Celebrities, Humanitarians Flock to PETA’s 25th Anniversary Gala

Thousands of dollars spent on a smear campaign by the meat industry and animal experiment advocates to try to get Hollywood’s elite to boycott the PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) 25th Anniversary Gala were clearly barking up the wrong tree.

Attendance surpassed expectation, with over 2,000 celebrities and humanitarians packing Paramount Studio’s New York Street backlot for the event. The red carpet was stampeded by the likes of Pamela Anderson, Alec Baldwin, Fred Willard, Heather Mills McCartney, Pink, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jillian Barbarie, Alyssa Milano, and many more. Entertainment included The Polyphonic Spree and Sheila E.

In the wake of the tremendous effort PETA and other animal rights groups haves made, working together, to rescue animals that were victims of forced abandonment in Katrina, the catfight over who is the most humane animal rights organization seemed irrelevant.

The crucial nature of the work of the organization was laced with humor. When Alec Baldwin was asked on the red carpet what he thought of people who wear animal fur, he said with a twinkle in his eye, “I think they are just lazy. Why don’t they just shoot the fox with a sedative and put him to sleep, wear him, and then take care of him when he wakes up?” Fred Willard showed a hilarious video of his conversation with his dog, beseeching the pup to give up the atrocious habit of wearing animal fur.

At the same time, no velvet gloves were worn when discussing issues like the horrific growth of an industry of humans skinning dogs and cats and wearing them, the treatment of animals in meat facilities, and the effects on the whole planet of these practices.

Persia White, star of UPN’s Girlfriends, one of the many awardees for her work on behalf of animals, perhaps said it best when accepting, ‘…many people ask me how I can care about animals, when people are hurting. But I cannot ignore the connectedness of all of us… how the majority of our rainforests are being destroyed for grazing of animals slaughtered for meat, how consuming meat not only is wrong and unacceptable on the animal’s behalf, but how harmful it is to humans too.”

The silent auction of the event helped PETA’s Animal Emergency Fund to provide approximately $150,000 of support, not only to rescues in Louisiana, but also to get out pre-disaster emergency preparedness programs. 50 vegan food sponsors provided surprisingly savory gourmet vegan faire.

All in all, PETA is poised for at least another productive 25 years – and it looks like that will be in dog years.