Dave Navarro rocks. Whether he’s touring with Jane’s Addiction, hosting his radio show Dark Matter, or posing nude for PETA, he does it with the style and intensity fitting of a rock star. Dave’s latest gig is helping animals by baring it all in an ad for PETA’s “Ink, Not Mink” series. Helping animals has never looked so good! After learning about where fur comes from, this former fur-wearer vowed never to buy or wear fur again. Dave tells PETA in his exclusive interview, “[S]everal years ago, I saw video footage of animals being skinned alive and screaming, and it, it honestly is the most horrific, inhumane thing I’ve ever seen.” These animals are often still conscious as they have their pelts peeled off their writhing bodies and can be heard screaming in pain. Buying and wearing fur promotes an industry of cruelty and suffering. Dave explains, “[S]ome of the simple things you can do to help save animals is not buy fur, stay away from products that have been animal tested. It’s really very, very simple to just support something or buy something that doesn’t brutalize animals like this.”

As you may recall, Twilight star Kellan Lutz was recently unveiled as PETA’s newest spokesmodel for their Always Adopt, Never Buy campaign but Mr. Lutz did not have the decency to strip down for his promo photo. At least Dave here was kind enough to lose all of his clothes for his photo. After the jump, check out video of Dave’s PETA interview which features some behind-the-scenes footage of his photoshoot …

BE WARNED — the following video shows footage of animals being killed that may be DISCONCERTING for some viewers:

Gorgeous Twilight saga actor Kellan Lutz—known to many fans as the studly vampire Emmett Cullen—reveals his softer side in a new ad for PETA. Part of PETA’s “Adopt, Don’t Buy” campaign, the ad shows Lutz hugging his rescued mixed-breed dog Kola and reads, “Buying Animals Is Killing Animals. Save a Homeless Dog or Cat—Always Adopt and Never Buy.” The ad, which can be seen here, was shot by top celebrity photographer Collin Stark. “I love mutts!” gushed Lutz in an exclusive interview with PETA. “If anything, I think mutts stay the healthiest.” Lutz also addressed the animal-overpopulation crisis. “There are surprisingly so many animals, so many animals in these animal shelters,” he said. “It’s sad, and knowing that they get euthanized … and there’s a lot you can do … spay or neuter your pets so that doesn’t happen.” Almost 8 million unwanted dogs and cats enter animal shelters every year in the U.S., and half of them must be euthanized simply because there aren’t enough good homes. Buying an animal from a pet store or breeder robs a homeless animal of a chance at adoption and encourages sellers to acquire more purebred animals. Lutz, a big fan of mutts, encourages “Twilighters” to adopt. For more information or to see Kellan Lutz’s ad and exclusive interview, please visit PETA.org.

Lutz fans, you gotta watch this interview … it’s plainly obvious that Kellan truly cares about animals and he really wants to impress upon people that we should, nay, we must “take them under our wing and take care of them”. Watch Kellan’s interview video for PETA after the jump …

The animal rights group PETA says Punxsutawney Phil is being badly treated by the crowds and noise at the annual Groundhog Day festival on Feb. 2 and should be replaced with a robotic groundhog . Gemma Vaughan, Animals in Entertainment specialist for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said in a letter to organizers of the annual spectacle in Punxsutawney, PA, that groundhogs, which are normally shy and spend much of their time in burrows, “become stressed when they are exposed to large, screaming crowds; flashing lights from perhaps hundreds of cameras; and human handling.” Vaughan suggests using “animatronic animals” instead. Bill Deeley, president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, said in response that Phil is “being treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania.” He notes that Phil is kept in a climate-controlled environment and is inspected annually by the state Department of Agriculture, the Associated Press reports. Deeley suggests PETA is looking for publicity.

Yes, I would agree that PETA is merely using this opportunity to garner a little publicity for themselves. While I think a robotic groundhog would be pretty cool (especially if it shot lasers from it’s eyeballs), I am pretty certain that Punxsutawney Phil is prolly treated fairly well (tho, it’s disheartening to hear that he may be treated “better than the average child in Pennsylvania”). After the jump, read the full letter sent by PETA calling for the humane creation of an animatronic groundhog …

January 21, 2010
Bill Deeley
President
The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club
Via e-mail:

Dear Mr. Deeley,

I am writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 2 million members and supporters worldwide. We would like to present you with an exciting, innovative proposal—one that would benefit both Punxsutawney and Punxsutawney Phil. Please review the following information and then make the compassionate decision to use an animatronic Phil and retire the live groundhogs who are used for Groundhog Day activities to a sanctuary.

To most people, Groundhog Day—celebrated annually on February 2—is a welcome midwinter diversion, but Punxsutawney Phil is forced to be on display year round at the local library and is denied the ability to prepare for and enter yearly hibernation. These normally shy animals—who are constantly on alert when they are out of their burrows—become stressed when they are exposed to large, screaming crowds; flashing lights from perhaps hundreds of cameras; and human handling.

