top, but this far, really?

There are sooo many reasons why Gaultier and other designers shouldn’t be using fur, as seen in Stella McCartney’s video where foxes can be seen languishing in filthy, cramped fur farms.

Not cool Gaultier, not cool.

I have some very exciting news: Prince Charles has instructed all his chefs to remove foie gras from menus at Royal residencies. One of his favourite shops in Gloucestershire may also see the removal of The Prince’s “Royal Warrant”, as they also sell the enlarged livers of ducks and geese. According to a source at Clarence House (one of the Royal residencies), “The Prince of Wales has a policy that his chefs should not buy foie gras. His Royal Highness was not aware that the House of Cheese sells foie gras and this will be addressed when their warrant is reviewed”.

You can learn more about the cruelty of foie gras here.

As The Prince is probably aware, no supermarkets in the UK sell foie gras and its production is actually prohibited here – so there is no excuse to continue serving it, “delicacy” or not. Well done, Charles!

Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges both also have a Royal Warrant. Please contact them and tell them to drop foie gras. Click here to contact Selfridges, and click here to contact Fortnum & Mason.

Image: Splendour / Creative Commons

PETA’s grim reapers descended upon Paris Fashion Week today, dragging bloodied furs across the city centre. They called on heartless fashion designers to “bring out their dead” furs and urged shoppers to never buy the skins of tortured animals. The reapers reminded the public that whilst the spring and summer collections are being shown, animals are languishing on fur farms and awaiting a cruel fate because some designers continue to use fur.

Despite the rain (which actually gave a more sombre look to the demo considering its theme – sorry guys!), the protest was a huge success with lots of media coverage and a large activist presence. See the other exciting protests held in other cities for this season’s Fashion Week, including Milan and London.

Fur is dead – how true.

In a request to nearly 130,000 people, PETA is asking all its female members and supporters to get down on bended knee, look their beloved in the eye and propose…that they Go Vegetarian for Leap Day!

The 29th of February is traditionally a day where women ask men to marry them, but we feel a more fun and important use of this auspicious day is to ask the men in our lives to go veg for the day. Not got a boyfriend? No problem! Ask your brother, dad, or anyone you love to do the best thing for the animals and their own health and ditch the meat and fish for 24 hours… or more.

PETA wants all women to show how important it is that their loved ones do this, as millions of animals are suffering around the world at the hands of the meat industry. Check out VegCooking.com for delicious recipes to create a taste sensation for your amour.

If you do this, please let me know!

The bold and courageous Janez Drnovsek, former president of Slovenia died this Saturday. He was a firm supporter of veganism and champion of animal rights, human rights and the environment, making him pretty cool in our books. He went vegetarian then vegan after an attack of cancer, and credits his new lease of life and bundles of energy following the ill health to a switch to the healthier (and more compassionate) lifestyle.

You can read more about Janez Drnovsek in an interview at the Animal Rights Croatia website.

Image: Animal Rights Croatia / Creative Commons