Thousands of Procter & Gamble Co. employees arrived at work Wednesday morning to a voice mail message from Pretenders star Chrissie Hynde.

But Hynde wasn't congratulating P&G on its record year. She urged Procter workers to contact the company's Iams pet-food unit and ask it to end laboratory tests on animals.

Hynde, an Akron native, was acting on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which has protested against Iams for more than a year.

"Don't think these tests are necessary or required by law. They aren't," Hynde said in the voice mail, which was sent by auto-dial early Wednesday. "Other companies test in other ways."

PETA received a list of 12,770 P&G phone numbers, most of them in Cincinnati, anonymously several months ago, said Mary Beth Sweetland, director of research and investigations at PETA. P&G has about 13,000 employees in Greater Cincinnati, and employees at several local locations reported receiving the voice mail.

Sweetland said she hadn't heard any official protests from P&G.

Iams officials weren't amused.

"PETA dialed a wrong number when they called our employees," the company said in a statement. "We aren't fooled by their sensationalism, whether it's delivered on voice mail or through their extremist campaign."

After a PETA investigation of an Iams contract lab in Missouri last year, P&G severed its contract with the lab.

The two sides directed interested parties to dueling Internet sites, www.iamstruth.com and www.iamscruelty.com.

Jammin' in the rain

The operators of the Jammin' on Main music festival hit bad luck again this spring.

Beset by rain, the event May 14-15 lost $67,000 for Music & Event Management Inc., a subsidiary of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

But the bad luck is nothing new. In 2001, the festival was canceled because it was scheduled for a few weeks after the racial unrest in Over-the-Rhine. And last year, stormy weather led to operational losses and unattained revenue goals that together totaled about $300,000.

"That's just a reality when you're dealing with a singular event that's held outdoors," said Mike Smith, head of the CSO unit.

E-mail cpeale@enquirer.com