Animals

Courtney Stodden got down and dirty -- literally -- letting herself get drenched in corn syrup to protest the leather industry, in support of PETA.

Check it out -- Courtney stripped down to a bikini on Hollywood Boulevard on Thursday before the sticky black syrup was dramatically poured all over her ... telling TMZ later the messy stunt was still nothing compared to what cows endure.

Courtney made it clear she’s calling out what she sees as the leather industry’s dirtiest secret -- saying she’s all about exposing the ugly side of luxury fashion, even if it means pulling a wild stunt like this.

A Connecticut man named Mike Gerchy appears to have been caught on video beating the crap out of a pit bull ... and now we're told police are investigating.

Check out the dramatic clip posted to Instagram ... which opens with a man body-slamming one of 2 canines in the living room of a house in Glastonbury, CT. You then see the man start kicking the poor pooch while yelling, "What is your f***ing problem?"

A frightened woman is standing in a doorway telling the man to "stop it" ... but he doesn't seem to listen and continues the beatdown, before shooing the dog up the stairs.

LISA met up with a star possibly even bigger than herself ... the viral monkey Punch!

The BLACKPINK star stopped by Ichikawa City Zoo in the Chiba prefecture just outside Tokyo, Japan to visit the monkey who went viral because other apes in his enclosure were bullying him.

The star wanted to support the monkey's habit of carrying around a stuffed orangutan by bringing her own to the zoo ... holding it up for the little macaque to see.

Fireworks on Capitol Hill ... Sen. Thom Tillis ripped into DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a congressional hearing ... comparing American citizens killed by immigration agents to a dog she killed.

Check out the video ... the Republican Senator from North Carolina says Noem has shown terrible leadership and decision-making as Trump's DHS Secretary.

Tillis says the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by ICE and Border Patrol remind him of a passage from Noem's book ... where she recalls killing a dog she brought on a hunting trip.

March 1 marks National Pig Day, where we appreciate the world's favorite domesticated hoofed creatures ... and we're helping you celebrate with pics of some sexy swine-loving celebs!

Actress Jena Frumes had a laugh with a big chonky girl in the water ... while "Selling Sunset" star Emma Hernan cradled a plump lil piggy closer to shore.

And forget ponies ... Chappell Roan joined the Pink Pig Club, as she embraced a sleepy hog who nodded off in her arms.

An iconic movie moment from the '90s is hitting the auction block ... it's the mechanical rhinoceros that gave birth to Ace Ventura in a Jim Carrey sequel.

Yes, the butt birth rhino from "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls" is up for grabs over at Propstore's upcoming auction ... with the movie prop expected to fetch between $4,000 and $8,000.

It's the same rhino from the movie scenes where Ace is inside spying on some bad guys ... before escaping through the rhino's butt in a comedic exit.

Former A&E personality Tony McCollister -- who is charged with raping a child and having sex with two dogs -- says he's not guilty by reason of insanity ... and he wants to get his head checked.

McCollister is facing 26 felony charges related to sex with a minor under the age of 10, plus 4 misdemeanor counts of sexual conduct with an animal ... and on Thursday, he entered his plea and filed a motion asking the court to order an evaluation of his mental state at the time of the alleged crimes.

In Ohio -- where McCollister is charged -- a defendant must prove they did not know right from wrong at the time of the crime to be considered not guilty by reason of insanity.

Absolute horror out of India -- a festival turned into a nightmare when an elephant snapped and launched a man through a packed crowd ... and the whole thing’s caught on camera!

Check out this video of the elephant -- named Akkikavu Karthikeyan -- zeroing in on a 26-year-old man named Vivek at the annual Valiyavilakku festivities in Kerala Thursday ... wrapping its trunk around his legs, hoisting him upside down like a rag doll, then violently flinging him across the room.

What makes it even more shocking is that the elephant appeared totally calm a second earlier as another man climbed onto its back ... but things escalated fast, and Vivek, who was standing nearby holding a decorative item, ended up taking the full brunt of the chaos.

