After a two-month investigation of animal abuse at a chicken farms in Central California that led to of of the biggest egg producers in the state being singled out for mistreatment, Trader Joes has discontinued carrying eggs from that vendor. "The Monrovia-based chain said it wants all its vendors to abide by industry practices for animal care," according to KNBC. Chicago-based animal rights group Mercy for Life had a member pose as an employee and......

Photo of unrelated puppy by droid via Flickr In Lancaster last night, a six month old dog was lit on fire. Luckily, witnesses heard the yelping puppy and extinguished the fire with a jacket. The dog, a pit bull mix, was taken to an animal shelter while police investigated looking for the culprit. More odd news came out of Lancaster earlier this year when a man was killed by an arrow while crossing the......

Photo by Sundogg via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr FESTIVAL Stop by the Santa Monica Pier for a Celebration for the Arts pier party today and tomorrow. There will be a lot of stuff to do and see including live silkscreening by Alternative Apparel, Guitar Hero contests, Improv, celebrity appearances, and of course lots of live free music. All proceeds benefit the arts. 11 a.m. // Santa Monica Pier // 350 Santa......

In the aftermath of the Chino slaughterhouse scandal and beef recall, one former employee has pleaded guilty to criminal charges and faces jail time and likely deportation. Charges were brought against Rafael Sanchez Herrera for his usage of a forklift to move cows too sick to stand in order to bring them to slaughter, which is a federal violation. His plea of guilty addresses his role in the abuse of the cows, as well as......

Don't get too excited, Hambone, the local stolen Hollywood dog made local celebrity via the internet, is not home...yet. But Hambone of Hollywood's reward is now up to ten thousand dollars - yes, you read that right - boosted by a $5K donation from Chris DeRose and Last Chance for Animals. Hambone's Dad just sent me the latest video update. Bulletin the Hamber Alert on your MySpace or just send the link around.......

Photo by Plankton 4:20 via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr More on the arrest of Kazuyoshi Miura, who is accused of killing his wife in LA in 1981 and is being extradited from Japan: Turns out it was his blogging that got the authorities' attention. Bad blogger! Bad! Another one from the Cold Case Files solved: 47-year-old Wayne Osbourne of Virginia has been charged in the 1988 murder of Diana Michael, who......

On the heels of the recent SoCal beef recall and a property being sold abut the Hollywood Sign, PETA announced an idea yesterday of buying or, at least, renting the next-door land to place 5-letters to the left of the Hollywood sign. If all becomes said and done (they wish), Hollywood's icon would read "Go Veg Hollywood." PETA does not have the $20 million needed to purchase the property, but they "did write to the......

Colourmusic are the rarest of musical rarities- a band from the isolated hinter portions of America's Heartland (Also known as "The Sticks") that not only doesn't suck, but actually turns out to be pretty great. And not in that sort of special olympics, everyone's a winner, "well, they're good for [insert your tiny state here]" kind of way, but actually, honestly, for realsies good. Kind of like how The Flaming Lips are so good......

No Age plays at El Rey tonight with the Liars More What Made Milwaukee Famous? Yes, more of that! "Sultan" - What Made Milwaukee Famous &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://aprodxn.com/laist/zfiles/sultan.mp3"> "Resistance" - What Made Milwaukee Famous &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://barsukmusic.blaireau.net/WhatMadeMilwaukeeFamous_ResistanceSt.mp3"> Liars, No Age @ El Rey Built to Spill, Meat Puppets @ Echoplex The Lovemakers, Astra Heights, Something For Rockets @ The Troubadour (Astra Heights video below) Marilyn Manson, Ours @ Wiltern Kimya Dawson @ Amoeba Records (See who won't be......

The use of sonar by the Navy off the shores of Southern California has prompted vehement opposition by animal rights and environmental groups, and earlier this year a court order put in place restrictions on the practice. However, reports that a dolphin's death in late January on the island of San Nicolas might be linked to the Navy's use of sonar in a training exercise has once again brought the issue into the spotlight. The......

Earlier this week, UCLA researcher and professor Edythe London had an incendiary device left on the porch of her home on the West side. London has been the target of such protest activities before, and remains as such, because of the project she is helming at the school to study nicotine addiction. The LA Times has a succinct recipe for London and UCLA's research-related woes:First, find dozens of hard-core teenage smokers as young as 14......

Sy Smith will be at the Temple Bar tonight | Photo by Marlene Fisher/fatmeatgreasy.com It's a quality night in Echo Park with Super Furry Animals and Holy Fuck are at the Echoplex and if you can swing it, right there at The Echo you'll find The Kooks and The Morning Benders. In Hollywood, Grammy award winning Dirty Vegas front man Steve Smith is slated to play acoustic tonight at the Hotel Cafe (but is......

Just two of the many dogs found this past weekend on a Lancaster ranch. Photo by Laura Gunn Over the weekend we told you about the 400 animals rescued from a Lancaster ranch, and the need for help with donations or adoptions to save the many abused and neglected animals. One of the volunteers who was at the ranch helping with the rescue, Laura Gunn shared with us an update and the photos she......

The 80th Annual Academy Awards are scheduled to take place Feb. 24 at Hollywood & Highland's Kodak TheatreAuthorities have released the names of the victims in yesterday's deadly airplane collision in the skies above Corona. According to KNBC.com, "one of the victims -- Earl Smiddy, 58, of Moreno Valley -- was on the ground when he was hit by falling debris. The other victims were identified as Anthony Joel Guzman, 20, of Hesperia; Scott......

