Famous animal rights people

Many famous people and celebrities have lent their influence to animal rights causes. Below is a list of some of these activists.

Bob Barker - Best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, Bob Barker set up a foundation called the DJ & T Foundation in 1994 that funds grants for spay/neuter clinics. He is also supporting a bill against the use of elephants in circuses. Barker grew up on an Indian Reservation in South Dakota and says that his earliest memories include animals. He describes how he became involved in animal rights: "About 20 years ago I was chairman of Be Kind to Animals Week in L.A. I was invited by different organizations to participate in their activities. As I did, I began to become aware of the terrible exploitation of animals in the world and felt compelled to try to rectify the situation. And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since."

Brigitte Bardot - Former French actress Brigitte Bardot runs the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals. The foundation works directly on the field (help to refuges, animal rescue, stray cat sterilization campaigns…). It also intervenes at the judicial level, with the help of inspectors spread out all over France.

Betty White - Best known for her role in The Golden Girls, Betty White has been an animal lover for years. She has sat on the board of directors for 'The Morris Animal Foundation' for more than 25 years. She is also involved with the spcaLA and the Wildlife Waystation and is a Board Member of Actors and Others for Animals. When asked whether she was a dog person or a cat person, White replied, "I’m everything with a leg on each corner."

Paul McCartney - Paul McCartney and his late wife, Linda were outspoken vegetarians and animal rights activists. Following her death, he continued to lobby for fair treatment of animals. In 2006, he spoke out against seal hunting. The singer and former Beatle has lent his support to Israeli animal rights activists fighting to pass a bill banning all fur trade in Israel.
Julie Christie - British actress Julie Christie narrated the 1981 feature documentary The Animals Film (directed by Victor Schonfeld and Myriam Alaux), a campaigning film against the exploitation of animals.

Pamela Anderson - The actress has teamed up with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to lobby against the use of animal fur in fashion. "Once people know that animals are electrocuted, drowned, bludgeoned to death and sometimes skinned alive, they realize fur is disgusting and that there's nothing luxurious or fashionable about it", she explained. She also campaigns against inhumane slaughtering of chickens and against animal testing.

Ali MacGraw - In 2006, the actress filmed a public service announcement for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), urging residents to take their pets with them in the event of wildfires. She states that she cannot remember not being an animal activist. She has been awarded the Humane Education Award by Animal Protection of New Mexico.

Stella McCartney - Paul McCartney's daughter, Stella, is also an animal rights activist. The fashion designer refuses to use fur or leather in her fashions. She supports activists who break into fashion shows to protest against the use of animal pelts. "I totally disagree with any electrocuted animals on people’s backs, so I think it’s for the right reasons," she said.
Angelina Jolie - In Apr. 2010 the actress was seen carrying a bag made from horse hair. She said she had had her stylist check that no horses were harmed in the making of the bag. She was complimented for this by PETA.

Bea Arthur - Bea Arthur was an American actress, comedian and singer. She was famous for her roles in All in the Family and The Golden Girls. Arthur was active in PETA and wrote letters, made personal appearances and placed ads against the use of furs, foie gras, and farm animal cruelty by KFC suppliers. After her death in 2009, PETA published an ad against McDonald's methods of slaughtering chickens with the tagline "It’s enough to make Bea Arthur roll over in her grave."

James Cromwell - James Cromwell, who played Farmer Hoggett in the movie Babe, is an outspoken vegetarian and activist for farm animal rights. In 2002 he hosted the Farm Sanctuary "Emmys for Animals" awards at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Farm Sanctuary establishes farm animal shelters, wages campaigns to stop farm animal cruelty, and promotes an animal product-free diet. The organization runs two shelters — in upstate New York and northern California – where, according to its Web site — "people have the opportunity to be touched by rescued farm animals."

Linda Blair - Actress Linda Blair has written a book about becoming a vegan called Going Vegan. She has won numerous awards for her work as an animal rights activist from organizations such as PETA. and Linda also lends her name to helping stop animal abuse all over the world. She is also the founder of "The Linda Blair World Heart Foundation", which advocates the rescue and adoption of animals. Blair has pet dogs, chickens and horses.

Doris Day - Actress and singer Doris Day has founded the Doris Day Animal League which works to reduce the pain and suffering of non-human animals through legislative initiatives. The organization has merged into the Humane Society of the United States and now runs Spay Day USA, a one-day spay/neuter event.

