Yvonne | Archives | Animal Writes | PETA.org.uk - Part 2

Yvonne Taylor - Celebrity Liaison

Yvonne Taylor works on celebrity projects for PETA UK. A vegetarian from the age of 12, she went vegan 17 years ago after coming across a PETA US magazine whilst volunteering at an animal charity in her hometown of Edinburgh. Soon after, she spent almost a year interning at PETA US and then went on to spend several years working for other UK animal rights groups before starting at PETA UK in 2004 on campaigns. She later dressed as a Lettuce Lady in subzero temperatures in Kazakhstan and was deported from China for an "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" demo.

Yvonne now has a slightly more subdued but no less varied job organising all of PETA UK's celebrity work, including ad shoots for photos and the recording of narration. Through her work for PETA, Yvonne has been lucky enough to have met many of her heroes, including Morrissey, Ricky Gervais, Kate Winslet, Simon Cowell, Sir Paul McCartney, Russell Brand and Sir Roger Moore. She still can't quite believe that reading Heat magazine is part of her job description!
  • 06
  • Jul

The Only Way Is Freedom: Lydia Bright and Mr Darcy Protest Proposed Pig Farm

The Only Way Is Essex star Lydia Bright posed for photographs with her pig pal, Mr. Darcy, to urge compassionate citizens to speak out against Midland Pig Producers’ plans to build an enormous factory farm in Foston, Derbyshire.

“Mr Darcy really has opened my eyes to how wonderful, smart and fun pigs are”, says Bright. “He loves to go for walks, play in the long grass and feel the sun on his back – all things that the 25,000 pigs who would be housed in this pig prison in Foston would be… Read more.


  • 05
  • Jul

Cricketer Wayne Parnell Hits Circus Cruelty for Six in New PETA Ad

Cricketer Wayne Parnell has set his sights on a new opponent: circuses that force wild animals to perform unnatural and painful tricks. In a new anti-circus ad for PETA, Parnell, who plays for the South African national team, appears shirtless and bound by chains next to the words, “Try to Relate to Their Fate. Say NO to Animal Circuses”.

“I choose to participate in sport, but the animals used in circuses aren’t given any choice at all”, says Parnell. “Animals in circuses suffer a lifetime of abuse – all for a few… Read more.


  • 30
  • Jun

Ann Widdecombe Backs PETA’s Calls for a Ban on Wild Animals in Circuses



Former conservative minister Ann Widdecombe is backing PETA’s campaign for a ban on wild animals in circuses and is encouraging the public to urge the government to take action. In a parliamentary debate held Thursday, 23 June, MPs backed a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses, leaving the ball in the government’s court.

“The time has finally come for Britain to end the barbaric spectacle of forcing wild animals to perform demeaning and often

… Read more.


  • 29
  • Jun

Elen Rivas’ Anti-Bullfighting Ad Won’t Fly With easyJet

A new ad from PETA – in which Spanish-born celebrity Elen Rivas appears nude and “bleeding” from the banderillas stuck in her back next to the words “The Naked Truth: Bullfighting Is Cruel” – has been deemed too racy to run in Traveller, easyJet’s in-flight magazine. We’d hoped to reach British tourists with the message about boycotting bullfighting when they visit Spain, but the magazine’s publishers have ruled that although they sympathise with the cause, they cannot run the artwork because of the graphic nature of the images and the nudity involved.… Read more.


  • 22
  • Jun

Don’t Pop Into Fortnum & Mason for Ricky Gervais’ 50th Birthday Gift

ricky_gervaisIf you’re wondering what to buy Ricky Gervais for his upcoming 50th birthday on 25 June, you’d better steer clear of anything from Fortnum & Mason! The comedian set aside his well-honed sense of humour to pen a deadly serious letter on PETA’s behalf to F&M head Beverley Aspinall calling the department store out for its sale of cruelly produced foie gras.

Gervais isn’t the only public figure to team up with PETA to speak out against Fortnum & Mason’s continued sale of foie gras. Other supporters of PETA’s campaign include campaign… Read more.


  • 17
  • Jun

Twiggy Asks Fortnum & Mason to Stop Foie Gras Sales

World-famous model and ’60s icon Twiggy has penned a letter to Fortnum & Mason Managing Director Beverley Aspinall urging her to end the store’s sale of horrifically cruel foie gras. Kindhearted Twiggy – who previously starred in an anti-fur PETA ad – joins a host of celebrities, including Sir Roger Moore, Steven Berkoff, the Duchess of Hamilton, Peter Egan, Jenny Seagrove and Carley Stenson as well as thousands of compassionate people across the country in calling on Fortnum & Mason to drop this “torture in a tin”.

As Twiggy points out in… Read more.


  • 17
  • Jun

Happy Birthday, Sir Paul!

Music icon and tireless animal defender Sir Paul McCartney is turning 69 on 18 June. The singer, songwriter and composer in one of the most successful bands in music history is also a devoted vegetarian.

Animal welfare is an issue so close to his heart that Sir Paul joined with PETA to narrate “Glass Walls,” an undercover video that shows the cruel treatment and suffering of animals on factory farms and at abattoirs. The video’s name is taken from McCartney’s famous quote, “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian”.

As… Read more.


  • 15
  • Jun

Owain Yeoman Thinks Fortnum & Mason are Mental for Selling Foie Gras

Surrounded by “crime scene” hazard tape and chalk body outlines of dead geese, Welsh-born star Owain Yeoman, who plays Special Agent Wayne Rigsby in the hit Channel 5 television programme The Mentalist, led a protest against Fortnum & Mason’s continued sale of foie gras. Brandishing a sign that read, “F&M: Investigate Compassion – Ban Foie Gras”, Yeoman called for Fortnum & Mason to follow the lead of Harvey Nichols and Selfridges, who have stopped selling the horrible product under pressure from PETA. Foie gras production is so cruel that it is illegal… Read more.


  • 07
  • Jun

Tiger-Striped Chantelle Houghton Goes ‘Wild’ Outside Parliament

Wearing little more than painted-on tiger stripes and holding a sign that reads, “The Cruellest Show on Earth – Ban Wild Animals in Circuses”, Celebrity Big Brother star and PETA friend Chantelle Houghton joined PETA in front of the Houses of Parliament to call on the government to ban the use of wild animals in circuses. The action came a day before a scheduled debate in Parliament in response to the government’s failure to implement a ban last month. The rejection was purportedly based on European Union legal concerns, but the European… Read more.


  • 18
  • May

Moby Talks Animals in Brand-New PETA Video

Grammy and Brit Award nominee Moby isn’t just releasing his new album and photo book, Destroyed, this week – he’s also the star of a new PETA video. In the video, recorded in Berlin by our German affiliate, the entrepreneur, author and activist opens up about his new album and, of course, about his experience as an advocate for animals.

“Industrial animal production destroys everything it touches”, explains Moby. “It destroys the animals, it destroys the workers, it destroys the communities, and it destroys the people who consume the animal products. No… Read more.


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