Earlier this week members of The Gentle Barn's Rescue Staff discovered hundreds of animals from a ranch in Lancaster, reports CBS2. They posted the story of the discovery, and a plea for help on Craigslist: "On Monday, January 14, 2008 Gentle Barn Rescue Staff arrived on scene at a property in Lancaster, CA that, from a far, just looked like some fences and trees. As we got closer, it became a city of cages made......

As reported earlier today, Los Angeles is America's favorite city to own a Bulldog as a pet. With the high concentration of the breed and their close relative, the pit bull, there's bound to be a few bad seeds. And when we say that, we do not mean the dogs. From CBS2: Police arrested a 55-year-old man after the Los Angeles City Animal Cruelty Task Force found scarred pit bulls and equipment related to dog-fighting......

Unemployment is no longer an issue for LA's population of feral cats. The stray and often unfriendly felines that are known for populating local neighborhoods and prowling the streets for food and shelter have been put to work as rat-catchers for the LAPD in some of their stations through the assistance of The Working Cats program of Voice for the Animals. The non-profit organization explains on their website that a feral cat is defined as......

After reviewing a few dozen releases this year this is my top ten of reviewed albums plus a few select tracks of items that I went out and hunted down myself. These weren't easy to select out of the great stuff I received so it was a challenge. I'd like to thank the labels and their PR agencies for hunting me down and sending CDs to me. I reviewed everything that I received this year......

In Yermo, a small town east of Barstow in San Bernadino County, a woman was found Tuesday night lying in the street after she was attacked by a pack of Pit Bulls. She later died at the hospital.After the mauling, the dogs ran to a nearby house. Deputies shot one dog to death when it returned to the scene and acted aggressively as paramedics were trying to save Caldwell's life, authorities said. A second dog......

Artist: The Deadly Syndrome Album: The Ortolan Label: Dim Mak Release Date: September 2007 Listen to "Eucalyptus": OK, so yeah I know Silver Lake's own The Deadly Syndrome came out with The Ortolan a couple months ago but I didn't know that it was hiding in a pile of CDs that was sent to me and I'd somehow missed it but I should get some credit for being a good boy and cleaning up after......

This is a picture of a bait raft in Pedro. I love this one because the seagull looks so blase as the sea lions go at it. I am not a fan of cheesily talking for animals. But he just seems to be thinking, "There go those goddamned sea lions again. If I wanted to listen to that crap I'd get married again." OK, the anthropomorphizing is over. You can open your eyes now.......

I didn't intend for this to be shark week, but sometimes shark week just happens. Laist readers over at sharkdiver wanted to share their video of this bloody shark encounter with us. Not for the faint of heart. Oh and if you dream of someday swimming with giant squid, they've got you covered. Watch out for those razor-sharp beaks! We shot this at Isla Guadalupe, Mexico aboard our shark diving vessel MV Islander. Shark Divers......

Found on Hollywood Blvd. late yesterday morning: PETA members demonstrating against Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's use of animal fur. "The only bigger fashion victims are animals." The small text at the bottom of the posters tell people to play an online game where you can interactively dress up "Hairy-Kate and Trashley Trollsen". See our Mary Kate carrion inspired design after the jump.......

After LA Animal Services released their latest statistics, The Daily News ran a story with this headline: "Animal Deaths Rise in L.A. Shelters". Yet, the number of animals euthanized in Los Angeles has dropped by 20% this year - a hard-won statistic for Ed Boks, general manager for LA Animal Services. Since Los Angeles adopted a no-kill policy 10 years ago, the number of euthanized animals has dropped from 65,000 to 15,000 a year.......

Natalia Fabia tackles the world’s oldest profession in her fun solo exhibit Hooker Safari: A Glamorous Jungle Pageant. Giving new meaning to the term “wildlife”, her oil on panel paintings depict frequently tatted babes in various scenarios alongside safari animals. The seductive works are fantastically original and creative. Appearing at first glance to be photographs, the artists’ skill is the first thing that jumps out at you. Unlike the “honeys” usually seen trolling Sunset......

Not long ago, UK's Athlete scored the prestigious Mercury Music Prize for their 2003 album Vehicles and Animals. I've been following the band ever since that remarkable album. However, many have said that they made a stark transition from bright to melodramatic tones. Some see their 2005 album Tourist as the dawning of the Coldplay-esque, Brit-pop phase in Athlete's catalog. Fresh off the heels of their latest album Beyond The Neighborhood, Athlete have continued in......

Meet Gobstopper. She's an 8-month-old Basenji mix, give or take a few details. We're not really sure about her background because she was a stray. And last Saturday my husband and I picked her out from among the numerous other dogs available from the county's animal shelter in Castaic. We went with a pound dog because of (a) the cost and (b) there are hundreds of good animals just waiting for a home that......

Good thing the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) put out a Red Flat Alert (move your car if you live in the hills or you could be towed) last night for today -- a major brush fire began this morning around 5:50 a.m. near Tampa Ave and Sesnon Bl (yo, Valley, people, this is Porter Ranch) in Los Angeles County territory according to alerts from the LAFD. In the name of mutual aid, the......

We get a lot of press releases. The other day we got one from PETA announcing that they have Steve-O running around naked for them. We were all, yeah that's cool, but who hasn't seen Steve-O naked? Then we thought - wait a damn minute. How is PETA cool with Steve-O after four or five seasons of him and Chris Pontius fucking with any sort of animal they could find? We hear all these......

Photo of Volunteer Park in Seattle by sunrisesoup via Flickr Forget New Years resolutions! Now is the perfect time to make a change in your life and make a difference the lives of others. Here's a very brief list of just a few organizations around L.A. that are currently looking for volunteers. For additional resources visit www.vcla.net or www.laworks.com. Animal Support Friends of Animals- works to cultivate a respectful view of nonhuman animals, free-living......