PETA

So, this is nuts -- a popular coconut milk brand allegedly uses abused monkeys to harvest its product, which is why you won't see it on Costco shelves anymore.

The wholesale giant says it's discontinuing Chaokoh coconut milk after PETA made it aware of the alleged monkey business going down in Thailand. We know it sounds like a joke: How many monkeys does it take to pick a coconut?

But, according to PETA, there's no punchline ... just monkeys taken from their families to be chained, caged, and forced to become "coconut picking machines" until their deaths.

Now, for its part, Chaokoh denies PETA's abuse claims, saying ... "We do not engage the use of monkey labour in our coconut plantations" -- and adds all of its suppliers have signed an agreement not to do so either.

Is Shaquille O'Neal video chat buddies with Jeff Lowe from 'Tiger King?'

That's what Lowe wants us to believe ... and now PETA is calling on the NBA legend to cut ties with the Oklahoma zoo owner ASAP claiming he's just as bad as Joe Exotic.

If you recall from the Netflix doc, Lowe owns the Greater Wynnewood Animal Park in Oklahoma ... and just a few weeks ago, the zoo posted a screengrab which appears to show a FaceTime call between Shaq and Lowe.

"One of the nicest guys in the World," the G.W. Animal Park posted on Facebook on March 21 ... "Shaq facetime’d a few minutes ago to see how we were doing and if we need anything. We love you too buddy."

Shocking, considering Shaq just went on his podcast a few days ago and tried to distance himself from the park and former owner, Joe Exotic.

In fact, Shaq said he "stopped going" to the zoo when he found out what was really happening behind the scenes.

Now, PETA is begging the NBA legend to disavow Jeff Lowe the same way he disavowed Joe Exotic ... firing off a letter to Shaq explaining their position.

"It appears that the equally problematic wild animal exhibitor Jeff Lowe is now claiming to have your support, PETA said to Shaq.

"Lowe is no different from Joe Exotic when it comes to harming animals."

PETA points out Lowe "has a long history of violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act" -- and there's still an active warrant for Lowe in Nevada stemming from Lowe's failed tiger-petting business (which was also mentioned in the Netflix doc).

"It's clear that you love tigers, and we hope you will dissociate yourself from people who profit from abusing, breeding, and exploiting them," PETA said to Shaq in the letter, obtained by TMZ Sports.

"Will you please make it clear right away that you don't desire to have an ongoing relationship with Lowe? As long as he continues to use your name to support his abusive business, you will be tied to animal suffering."

"Instead, please help these tigers. Help us shut down these hellholes, move the animals to reputable sanctuaries, and keep them out of the hands of abusers."

We've reached out to Shaq for comment. So far, no word back.

Jessica Simpson couldn't escape the wrath of animal rights activists incensed over her wearing fur.

The "Open Book" author was leaving Il Mulino restaurant in NYC after midnight when she was accosted by some anti-fur protesters who shouted out "animal abuser," "murderer" and "shame on you" as she hopped in her SUV.

One guy hammered his point home by screaming ... "What type of person would wear fur in 2020?!"

This wasn't Jessica's first run-in of the day with the angry activists. Earlier Tuesday night, her Barnes & Noble book signing event for her new memoir was crashed by a much larger group of anti-fur folks.

They began screaming and holding up their signs as Simpson came out to give a speech, forcing her to take cover for a couple minutes while security booted the protesters.

The good news for Jessica ... her fans stuck around, chanting her name, and she eventually came back out and talked about her book.

BTW ... if any of the animal rights activists look familiar, it's because this isn't their first rodeo. They've crashed events and confronted several other celebs for wearing fur ... like Kate Upton, Chrissy Teigen, Lil' Kim and Jennifer Lopez.

We're certain they'll do it again too.

Kate Upton was confronted by an angry group of animal rights activists ... one of which had some nasty words about her partnership with a clothing company.

The supermodel was hosting one of her Strong4Me Fitness classes in NYC Wednesday when the protesters barged in ... led by a very loud man in a "VEGAN" hat.

Kate didn't look too shaken by their uninvited entrance, but things took an extra dark turn when the guy screamed at her ... "Coyotes get shot in the head, and are strangled to death!"

The protesters were up in arms over Upton's promotion of Canada Goose, a winter clothing company that uses coyote fur and goose down to make its coats.

Obviously, that doesn't sit well with animal rights groups, though the company insists that it sources its animal products humanely.

New England Patriots stud Ben Watson just bodied PETA in the war over Georgia's dog mascot ... straight-up telling the org to "kick rocks" for criticizing the school's use of the sideline pup!

"He IS at home with a loving family," Watson said Tuesday, "Kick rocks @peta."

If you missed it ... PETA started an epic war with UGA this week after footage of the school's dog mascot looking sad during Saturday's rain-soaked game surfaced on social media.

The organization demanded the program retire the mascot ASAP ... saying the British bulldog looked "MISERABLE!" and needs to be moved to a new home.