The popularity of using technologically advanced electromechanical devices such as animatronic animals instead of live animals is rising. Performances such as “Walking With Dinosaurs, the Live Experience”—a theatrical show in which animatronic dinosaurs roar, stomp, and chase each other around an arena—have been taking audiences by storm. Other popular exhibitions have featured robotic penguins and dolphins who swim and communicate just like real animals do, and we think that an animatronic groundhog would similarly mesmerize a crowd full of curious spectators in Punxsutawney.

Tradition is no excuse for cruelty, and this opportunity would allow Punxsutawney to engage in a futuristic, interactive, versatile, and humane annual event. We would be happy to make recommendations for both a sanctuary that would welcome Punxsutawney Phil and the other Punxsutawney groundhogs and a company that could make an animatronic Phil. May we please hear that non-animal alternatives will be used for Groundhog Day celebrations in Punxsutawney next year? I can be reached at XX or XX. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Gemma Vaughan, MSW Animals in Entertainment Specialist

HMMM … what do y’all think? Is PETA right? Should the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club adopt the usage of a robotic groundhog for Groundhog Day?

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Good morning all!

Ok, so you’re gonna love this. The other day I got a personalized letter from PETA! Lol so after some thought I’ve decided to write one back. Goes a little something like this:

There is no humane way to kill anything, let me start there. It’s unfortunate but it’s part of life. With that being said, I would eat pterodactyl if you found some and you told me it was meaty and delicious. And after doing a very minimal amount of research……. I found out that the founder Ingrid Newkirk is completely batty. I had a feeling but she far exceeded my expectations. I mean certifiably insane! Lol this chicks will is nuts, google it – it’s a riot! Beyond the fact that I think she’s a diabetic, which means she needs insulin, which is taken from lab pigs (I know this because my sister happens to be in veterinary school), which would be completely hypocritical. It’s like don’t abuse animals unless it can help me.

I feel very strongly about a lot of things such as the sweatshops that spin cotton and the blood on their hands. Btw it’s not just the look of fur. It’s warm as hell and feels glorious, ever rubbed faux fur on your body? Nothing luxurious about that. Then the letter proceeded to name artist and designers who don’t wear real fur. Great! More for me! I don’t judge them, don’t judge me.

The rest of Kelis’s letter to PETA continues after the jump …

If I started wearing endangered animals like polar bear or orangutan then talk to me. (Which btw for the record I would not – I do believe in the preservation of endangered species) But the minks and chinchilla that quite honestly are rodents and if weren’t in the form of a coat I would demand they be put to death anyway are not an issue to me.

The death of high fashion. Ugh.

I eat meat, and in fact my mouth salivates as I type the word meat! And the paint throwing that’s just ridiculous! What if I was hurling Loubitons and Pierre Hardy’s at every sad poorly dressed person on the street? As right as I may be it’s just fanatical and crazy. And people have the right to feel as they please. What about art? Survival of the fittest. Natural selection? No let’s just let all the rodents run free and over take our cities. Oh wait they have, NY and LA in particular are infested! Why don’t u save them all from scavenging on the streets and ruining my evening strolls, take them home. Make them pets! Get off my back! Pun intended!

Underpaid minorities picking your vegetables, now that’s fine for you right? Please, fight for their rights. How about the poverty in the communities of brown people around the world. She had the nerve to say (and I quote) “get over it” talking of the issue of black people and slavery in this country verses cows being slaughtered. Is she kidding me? Lol yes she must be. Actually, she’s lucky most black people have real issues to worry about in the U.S and don’t give a crap what her delusional privileged opinions are. But she should try saying that again just for kicks n giggles on the corner of Adam Clayton Powell Blvd in Harlem n see how well people “get over it” lol.

If u want to preach do it about something worthwhile don’t waste my time trying to save the dang chipmunk.

Find a worthwhile cause like the women being maimed in these Middle Eastern countries. Or female circumcision. Or women’s rights here in America, we still get paid less for doing the same jobs as men. Quite honestly if you hate the world so much go live in the forest where no one else has to hear you complain about the perfectly good food chain the good Lord created. Everyone has the right to an opinion, and that’s mine on that! xoxo

Dang. First off, let me just say that I am not a fur fan, never have been. But I can absolutely see and understand Kelis’s point in this letter. While I do not wear fur, I do eat lots of meat and do wear leather … as I’m sure many of y’all do, too. Kelis is absolutely right that it is easy to level the finger of blame to people who wear fur but you would not hear the same criticism of people who require insulin to survive or towards folks who eat meat. Yes, PETA has a campaign against meat eating but they do not issue letters of condemnation to meat eaters, nor do they make public spectacles by embarrassing meat eaters like they do towards fur wearers. In the end, while I would never want to wear fur, I cannot besmirch anyone who does for the mere fact that I am meat-eating, leather-wearer. I gotta say, Kelis really handles herself well here … I can’t help but respect her for that.