Pink - Singer Pink has posed for an anti-fur ad for PETA that helped promote the “no fur” policy. She has also written letters against the use of elephants for entertainment purposes. Prince William asked Pink to perform at his 21st birthday party, but she refused when she found out that he hunts.

Brad Pitt - Actor Brad Pitt is a vegetarian and supporter of animal rights. He has narrated a film about two grizzly bears who are being raised by a family in the Rocky Mountains of Utah.

David Duchovny - In 1996, Duchovny (formerly of the X-Files) signed a petition against Gilette's animal testing. He was on the Honorary Board of Farm Sanctuary, a farm animal protection organization. Duchovny has also has written a book blurb for Karen Dawn's 2008 book, Thanking the Monkey.

Earl Holliman - From 1953 to the late 80's, Holliman appeared in many films and television shows. He is also known for his work as an animal-rights activist, including more than 25 years as president of Actors and Others for Animals. When asked what he would like to emphasize about the human-animal connection, he replies, “the importance of spaying and neutering. Too many people think of animals as something disposable - or property. I wish we could all wake up one morning and realize this is another living creature. This isn’t my property. This is something I’m going to take care of. It would also be nice if we could get people to stop eating animals.”

Sarah McLachlan - Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan has contributed a song called "Shelter" to the album "In Defense of Animals Benefit Compilation." She says she contributed because "it's something I believe really strongly in. I love animals and I hate to see the things that are done to them." McLachlan is a proud supporter and spokesperson for the ASPCA.

Isabella Rossellini - Model and actress Rosselini has written a book accompanied by a DVD called Green Porno, which offers a visually arresting and scientifically accurate look at the sex lives of marine animals and other creatures. She received a $100,000 grant from Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund in recognition of her work to preserve endangered animals. She donated half to The Andean Cat Alliance. At age 55, she enrolled at New York University and began to design a program on animal behavior.

Cloris Leachman - The eighty-four year old actress is an outspoken vegetarian and the star of an animal-rights ad for PETA, where she is dressed in a red cabbage dress with text proclaiming "Let vegetarianism grow on you."

Mickey Rourke - When Rourke won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in 2009, he thanked his dogs in his acceptance speech: "The ones that are here, the ones that aren't here anymore because sometimes when a man's alone, that's all you got is your dog," he said "And they've meant the world to me." Mickey Rourke and his beloved Chihuahua named Jaws featured in a PETA campaign encouraging people to neuter their pets.

Cesar and Illusion Millan - Cesar Millan stars in a National Geographic Channel (NGC) series Dog Whisperer since September 2004. Viewers witness Cesar's rehabilitation of dogs and training of their owners. Cesar and his wife, Ilusion, established the Cesar and Ilusion Millan Foundation in 2007 to help do something about pet overpopulation. He has been very outspoken about the need to spay and neuter.

Tito Ortiz - Martial arts fighter Tito Ortiz has done service announcement against dog fighting for the animal rights group PETA.

Noah Wylie - In 2009, Noah Wyle became a spokesperson for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), saying that polar bears are "hanging on by a thread" and "may be extinct in our children's lifetime, due to the effects of climate change."The actor, most famous for his role as John Carter on ER, is a vegetarian.

Daryl Hannah - Daryl Hannah has said, "Being a humanitarian, supporting animal rights activists, human rights activists, it's all the same." Hannah - who appeared in "Splash," "Blade Runner" and "Kill Bill" - is serious about saving the environment in general.

JoAnne Worley - Singer JoAnne Worley uses her talents to advocate for elephants in zoos and circuses. She participated in a fun, educational music video called "Don't Wanna Be in Show Business" to make people aware of elephant exploitation.

Mary Tyler Moore - Mary Tyler Moore has always loved animals. She has joined the SPCA in their goal to make New York City a NO-KILL city. She has narrated a video for Farm Sanctuary that is sent to politicians who are in a position to make changes. She has two dogs, both rescues.

Bernadette Peters - Actress and singer Bernadette Peters co-founded Broadway Barks with long time friend Mary Tyler Moore. The charity promotes pet adoption, pet ownership education and pooling of shelter resources.

Heather Mills - Heather Mills is an activist charity campaigner and United Nations Association Goodwill Ambassador. She donated all of her proceeds from her appearance on the show Dancing with the Stars to Viva! (Vegetarians International Voice for Animals). She lives purely on a plant based food diet and campaigns against the brutal treatment of factory farmed animals in the UK and around the world. She was instrumental in the victory for dogs and cats in China on June 19th 2007, when the European Parliament voted unanimously to ban the import, export and trade of cat and dog fur from China into the European Union by December 31st 2008.

