Hezz's Blog

Aussie Bands Join peta2's Campaign Against Bloody Canadian Massacre

The worldwide campaign against Canada's annual slaughter of hundreds of thousands of baby harp seals for their skin has just gotten a big boost from the international rock scene. Members of the high-flying Australian bands Jet and The Vines have teamed up with peta2—the world's largest youth animal rights organization—by signing a petition at Australia's Big Day Out Festival calling for an end to the hunt, which is the largest slaughter of marine mammals on Earth. This year's hunt is over, but the petition—which will be sent to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper—calls on the Canadian government to put a permanent end to the bloody slaughter.

Jet—whose members Nic Cester, Mark Wilson, and Cameron Muncey signed the petition and whose debut album Get Born has sold 3.5 million copies—is touring the U.S. through the end of May. The Melbourne band's hit single "Falling Star" is on the new Spider-Man 3 soundtrack. Known for their distinct hybrid of '60s rock and '90s alternative, Sydney-based The Vines first hit pay dirt with the 2004 release Winning Days and are currently working on a new album. Members Craig Nicholls, Ryan Griffiths, and Brad Heald added their names to the petition.

Popular Record Chain Pulls Rabbit Fur From Its Stores Hours After Group Posts Online Action Alert

Just hours after PETA posted an action alert on its heavily trafficked youth Web site, peta2.com, asking visitors to contact Newbury Comics and urge the company to stop selling cat and dog figurines made from rabbit fur, the store removed the figurines from its shelves. Newbury didn't respond to PETA's repeated calls about the items over the past year, but shortly after PETA posted the action alert on April 16, the company announced that all stock had been removed from its stores.

'Street Teamer' Leads peta2's Local Charge Against KFC Cruelty, Despite Being Butcher's Son and One-Time Vegetarian Foe

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — Seventeen-year-old Fort Lauderdale resident Michael DiMartino has won an "Outstanding Activist" Award from peta2—the world's largest youth animal rights organization—for his unrelenting fight to get KFC to stop its suppliers' worst abuses of chickens and for other animal-related heroics, including getting his school to cancel a pig-kissing contest.

Shirley Manson Gives Exclusive Interview, Sponsors Big Giveaway at peta2.com

Stunning Shirley Manson is dressed to kill in her new ad for peta2. But the Garbage singer is holding a gruesome accessory—the dead body of a skinned fox—beside the caption "Here's the Rest of Your Fur Coat." The ad is a dramatic bid to show people that every fur coat, collar, and cuff is made from many animals who endured tremendous suffering. The campaign debuts in Manson's hometown of Edinburgh this week, where hundreds of copies of the hard-hitting ad are being posted throughout the city. Manson is also sponsoring a "Fur Is Garbage" giveaway at peta2.com, where visitors can register to win posters of the ad, a signed copy of Garbage's hit album Bleed Like Me, and a T-shirt autographed by Manson. Manson also talked about her career and her disdain for fur in an exclusive interview with peta2, the world's largest youth animal rights organization.

Visitors to peta2.com Can Win Prize Package and Hear Why Ted Leo Thinks Animals Should Remain With the Living

"Love Animals—Don't Eat Them. Go Vegan," says veteran singer-songwriter and Pharmacists frontman Ted Leo in his new ad for peta2, the world's largest youth animal rights organization. Visitors to peta2.com can view the ad and register to win a copy of Leo's newest album, Living With the Living—which debuts March 20 from Touch and Go Records—as well as an iPod shuffle. They can also hear how going vegan has helped define who Leo is today in an informal interview taped during the shoot.