Subject: Animal Cruelty

• Comic-Con 2007: Barking Mad

  Dear Satan, what the hell happened to Clive Barker? I interviewed him a few years ago for our late sister-paper New Times LA, and found him charming, lucid, smart, fan-friendly -- everything you'd hope he would be. Today, I don't know what to make of him. His croaky voice and odd manner initially appear to be a put on, part of a joke in which he says he's been coming to Comic-Con since biblical times when his mother Mary brought him to read books about his father. The joke dies. But his voice

  July 27, 2007

• Trailing Me

  I like the idea of bribing me with food in order to get me to pay attention to a cause. PETA, for one, would do better to give away free vegetarian food that tastes good rather than getting celebrities to act like idiots -- sorry, but I'm not gonna spare the poor animals' lives if it means eating disgusting crap for the rest of mine. And speaking of disgusting -- granola bars with dried fruit just ain't my thing. Which I know is weird coming from someone who eats duck fetus and snails, but y'k

  August 9, 2007

• Horrifying Dog Abuse in OC Captured on Video

  Several months ago, I drove three times to visit the Santa Ana Police Department Animal Control to report a neighbor's dog abuse. I was told my word wasn't good enough--that I needed evidence such as photographs, video--proving the abuse. Today, I went home for lunch and found another neighbor repeatedly punching, choking and strangling her small dog in the courtyard of my condo complex. An immediate call to a local animal cruelty organization produced only a figurative shoulder shrug and

  July 28, 2008

• Because You're Ugly: Knitting in Biology 101

  Okay, so I admit I never did get to dissect a lab rat or frog for high school biology—though, I did have my go at a formaldehyde-soaked mink and fetal pig, which wasn't nearly as disgusting as I thought it'd be—and I never did opt for the conscientious alternate assignment to write a 50-page research paper on the classification of insects instead. But Etsy seller CraftyHedgehog is giving you another chance to explore the twisty innards of a rat—ethically. The Knitting in Biology Lab Rat

  October 6, 2008

• How to Stuff a Lettuce Bikini

  July 31, 2003

• Beasts of Burnin'

  An outlaw animal-rights group targets a local bank branch in its war on animal testing

  November 29, 2007

• Dumbo and Dumber

  August 3, 2006

• Diary Of A Mad County

  July 22, 2004

• Getting Medieval on Yo Cats

  May 27, 2004

• The Muck Stops Here

  March 25, 2004

• Like,Gross!

  January 15, 2004

• Letters

  August 14, 2003

• Electric Horsemen

  February 20, 2003

• Corey Feldman Scheduled to Attend OC Event for Animals

  Who says the stars don't come out to Orange County? The Orange County People for Animals (OCPA) have snagged an A-list couple for its annual fund-raiser and write-in this Saturday night: Susan and Corey Feldman.That's right, the star of Goonies, The Lost Boys and Stand By Me, along with his wife and The Two Coreys co-star, are scheduled to appear some time after the festivities get under way at 6:30 p.m. at the Goddess Temple of Orange County, 17905 Sky Park Circle, Suite A, Irvine. (God--or God

  May 5, 2009

• Can "PETA Girls Gone Wild" DVDs Be Far Behind?

  Courtesy of Vegan Mel's MySpace pagePETA's Melissa Sehgal (right), who also goes by "Vegan Mel," demonstrates against McDonalds.Melissa Sehgal, who vows to strip down to a nude body painted like a tiger and confine herself to a cage with a banner above reading, "Wild Animals Don't Belong Behind Bars" in Anaheim this morning, is actually on something of a tour, having already pulled the stunt in Fresno on Tuesday.A member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)--she goes by Vegan Me

  June 25, 2009

• Vegan Mel Carries Out Her Nude Protest

  Photo by Keith MayHear Vegan Mel roar!You were told this morning about the vow made by Melissa Sehgal, who also goes by Vegan Mel, to sit in a cage in Anaheim while her nude body was painted like a tiger. If you point your eyes in that direction, you can still make out the smoke trail produced when photographer Keith May high-tailed it over there for the voluntary assignment. The fruits of his hard labor are revealed in this quite-possibly-not-totally-safe-for-work slideshow.Sehgal is a member o

  June 25, 2009

• Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

  July 9, 2009

• Rub a Dub Dub Them Elephants Are Tubs!

  Photo by Keith MaySpray today, perform tonight.Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus scored a rare two-fer today, generating attention to what it considers generous treatment of its performing animals and butts in seats for a 12-day run that begins tonight at the Honda Center. Actually, make that a three-fer: the circus also generated oodles of free media coverage, including posts in the Orange County Register, what you're reading here and another damn fine Keith May slideshow.See, Asian

  July 15, 2009

• UPDATE: Franks For The Memories... Is It The End Of The Road For The Wienermobile?

  Sadly, Oscar G Mayer Jr., the hot dog company's retired chairman, died on Monday. According to TMZ (!), he requested that the famed sausage-shaped vehicle not make an appearance at his funeral, saying it would be "too much of a spectacle". Now PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has weighed in on the debacle, sending a letter to Oscar Mayer's current president of the company urging him to retire the Wienermobile.The letter states:"For years, the Wienermobile has been driving kids

  July 20, 2009

• PETA Tee Prefers Breasts Over Animal Testing

  PETACatalog.org​ We all know PETA is no stranger to using "edgy" marketing campaigns, showcasing naked (and half-naked) women to trumpet their cause--see our recent slightly NSFW Ringling Bros. protest slideshow here--but some think their priorities are a little misaligned, worthy cause or not.Check out PETA's latest offering from their catalog: The "Breasts Not Animal Tests" tank, $24. The product description reads:"You probably already know that peta2 loves animals. But did you know that we

  July 28, 2009

• Consumer Group Lashes Out at "Fringe" PETA's Camp Pendleton Protest

  ​People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is a "fringe group" that is hypocritical about euthanizing animals, charges a Washington, D.C.-based consumer group that also denounced today's PETA protest against Camp Pendleton's use of live pigs in medical training for troops.The Center for Consumer Freedom was reacting to today's preview of the PETA protest by the Orange County Register's Vik Jolly, who quoted animal-rights activists saying the medical trauma training outside of Camp Pendleton

  August 12, 2009

• One Good Ringling Bros. Demonstration Deserves Another

  Courtesy of ElephantCenter.comA Ringling Bros. elephant performer gets a washing.When Melissa "Vegan Mel" Sehgal of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) carried out her nude and caged protest against Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus late last month in Anaheim, a representative from event promoter Feld Entertainment was right there to counter activists' claims.The back-and-forth was held in anticipation of the circus moving in to the Honda Center on Wednesday evening. T

  July 13, 2009

• Activists Hopping Mad at Brookstone Hawking African Dwarf Frogs

  Brookstone.comSticker shock, at your local Brookstone retailer.​Local animal activists have joined a national campaign blasting gadgets store Brookstone, Inc., which has five Orange County locations, for selling a most unusual gift: the "Frog-O-Sphere Ecosystem" with two live African dwarf frogs.Saying that Kermit-Mutumbos are "imprisoned in tiny tanks next to gadgets and other gift items at hundreds of mall locations around the country," the latest alert from Orange County People for Animals

  September 8, 2009