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Commuters passing through New York’s Times Square will get a surprising welcome upon seeing a giant billboard plastered with an image of a nude Bethenny Frankel. The “Real Housewives of New York” star bared all for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ newest “I’d Rather go Naked” campaign, in which the reformed fur wearer posed au naturel in front of the Manhattan skyline. Though her slim figure is on display, Frankel was actually pregnant at the time of the September photo shoot shot by celebrity photographer Joseph Cultice atop a luxury high-rise building in the lower East Side. The reality star, now three months pregnant with her first child with fiancé Jason Hoppy, says she changed her fur-wearing ways after encountering a PETA protester holding a “skinned animal.” “It made me sick. I felt disgusting,” she told the animal rights organization. “I’m cleaning out my closets — trim, everything. I’m a really big animal lover. I don’t see any reason for cruelty.” The natural foods chef and reality star, 39, will return for the third season of “Housewives” as well as star in her own upcoming Bravo series.

Bethenny looks good … it’s hard to believe that she is even pregs in this photo. She must’ve been, like, a day pregnant when she posed for this photo. After the jump, check out Bethenny’s full-size PETA poster which, you can imagine, is semi-NSFW …

Fans of RHONYC know that Bethenny is not very friendly with castmate Kelly Bensimone … who I bet is seething over the fact that Bethenny is featured in this poster. I’m sure the drama surrounding Bethenny’s rising star will be addressed when the Real Housewives of NYC returns to the air next year. She looks fantastic, no?

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

As one of the stars of the Twilight Saga, Christian Serratos is used to working with vampires and the nonliving—but she would never wear anything dead. Christian strips down for PETA in the name of animals and is telling her fans, “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur.” Each year millions of animals are killed for their fur. Rabbits, foxes, minks, dogs, cats, chinchillas, and other animals are bludgeoned, strangled, drowned, poisoned, stomped to death, or electrocuted, or they have their necks broken, all in the name of fashion. Many are even skinned alive. In the wild, animals can suffer for days in steel-jaw traps before they are killed. Animals raised on fur farms spend their whole miserable existence in tiny, wire cages where they are exposed to all weather extremes. Christian, who also posed for PETA’s “Save the Seals” celebrity ad series, told us, “I’ve always been opposed to slaughtering, eating, wearing carcass.” Check out behind-the-scenes footage from Christian’s photo shoot and find out what else she has to say about animal rights.

Um, wow. I had a very hard time recognizing Serratos in this photo. She looks so … different in the Twilight films. After the jump, check out the uncensored NSFW version of this image and watch a short video of Christian Serratos declaring her distaste for animal cruelty …

Here is Christian’s PETA video:

If you’re reading this, I’ve managed to pick my jaw up, wipe the drool from my keyboard and actually post this blog. The utterly, utterly gorgeous Jamie Bamber, who plays DS Matt Devlin in the new Apollo in the new ITV1 drama Law and Order, and Battlestar Galactica and is soon to star in upcoming UK series Law and Order, has stripped off for our newest Unbearable Cruelty ad to demand justice for bears. Jamie’s beauty is clearly not only skin deep, as you’ll see in the great interview with the man himself below. Talk about a hunk with a heart! The British actor certainly isn’t afraid of standing up for the Canadian bears who are cruelly shot for the Queen’s guards’ caps – go Jamie! He does, of course, join fellow Battlestar pal Tricia Helfer – aka Six – who starred in our gorgeous ‘Angels for Animals’ ad last year.

Sweet Lord Almighty … Jamie Bamber is one fine lookin’ man. Whether or not you agree with PETA’s politics, you’ve got to agree that they have MIGHTY FINE taste in spokespeople. MMM, MMM, MMMM. After the jump, watch video of Jamie Bamber speaking out on his support of this new campaign by PETA (in his adorable British accent) …

Stars of actresses Sharon Stone, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen on the Hollywood Walk of Fame have been smudged with the words “FUR HAGS!” by anti-fur campaigners. While Stone’s star, received in November 1995, was smeared with “OLD FUR HAG!”, the actress twins’ shared marker bared the words “FUR HAGS!”, reports the Daily Express. Many other celebrities, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Socialite Khloe Kardashian have previously found themselves at the centre of controversies for wearing fur. Activists supporting People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have been on their feet to discourage the use of fur and protest against the torture inflicted on animals under the name of fashion. And it has been commonplace to observe anti-fur demonstrations outside the A-listers’ signings and public appearances.

In addition to referring to the Olsens as Fur Hags, the animal rights group also refers to them as the Trollsen Twins … going so far as to set up a website where folks can play dress up with ghastly cartoon-versions of the girls on the site:

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Man, PETA is showing no signs that they have any plans to let the Olsen twins off the hook for their love of fur. It’s been a few months since PETA launched their Meet the Trollsen Twins website and it looks like the anti-Olsen campaign is still going strong. I understand that the twins were targeted at their NYC in-store appearance a couple of weeks ago as well. Now, I’m not the biggest fan of the Olsens (well, I’m not much of a fan at all) but even I feel bad that the little munchkins are bearing the brunt of this anti-fur campaign alone. Meh, I’m sure I’ll get over it, tho.

[Photo credit: X17, INFdaily]