Much as they may protest at the accolate, the Pet Shop Boys have become a British institution. But PETA recently got in touch with the duo to ask them to do away with over 20 years of pop history, and change their name to something more animal-friendly.
What snappy new band name did PETA suggest? Read on after the jump to find out...
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Easter is on its way, and like any holiday, it brings with it a host of ethical dilemmas. If you're planning on tucking into a chocolate egg there are all the usual waste issues to consider, and are you're going to spend your hard-earned cash on fairtrade and/or organic eggs for you and your family this year? But even if you're going to stick to good old chuckie eggs, you're not off the hook, even if you always insist on buying free range.
Apparently, our greed for extra large eggs is causing untold misery and suffering to our national brood (and Lord knows hens seem to suffer enough already). The fairly obvious reason being that - as Tom Vesey, of the British Free Range Producers' Association put it,'it can be painful for a hen to lay a larger egg'.
Related: Free-range outsell battery eggs for the first time | Chicken Out: Would you buy battery again?
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PETA members really love getting their kits off, and what better time to bare all than right before the most romantic day of the year?
PETA's task for the today is to put shoppers off buying cruelly-produced Foie Gras in Selfridges' posh deli. In nothing but their undies, they converged outside the store carrying heart shaped signs bearing the slogan "Have a Heart - Drop Foie Gras". They'll be spending the rest of today giving out vegan chocolates and roses and calling on Selfridges to follow the example of Waitrose, House of Fraser, Sainsbury's and most other British grocery chains, which have pulled foie gras from their shelves.
Related: Albert Roux says 'non' to foie gras
In their natural state, chickens are covered with brightly coloured feathers to keep them warm in winter, but when they've been cramped in cages and fed an unnatural diet, birds can start to look decidedly peaky. That's why animal-loving UK knitters have been whipping up smart chicken costumes for our not-so feathered friends, ensuring that rescued birds keep warm (and stylish) in their new lease of life.
Both the Women's Institute and Battery Hen Welfare Trust have got involved in the unusual design challenge, which was kick-started by Laughing Hens. The bodywarmers go to birds that have been rescued from battery farms up and down the country. [Via Crafty Crafty]
Related: Chicken Out: Would you buy battery again? | UK chefs declare war on cruel chicken farming methods
One of the interesting things about the credit crunch is not the ways it changes people's behaviour, but the ways it doesn't. Let's look back to a year ago, when we were all rolling in money. If you can remember that far back, you'll recall that it was considered far more 'normal' to buy expensive coffee on the way in to work than it is now - and that's no real surprise. Expensive coffee is something we can all live without.
But there are some things that haven't changed: expenses that we still justify, whether we can really 'afford' them or not. And according to a source of mine at a major UK supermarket chain, the one are that customers are still prepared to shell out is 'welfare food'; free range meat, poultry and dairy products in particular.
Related: Enjoy an alternative Christmas dinner | Would you buy battery again?
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Albert Roux, one of the world's most influential French chefs has spoken out against the methods used to produce foie gras, not only condemning them as inhumane, but putting forward the idea that packets should carry labels similar to cigarette health warnings, alerting would-be consumers to the plight of birds reared to make the paté.
Instead of using traditional force-feeding methods, Roux has said that geese will 'gorge themselves' naturally under the right conditions, and that this is how the product should be made. His comments have been welcomed by Compassion in World Farming, who issued their pleasure at hearing the objections to the French delicacy coming from the mouth of a French chef; a rare occurrence in the fight against animal cruelty.
Aussie songbird Natalie Imbruglia has joined the campaign to stop using fur, by posing for a new advert for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). She is the latest celeb to front the campaign, following in the footsteps of Eva Mendes, Shirley Manson, and Pamela Anderson. For the ad, Imbruglia is photographed nude holding a rabbit in front of her called Topsy. Speaking out on the issue, she says: "There is no kind way to rip the skin off animals' backs. Anyone who wears any fur shares the blame for the torture and gruesome deaths of millions of animals each year."
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