PETA added, "No dog deserves to be packed up, carted from state to state, and paraded in front of a stadium full of screaming fans."

But, Watson -- who played at Georgia from '01 to '03 -- raced to his alma mater's defense Tuesday ... saying in a tweet Uga X is doing just fine at Georgia and DEFINITELY has a loving home.

Of course, this ain't the first time PETA has gone after Uga ... earlier this year it demanded his removal from the school after he and the University of Texas' Longhorn mascot got into it on the sideline.

For its part, Georgia doesn't seem to be in any hurry to bend the knee to the organization ... with no imminent plans to ditch the mascot anytime soon.

Aaron Carter's mom was caught on video brutally smacking one of his dogs ... and now the singer is at war with PETA.

Aaron is trading blows the animal org after it called out Aaron and his mother, saying, "Dogs are family -- not for IG likes. SLAPPING them or SELLING THEM for a profit when millions are homeless in shelters is cruelty."

The whole incident went down Wednesday night while Aaron was on Instagram Live as he and his mom were driving across the state. At one point, you can see the pug make its way onto the middle console from the back seat when, out of nowhere, Jane violently slaps the dog ... sending it to the backseat.

After PETA put Aaron on blast, the singer responded with an expletive-laced tirade saying, "My message is f*** you, PETA. F*** you, PETA. F*** you, PETA. Whoever is running your f***ing organizations and campaigns, you can f***ing suck my d***." Classy.

Aaron -- who was briefly hospitalized the day after the dog-slapping incident -- also threatened, "I'm gonna sue the s*** out of PETA. I'm gonna take htem for millions of dollars, and then I'm gonna give back money to a community that actually does help animals."

Wanna see the most adorable video ever?!

Here's Boston Bruins star Charlie Coyle's cute new puppy wrestling with his hockey bag ... and, AWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!

Coyle's pup appears to be a golden retriever ... and the way he attacks Coyle's gear is just flat-out precious.

The dog is a little more than a couple months old -- Coyle and his girlfriend adopted him in early July -- and he's already killin' it in the human world.

According to Coyle's girlfriend, "Bodie is officially in 1st place for the most popular of the three of us when we walk around Boston."

Not exactly an easy feat ... 'cause Coyle was a playoff hero just this past June, helping lead the Bruins to the Stanley Cup final.

Coyle's been in the league for 8 years and has scored 248 points in 500 games. But, his best accomplishment might just be Bodie ... because, well, LOOK AT HIM!!!!

PETA's celebrating a legal W that it hopes will be a big step in putting an end to using live animals in movies ... and it got some cash to boot.

The animal rights org will receive a "substantial payment" from Paws for Effect, the company that trained the puppy, Shelby, for her starring role in "A Dog's Way Home" ... which came out in January.

We broke the story ... Shelby's owners sued PETA for defamation in February, claiming the organization went on a smear campaign against Paws alleging it had racked up citations under the Animal Welfare Act.

Paws claimed PETA was wrong and was lying, but now the company's officially walked it back and has asked the court to dismiss the case.

According to the legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Paws now says what PETA accused it of was "substantially true" and admits it has "on several occasions over a period of several years been cited by the United States Department of Agriculture for violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act."

Paws offered to pay for PETA's legal fees and then some, and PETA accepted. PETA says Paws has also pledged to not exhibit or broker wild animals as part of its business in the future.

PETA's Senior VP, Lisa Lange, adds that the org is "pleased to have one less player involved in such exploitation" and vows to "keep exposing exhibitors' behind-the-scenes conduct until Hollywood ends the use of live animals and embraces the many types of realistic and humane alternatives."

"Teen Mom 2" just suffered another casualty -- this time in the form of an advertiser -- Greenies pet treats has cut ties with the MTV show.

In a statement Friday, Greenies announced, "We have zero tolerance for animal cruelty and we can now confirm that as a result of this incident, our ads will no longer run during Teen Mom programming."

Greenies joins a mountain of companies who have pulled the plug on their relationship with "Teen Mom." Chipotle, Dove Chocolates, TWIX and Persil ProClean are among some of the brands who have also cut ties.

TMZ broke the story ... "Teen Mom 2" star Jenelle Evans' husband, David Eason, is under investigation for animal cruelty after he allegedly pummeled and then shot his family dog. Both the local Animal Control and Sheriff's Department is working on the investigation.

Dan Bilzerian is catching major heat for feeding a Kodiak bear at a house party ... and because PETA would never literally feed Dan to the wolves, they're going after him with a team of lawyers.

If you were too high on Saturday to notice all the videos coming out of Dan's 4/20 bash in Los Angeles, he posted clips of himself hand-feeding munchies to an enormous bear.

PETA is livid at Dan's stunt and now the organization is ratting him and Steve Martin's Working Wildlife -- which allegedly provided the bear -- out to California authorities. PETA fired off letters Wednesday to the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife and L.A. Department of Animal Services.

