Well, I’m not sure if these cats can actually fly but these photos sure do suggest they’re growing wings! The strange phenomenon is taking place in, of all places, China. My guess is the moggies are planning a cunning escape from the Chinese fur trappers who butcher cats and dogs for their fur. “You want my fur do you, hmm? Well, see if you can catch me now! Muahahaha.”

Or something like that. Anyway, read the full story here.

Image: Mike&Mandy / CC

Her role in Iron Man may have earned her some points with film critics, but Gwyneth Paltrow is getting nothing but rotten tomatoes from just about everyone else this week. The actress decided to throw her credibility to the dogs when she picked up a few dead animal skins to model for the Tods fall collection, including a fox fur shawl.

PETA US has written to Ms. Paltrow numerous times about the hideous cruelty on fur farms, including the fact that animals are often skinned alive and kept in tiny cages for so long that they exhibit stereotypical behaviours.

Here’s what our Ingrid Newkirk had to say about Paltrow’s latest hobby:

Paltrow may like to live the glamorous life, but there is nothing glam about paying others to slaughter animals for your clothes.

Image: Minconline / CC

Sadly it’s that time of year again when grizzly bear hunting in British Columbia, Canada, rears its ugly head, leading to the slaughter of hundreds of bears for this blood-sport. The hunt starts on a limited basis on Friday, then kicks off fully in September. So it’s time to spare a thought and get active for our Unbearable Cruelty campaign (if you weren’t already, of course).

So what do sickening pictures like the one above have to do with the Royal Family? The great big fluffy hats you see adorning the heads of our Royal Guards are actually made from bearskins, from bears that have families, feel pain and breathe, just like you and I do. But none of that matters to the hunters, who kill to earn a quick buck, or to brandish the dead corpses as trophies.

Poor Misty the bunny rabbit. In the early hours of Monday, she was stolen from her hutch, killed and then skinned – her fur coat left lying on the ground for guardians 11-year-old Brad Milne and mum Donna to find. Misty’s sibling Thumper was also missing but was found 24 hours later, traumatised but otherwise ok. The incident happened in Kirkton, Dundee and I seriously recommend anyone with companion animals keep a close eye on them, and bring them indoors where possible. No-one wants to wake up to find that their little bunny has been skinned. PETA are of course offering a reward to find the killer.

And while this case is terribly sad, and our deepest sympathies are with the family, let’s not forget the thousands of rabbits skinned for the fur industry, just so rich and egotistical people can wear it around their neck or cuffs. It’s happening to Mistys all over the world, and rather than discarding the fur, people are actually paying for it.

Our beloved Stella McCartney is rightly outraged over the misuse of one of her designs.  It seems a sheer black bra from Stella’s lingerie collection was used - without Stella’s permission, of course - in an ad for a fur boutique.

Stella, who is totally dedicated to her anti-fur and leather stance, only found out about the ad when she saw it in the latest issue of Vogue.  There it was:  one of her designs, partially covered by a ghastly mink coat and accessorised with a ghastly leather belt. Stella had lent the bra to a stylist for use in an editorial photo shoot, but the stylist “got mixed up” and used it for the advertisement instead, without seeking Stella’s permission.

When Stella saw the ad, she “hit the roof and said that she planned to sue.”  Good for her!  Stella doesn’t want to support the cruelty of the fur industry.

As for the fur boutique, they have already issued a “grovelling apology” and will not be using the ad again, which is quite a blow for them, considering that the ad would’ve cost £10,000 to shoot in the first place, and about £26,400 to place in Vogue!  That’s a lot of money for a boutique to lose, even for one that regularly peddles thousands of pounds worth of animal skins.

It’s nice that the boutique has apologized to Stella.  I don’t suppose there’s any chance that they’ll next apologize to the countless animals who are caged, electrocuted, and skinned alive in the name of “fashion”?

Image: i152 / CC

Last night, one million viewers tuned in to Channel 4’s documentary Kill It, Skin It, Wear It. That’s one million people that saw fur farm footage, animals being killed for fashion, PETA protests and one fur-loving woman give it all up for the sake of the animals.

Chef Merrilees Parker took herself, and the viewers, on a journey to the pit of hell and learns that the fur industry is, contrary to her prior opinon, not that pretty after all. One furrier from Denmark said it all with a simple, “It’s not about keeping yourself warm, it’s about fashion”, yet others told blatant lies aimed at keeping her and viewers in the dark about what really goes on in the production of fur clothing. One guy on a Danish farm even had the cheek to say gassing is the ‘normal’ method of killing animals like mink, and that the whole world is using it. Wrong! Watch this video and then tell me that.

Parker’s emotional response to everything she had seen puts paid to any excuse people give for buying and wearing fur. Thanks to her and Channel 4 for exposing it on national television!

Watch it on Channel 4’s website now!

Amanda Beard, the incredibly gorgeous U.S. swimmer, has posed naked for a brand new anti-fur ad, just as the Olympics kick-off in Beijing.

The Olympic gold medalist unveiled the stunning ‘Be Comfortable In Your Own Skin’ ad just hours after Beijing officials stopped her from holding a news conference, reportedly for “safety” reasons. Hmm, what’s so dangerous about a naked lady?! So the swimmer simply moved location and revealed the stunning ad to a swarm of reporters and TV cameras.

Given that Beijing is hosting the Summer Olympic Games this year and the horrific conditions that have been documented on Chinese fur farms, now is a great time to remind folks that animals grow fur to protect themselves from the elements, not to cover hundred-pound fashionistas from paparazzi camera flashes.

The ad shows that she’s comfortable in her own skin and doesn’t need to steal anyone else’s. During the shoot she explained: “I’d much rather go naked than ever put a dead animal on my body.” Well said, Amanda!

You can get on board by signing our online petition here.

Photo credit: Patrick Alleyn

If an animal has already been deprived of his skin, how do you make the best of a bad situation? By sending them to Africa!

Today, PETA HQ is donating around 100 fur coats and various leather/wool items of clothing to charity ‘Let’s Help Africa’ in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The charity will physically take the clothing into the freezing mountains in neighbouring Lesotho to give to farmers and herd boys. Even when it plummets to temperatures of -20C, these people must continue to spend their days working outside, and, of course, many die from cold exposure.

Every year we receive hundreds of fur, leather and wool donations from compassionate people who appreciate that animals are not ours to wear. They might be people who have ‘seen the light’ and no longer wish to contribute to the suffering and slaughter of animals for fashion items. They might also be people who have been given the items as presents, but just cannot bear to wear them (after all, who wants to wear a dead animal? Urghhh.) So they pop them in the post to us, and we give away the donations to charities or wildlife rehabilitation centres, so that only people and animals who are truly in need can benefit from them.

1. Jesus appears in cat’s fur.

2. Pam Anderson dines on faux-chicken at a KFC in Vancouver

3. Evangelist (ironically named Anthony Hopkins) reportedly arrested after police find what they believe to be his wife’s remains in the freezer. Check out PETA US’ new billboard response.

4. Kill It, Skin It, Wear It programme coming to Channel 4 this Sunday.

5. Nine Inch Nails release their newest album, The Slip. See what Trent Reznor thinks of dog and cat fur

Everyone loves a good Burberry protest, and there’s no exception for far-away lands like Hong Kong – check out these bronze, silver and gold naked ladies below! It’s just days before the Olympics kick-off in Beijing, so what better time to tell the world about Burberry’s use of fur. A huge proportion of the world’s fur products come from China, and Chinese fur farms are notoriously inhumane in how they treat their victims. No medal for you Burberry, or maybe just the boobie prize.