333's Jazz at the Museum
Morrissey's drummer - Photo by Joe Scarnici, courtesy PETA
When it comes to protecting his animal friends, Morrissey has been on a roll lately.
Working in partnership with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the English pop icon and outspoken animal rights activist recently urged the president of the Philippines to release an Asian elephant held in a Manila zoo to a sanctuary, "where she would have room to roam." He also called on the Indonesian government to shut down a run-down zoo where hundreds of animals had died in 2010 and 2011. And he asked Japanese clothing company Uniqlo to stop working with farmers that use the controversial "mulesing" technique, which involves removing pieces of skin from sheep.
It's no surprise, then, that the former Smiths frontman had a big statement prepared for his concert at Valley View Casino Center on Tuesday night. Throughout the show, his bandmates all rocked T-shirts emblazoned with the words "SeaWorld Sucks." The T-shirts are part of a PETA campaign to protect the theme park's captive orcas. Though the beloved creatures are a regular source of entertainment for park-goers, PETA argues they're kept in unhealthy conditions and points out that one died at San Diego's park in 2010.
Anti-SeaWorld partisans can get their own "SeaWorld Sucks" T-shirts here. Listen to The Smiths' pro-vegetarian anthem "Meat is Murder" below.
