A new anti-fur ad campaign launched by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) featuring First Lady Michelle Obama was not authorized, according to White House officials.

The advertisement, featured online and in train stations in Washington D.C features Obama, along with media mogul Oprah Winfrey, supermodel Tyra Banks and “American Idol” winner Carrie Underwood.

From The Guardian (England)

The other three have officially endorsed Peta’s anti-fur campaigns. As the wife of the president, however, Michelle Obama is unable to do the same.

Even though the first lady’s deputy press secretary, Semonti Mustaphi, told a US newspaper in June last year that “Mrs Obama does not wear fur”, her office has contacted Peta to warn that the group is using her image without consent.

Peta says it has no plans to remove the posters. “We haven’t asked the White House to fund or promote the campaign, as they can’t do such things, but the fact is that Michelle Obama has issued a statement indicating that she doesn’t wear fur, and the world should know that in Peta’s eyes, that makes her pretty fabulous,” the organization’s president, Ingrid Newkirk, said.

A new anti-fur campaign in Washington D.C is turning heads in the Nation’s capital and throughout the country as PETA (Persons for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) features three of Black America’s most prominent women to persuade others to stay away from fur.

First Lady Michelle Obama, media mogul Oprah Winfrey and supermodel, talk show host and producer Tyra Banks are featured on posters for PETA’s “Fur-Free and Fabulous” campaign.  All three have publically confirmed that they do not wear fur.

The posters are placed throughout the Metro DC train system.

It will be interesting to see how African-Americans respond to the campaign,  while some in the Black community are still angry at the animal-rights organizations treatment of Michael Vick.

President Obama got a dressing down on Wednesday from an animal-rights group after he took a “precious” life with the whole world watching – that of a common house fly. A spokesman for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said the group was stunned to see the president swat and kill a fly during an interview Tuesday on CNBC. PETA said it would be sending Obama a Katcha Bug Humane Bug Catcher, a device that allows users to trap a house fly and then release it outside. Read more.

Oprah is named PETA’s Person of the year. Oprah Winfrey, usually praised for her philanthropic work with human beings, was named the “Person of the Year” by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The Norfolk-Va.-based organized lauded Winfrey for using her “powerful voice to defend those without one,” said PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. ”She has used her show to uncover horrific cases of cruelty to animals in puppy mills and on factory farms, and Oprah even used the show to highlight the cruelty-free vegan diet that she tried,” PETA wrote on its Web site.

Actor acquitted of murder. Lillo Brancato, the young actor who had perfected the role of an up-and-coming Italian mobster, was acquitted Monday in the death of a New York City Police officer who was gunned down as he attempted to stop a burglary by Brancato and an accomplice. The jury said that Brancato was guilty of first-degree attempted burglary, but did not convict him of killing officer Daniel Enchautegui, who was shot by the accomplice. The jury could have found the 32-year-old Brancato guilty of second-degree murder, since the death occurred during the commission of another felony, but there were mitigating circumstances, which the jury bought. For example, Brancato was not armed and did not know that his sidekick had a gun. The accomplice, Steven Armento, 51, was convicted by another Bronx jury on Oct. 30 of first-degree murder in firing the fatal shot into Officer Enchautegui’s chest. He was sentenced last month to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Brancato is looking at anywhere from three to 15 years in prison for attempted burglary; he’s already served more than three years and could be credited with that time. New York Supreme Court Justice Martin Marcus will sentence Brancato on Jan. 9. Yolanda Rosa, Officer Enchautegui’s sister, was outraged by the decision. “I waited three long years for this,” she said. “I’m disappointed. What message is this sending out to New York police officers today?”