Averey Tressler -- a star of "The Real World: Portland" -- is dealing with a personal tragedy ... because her dog, Daisy, has passed away.

The reality star posted about her late pal Wednesday ... telling her more than 65K followers the pup passed away earlier this week.

Tressler asks for privacy ... but thanks fans for all the love they've shown her and Daisy over the years.

Katherine Short had a dog to assist with "mental illness" over the years ... this according to her now-deleted professional website.

The daughter of Martin Short -- who passed away Monday -- had a biography tab dedicated to her pup, according to Page Six ... who reviewed the website before it was taken down.

Katherine says the dog -- named Joni after singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell -- was her "incredible service dog, who has been assisting me with my own struggles with mental illness for the past 5 years." It's unclear when the bio was written.

As authorities in Mexico combat the narco gangs terrorizing Puerto Vallarta and other parts of the country, the citizens -- and pets -- are left running for cover.

In a new video shared online, a dog is seen running for its life as blistering rounds of gunshots ring out overhead.

Watch the clip ... the footage is shaky, but you can clearly see a canine sprint across the frame as police reportedly fight to take back the entrance to Puerto Vallarta from cartel gunmen.

An IKEA plush toy is officially swinging into resale madness ... cause TMZ has learned some sellers are asking for serious cash after the retailer sold out.

The frenzy started after viral photos showed Punch, a monkey at Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan, clutching IKEA's DJUNGELSKOG orangutan plush for comfort. The sweet moment blew up online, and shoppers rushed to grab the same stuffed sidekick.

Now? It’s a flipping frenzy. A quick scan of eBay shows listings as high as $350, with others going for $269.99, $240, and well over $100 ... a huge markup from the toy's original $20 IKEA price. Some sellers are even tacking on hefty shipping fees, pushing totals even higher.

A baby Japanese macaque named Punch has gone viral for capturing hearts around the world -- after his mother neglected him at birth and led him to find comfort in a stuffed monkey ... but according to one expert we spoke to, he will eventually need a living, loving mom in his life.

We spoke with Michael Stern -- a Harvard-trained primatologist with decades of experience studying gorillas both in captivity and in the wild in Uganda -- who tells us every primate needs something to love when they're a baby, and they need to be loved ... just like us humans!

Sterns tells us it's been scientifically proven that just about every mammal out there has the same basic emotions as a human, and every baby needs something to put that loving emotion toward ... he says, "To me, it's kind of sad that what he had was this stuffed animal."

The poor pooch who allegedly got roughed up by Twitch streamer and rapper Aspen Kartier won't have a problem finding a new home ... if the dog is ever put up for adoption.

Since Aspen's arrest for allegedly beating a 3-month-old Maltipoo, the pup has been in a foster home ... and we've learned hundreds of folks are making calls to see if they can adopt the dog.

LifeLine Animal Project in Georgia tells us Aspen's dog is safe, recovering well and receiving the care and stability he needs in a temporary foster home.

Anna Duggar shared a rare video of herself Thursday, marking a return to social media 4 years after her husband, Josh Duggar, was sentenced for possessing child porn.

The "19 Kids and Counting" alum hopped onto TikTok Wednesday to promote her dog adoption business ... and showed off her new hairdo in the process.

Sitting in her car, she said, "Meet Whitaker, Beaumont, and Harrington -- 3 of our handsome little golden guys," while cuddling the puppies.

Dog owners are usually asked to pick up after their dog ... but authorities in Las Vegas just wanted a woman to pick up her actual dog and take it with her -- and they arrested her when she allegedly wouldn't.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shared video of officers confronting an irresponsible dog owner at her flight departure gate ... telling her they're going to walk her back to where she left her dog tied up at the ticket counter.

The clip then cuts to security camera footage which shows this individual arriving with her dog and stopping to chat with the woman at the checked bag desk.