Edie Falco - Actress Edie Falco, famous for her role as Carmela in The Sopranos, has done public service announcements for PETA spreading the word about the link between animal abuse and domestic violence. She also hosted an Animal Planet documentary called Growing Up Black Leopard, which follows a rescued Black Leopard "Eddy" from birth through his precarious first year at the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Conservation Center in Denver, CO.

Kim Basinger - In 2001 Basinger, an animal rights activist and a member of PETA, participated in the recording of Hollywood Goes Wild, a 2001 Hollywood compilation CD benefiting the Wildlife Way Station, a refuge for wild and exotic animals in Los Angeles.

Ellen DeGeneres - Ellen has used her popular TV show as a platform for promoting animal rights and was awarded the PETA Woman of the Year award for 2009 for her work. She talks about her vegan diet and encourages cruelty-free living. A portion of Ellen' website is devoted to eating and living vegan. She is also outspoken about the importance of adopting animals from shelters, especially in hard economic times when people are forced to give away pets.

Chrissie Hynde - The lead singer for the rock band, The Pretenders, Chrissie Hynde is an outspoken critic of animal cruelty and an avid supporter of PETA and Viva! She is also a vegetarian.

Casey Kasem - The radio personality and voice actor (famous for his role as Scooby Doo)is an outspoken vegan. “I feel that this is much more important than if I do another commercial or if I get another sponsor for my radio show,” he says. “What’s terrific today is the idea that as a vegetarian you are not only making a contribution to the animals, but also to your health and the safety of the planet.” He is a member of Farm Animal Reform Movement, which promotes a vegan diet
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Pierce Brosnan - Brosnan delivered a speech at the International Fund For Animal Welfare’s Global Whale Conservation Congressional Reception at the U.S. Capital Visitor Center Atrium in 2009. He is also a supporter of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

Dan Aykroyd
Robert Culp - The late actor Robert Culp filed a lawsuit in 2007 to block construction of a new elephant exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo, citing allegations that the zoo did not provide elephants sufficient veterinary care, confined them in an inadequate space, and used bullhooks and electric shocks on them. Last year, when a judge ruled against him, Culp filed an appeal. He passed away in March 2010.

Charlize Theron - The Oscar-winning actress is an active member of PETA and a supporter of the anti-fur movement.

Persia White - An actress, musician, producer and animal rights activist, she is best known for her lead in the popular CW series "Girlfriends." Driven by her passion to change the world, Persia co-produced the award winning documentary film "Earthlings" narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, and is involved in the series "Whale Wars" on Animal Planet. Persia is a Board Member of the Humane Society of the United States as well as the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. She is the co-founder of Echoed Images, a new production company whose mission is to create conscious, world-changing media.

Moby - Musician Moby likes to include essays in the covers of his CDs. In his album The End of Everything he included an essay about being a vegan. He wrote, "Could you look an animal in the eyes and say to it, 'My appetite is more important than your suffering'?"

Casey Affleck - Casey Affleck, actor and Ben's younger brother, campaigns for PETA and Farm Sanctuary. He is a vegan and has owned many pets in the past.

Shirley Jones - The actress joined actors Alec Baldwin and Richard Pryor and others in signing a letter sent to more than 10,000 Burger King franchisees on behalf of PETA.

Hilary Swank - Swank is the celebrity ambassador for “Home 4 the Holidays Pet Adoption Campaign.” She owns many pets and is a vegetarian.
Rene Russo - Actress and animal lover Rene Russo narrated Free Willy Story: Keiko's Journey Home, an educational documentary about Keiko, the real-life whale who inspired the Free Willy films.

Linda Hunt - Hunt is a vegetarian and an anti-fur activist. She has been quoted as saying, "I grew up on a farm, and I've always questioned the morality involved with any kind of animal abuse."

Jennie Garth - Garth participated in Hidden Valley Ranch’s Garden Party campaign in an effort to teach parents how to incorporate the ideas of eating fresh produce and growing your own vegetables to their children. She is also a member of the Farm Animal Reform Movement.
Laura Dern - Dern starred in the film Year of the Dog (2007), about a secretary dealing with her grief over losing her pet. Dern believes the movie will encourage people to adopt rescues.
Alec Baldwin - The actor is an active supporter of PETA and narrated a video for them called Meet Your Meat.

