PETA Names the UK's Top 5 Comedians Who Stand Up for Animals

Cruelty to animals is no laughing matter. In time for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which once again plays host to some of the UK’s top comedy talent, PETA UK is naming our five favourite animal-friendly comedians who stand up for animals—both on-stage and off:

Ricky Gervais: When he’s not cracking up audiences, Gervais is picking cracks in animal exploitation. He teamed up with American rocker Pink to provide the voices for a PETA advert in which a computer-generated alligator and rabbit demand their skins back. He also sent a letter on our behalf urging then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown to immediately order the Ministry of Defence to stop commissioning the killing of Canadian black bears to make The Queen’s Guards’ caps. “The issue I am writing to you about today is not a laughing matter”, wrote Gervais. “I understand and appreciate the importance of uniforms, but continuing to use real fur in the 21^st century is inexcusable, regardless of ‘tradition’.”

Russell Brand: On Allan Carr’s Summertime Spectacular in June, Brand – a vegetarian since the age of 14 and vegan since October 2011 – mused, “I don’t see why something’s life should end just so you can have a snack”. Brand famously became vegan after watching Forks Over Knives with then-wife Katy Perry, leading the star to tweet “I’m now vegan, goodbye eggs, hello Ellen”. Brand’s commitment to animal rights has earned him another honour – PETA UK’s sexiest vegetarian male in both 2006 and 2007.

John Bishop: Bishop stopped eating meat in 1985 after seeing a cow being slaughtered. He told an interviewer, “The cow was hanging up looking at me as if to say, ‘You did this'”. In May, Bishop teamed up with PETA to mark National Vegetarian Week with a billboard facing London’s iconic Borough Market with the message that “Chicks Love a Vegetarian”!

Bill Bailey: A supporter of International Animal Rescue, Bailey has been instrumental in the organisation’s campaign to liberate dancing bears and also campaigned against dog killings in Kerala with his Balinese Dingos, Bule and Teddi, who were brought back to the UK from an Indonesian rescue centre. Having being reunited with Teddi after the pooch went missing Bailey tweeted “thanks to the microchip Battersea were able to get in touch and tell us they had Teddi – every dog owner out there should get it done”.

Alan Davies: Davies – of Jonathan Creek and QI fame – is a passionate animal rights advocate. When he’s not performing at the Fringe he’s narrating hard-hitting video exposés, such as “Wasted Lives” about the carnage and suffering involved in animal experiments in the UK. In the film Davies notes “It’s crazy, but researchers try to recreate human problems in animals who never suffer from them”.