In the complaints, obtained by TMZ, PETA claims Dan and Martin did not have the required permit for this type of display, because city regulations expressly prohibit keeping bears in a place where they pose a risk to the public.

PETA also claims that because the bear was not contained in an escape-proof enclosure and because Martin did not maintain a safe distance between the bear and the party-goers, Martin should be stripped of his permits and fined.

Dan tells us PETA has him all wrong because he loves animals, and, while he appreciates people trying to stand up for animals, he says PETA just wants "to do the typical internet bandwagon on whatever is popular and come after me for feeding what seemed to be a very healthy happy bear, that was rescued at a young age."

Dan ended with a final thought for PETA, "They can suck my d**k.”

Von Miller will NOT be punished for illegally catching a hammerhead shark on a 2018 fishing expedition ... but not everyone involved got so lucky.

We broke the story ... the NFL star was investigated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission after Von posted footage showing off a 9-and-a-half foot shark he caught off the coast of Miami.

The incident was escalated when PETA -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals -- publicly vowed to hold Miller and his crew accountable for what they believed was an illegal catch and kill.

For Miller's part, he insisted the shark was thrown back into the water alive.

Now, we've learned the case was transferred from the FFWCC to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- a federal organization which reports to the Department of Commerce.

A rep for NOAA tells us the investigation is over and "Miller was not charged."

However, the owner and operator of the fishing vessel WERE charged for fishing for sharks without the proper permit AND failure to release a shark in the manner that will ensure maximum probability of survival.

NOAA issued a $2,000 fine as punishment.

Fishing ... it ain't a joke.

2/5 10:43 AM PT-- PETA held a protest outside CBS Tuesday morning in NYC, holding the network responsible for airing Big Boi's fur-lined Super Bowl performance.

Big Boi's Super Bowl halftime performance is drawing penalty flags -- not for the music (see Maroon 5) -- but for his fur coat, which PETA wants to take off his back and donate to the homeless.

We've learned PETA fired off a stern letter Monday to Big Boi, even addressing him by his real name -- Antwan -- like a disappointed parent. In the letter, the animal rights group tries to convince the Outkast rapper to retire all of his furs and switch to faux.

PETA says it knows exactly what to do with Big Boi's luxury fur -- which it believes to be fox -- offering to distribute it to homeless shelters in America or Syrian refugees.

Taking it a step further, PETA says it's sending him a "gorgeous" faux fur for him to flaunt.

PETA tells us a coat the size of Big Boi's costs an estimated 25 red foxes their lives, and points out the animals are electrocuted or have their necks broken ... purely for fashion.

We've reached out to Big to confirm his coat was genuine fur, but no word back. PETA says it hasn't gotten a response from him yet either.

2/5 -- A rep for PETA tells TMZ, "PETA has not, to date, received any communication from Paws for Effect and stands by its claim."

Shelby -- the adorable pooch starring in the movie, "A Dog's Way Home" -- is at the center of a defamation lawsuit against PETA, which flat-out lied about animal abuse ... according to Shelby's owners.

Paws for Effect is the company that adopted and trained Shelby for her starring role. She's reportedly a mixed-breed pup who was rescued from a shelter in Tennessee -- so, a true Hollywood rags to riches story. However, Paws for Effect says it was blindsided by what it calls PETA's smear campaign ahead of the movie's release.

In docs obtained by TMZ ... Paws says PETA first fired off an email to an exec at Sony Pictures, the distributor of 'Dog's Way Home' ... alleging Paws had racked up citations under the Animal Welfare Act. PETA allegedly repeated that claim to an "unknowable" number of film industry types.

Paws says PETA's email is a straight-up lie, and insists it's never received a single citation under the AWA. According to docs, PETA either knew its statement about Paws was false, or could easily have found out if it did the slightest bit of research.

In the suit, Paws says even now -- after PETA's been informed its statement is false -- it has yet to correct or retract it.

Shelby's owners say the potential fallout for them is no one in Hollywood will work with them in the future -- and, as a result, they want PETA to pay through the snout.

The guy who poured fake blood on Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame says he was working for PETA when he did the deed ... but now he's been canned.

We spoke to PETA's now-former senior campaign specialist, Matt Bruce, who was caught on camera earlier this week pouring red dyed corn syrup on the Trump star ... which had just been vandalized earlier that day by another guy who'd also been caught on tape.

It was a shocking image to say the least, especially since the previous vandalism from hours earlier featured swastikas.

Matt tells us here was there with PETA members protesting Forever 21 for their use of wool. Toward the end of the protest, Matt says he wanted to send a message by pouring some fake blood on the star ... an act he says PETA has done in other instances many times over.

According to him, pouring the blood here couldn't be more on brand ... and, ultimately, it was a harmless political statement. Well ... he says PETA didn't see it that way.

Shortly after, Matt tells us he got a call from a PETA HR rep and the VP, who told him it was his last day. He says he's mostly disappointed by the firing, but not shocked. Matt asserts that PETA doesn't want any heat from the Trump administration, and that's why they cut him loose.