Yeah, yeah, you say: It’s horrible that some companies still blind bunnies just so your geezer uncle can buy the latest gray-be-gone hair gel. But, hey—you’ve got problems, too. Like you have a biology test next week and a zit the size of Mount Rushmore just in time for class photos. Guess what? When you help animals, you help yourself, too! Here are 10 totally selfish reasons to get active for animals:

1 Studies show that eating dairy foods can cause nasty side effects, including gas and pimples. Clear your skin and your conscience by dumping dairy. Find out more at MilkSucks.com.

2 “Volunteer dog walker at the animal shelter” will look a lot better on your college applications than “watched every episode of Total Request Live.”

3 Fill your closet without emptying your wallet. You can get tons of funky—and animal-friendly—pleather shoes, bags, and jackets for the price of just one pair of leather pants!

4 Convince Aunt Edna to donate her hideous fur coat to PETA and you can avoid the embarrassment of being seen with someone who dresses like Wilma Flintstone.

5 Rock bands often let animal rights and environmental groups table at their shows. Can you say, “backstage pass”?

6 Go vegetarian, and you’ll never again have to eat the “mystery meat” dished up in your school cafeteria.

7 Make your friends green with envy by dissing dissection and learning about anatomy on the Internet while they’re trying to wash that icky formaldehyde smell out of their hair.

8 Go veg and count yourself among today’s “hip, young, and stylish” vegans (that’s what the L.A. Times magazine calls ’em) like Alicia Silverstone, Joaquin Phoenix, and Fiona Apple.

9 Or you could continue your carnivorous ways and be “in” with your loser cousin Norman, who flips burgers for a living. Hey, it’s your choice!

10 Find out more reasons to get involved in animal rights by logging on to PETAKids.com.

Lonely, Chained, and Abused

Mickey was just a baby when he was taken from his mother and forced to perform tricks for the King Royal Circus. Mickey couldn’t follow the trainer’s orders—so he was punished.

During one performance, shocked circus fans watched as Mickey was beaten with a bullhook (a bar with a sharp hook at the end). The little elephant was bleeding and fell down. He couldn’t get up but he tried to crawl away.

In the wild, male elephants stay with their mothers for 10 to 15 years and females for life. In captivity, male babies as young as 6 months old are snatched from their mothers, tied with ropes, and kept all alone. Because male elephants grow so big and hard to control, they may spend years chained in barns.

Until captivity is outlawed, female elephants should be allowed to stay with their mothers for life as they would naturally, and males should not be taken away until they are at least 5 years old.

Help keep elephant families together. Write to:

Gary D. Frazer, Assistant Director
Endangered Species Division, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Department of the Interior, 1849 C St. N.W., Washington, DC 20240