Teri Austin - Teri Austin is in charge of the California's most successful mobile spay-neuter program, which is run by The Amanda Foundation. She also rescues animals from the L.A. shelters and brings them to the Amanda Foundation's No Kill Facility in Beverly Hills.

Tippi Hedren - The actress and former model founded a wildlife habitat in 1983 called Shambala Preserve. Shambala houses some 70 animals, including African lions, Siberian and Bengal tigers, leopards, servals, mountain lions and bobcats. The preserve took in Michael Jackson's tigers after his death as well as a lion owned by Anton LaVey when he was told by San Francisco city officials that he couldn't keep a full-grown lion as a pet. Hedren lives on the Shambala site and conducts monthly tours of the preserve for the public. She also played an influential part in helping to convince U.S. lawmakers to pass The Captive Wildlife Safety Act in 2003, which limits the private ownership of big cats across the country. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) awarded Hedren with a Lifetime Achievement award.

Lamon Brewster - Former Heavyweight Champ Lamon Brewster campaigns against dog-fighting.
Loretta Swit - Loretta Swit is an actress who is famous for her role in MASH. Swit testified before Congress in 1999, pleading for the prohibition of so-called "crush videos" -- fetish films wherein insects, snails, worms, or occasionally small animals like guinea pigs or frogs are crushed on camera, usually by women wearing spiked high heels. Such films are now illegal in America.

Hulk Hogan - Wrestler Hulk Hogan and his wife, Linda, fight against animal testing.
Ed Asner - Edward Asner, best known for his role as the newsroom boss in The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Lou Grant, is a long-time supporter of animal rights. He has filmed a public service announcement about the importance of making plans for your pet's care should your animal survive you.

Tom Scholz - The musician founded the DTS Charitable Foundation in 1987, which promotes the vegetarian lifestyle, and prevention of cruelty and suffering to animals both nonhuman and human.

Elayne Boosler - The writer and stand-up comedian serves on the Indigo Rescue Board of Directors, a volunteer animal rescue organization that launches and maintains programs to assist county animal shelters.

Ed Begley, Jr. - Actor Ed Begley, Jr. is a vegan and animal rights activist. He says, "I believe in the rights of all creatures. If we needed to kill to survive, we have and we would, as do many creatures in the wild. But that need no longer be the way we live. In striking a balance between our needs and the needs of the many other species with whom we share this earth, the balance is way out of whack. We treat many other animals as if they are merely "resources" or "spare parts". They are living, breathing, feeling creatures that need to be accorded some measure of respect."

Sara Gilbert - Sara Gilbert played Darlene on Roseanne. She is a supporter of PETA and other animal rights organizations. She is a vegetarian.

Mike Farrell - Mike Farrell, who played Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on M*A*S*H, is an outspoken animal rights activist. He is the recipient of more than thirty-seven awards for his work as an activist and has written a book entitled Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist (Akashic Books 2008)

Cathy Guisewite - The cartoonist and creator of the comic strip CATHY uses her comic strip to advocate for animal rights causes, such as the anti-fur campaign and the pro-shelters campaign. She was awarded the Genesis Award for her work. She told The Pet Press, "I'm most concerned about the shelter situation. To encourage people to get pets from shelters first and foremost… to not spend money, to not go out and buy a perfect purebred but to find pets from shelters and to never introduce more puppies or kittens into the world."

Anjelica Huston - Actress Anjelica Huston joined PETA in a campaign against the use of young chimpanzees and orangutans in films. She says young apes are torn away from their mothers and mistreated by human trainers.

Dave Matthews - The Dave Matthews Band is part of the Green Music Group, dedicated to widespread environmental change within the music industry and around the globe. Matthews has performed in support of Farm Aid, an organization which supports farmers.

Rue McClanahan - Rue McClanahan, of Golden Girls fame, was one of the first celebrity supporters of PETA and is an honorary chairman of the organization. In December 2003, she wrote a letter informing Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry that his pheasant hunting had cost him her vote and respect. Mclanahan is a vegetarian.

Diane Keaton - The actress encourages people to adopt pets from shelters. She teamed up with the Helen Woodward Animal Center, The Iams Company and more than 1,300 shelters around the world to get the message across. "We have a simple and sincere focus: to save the lives of dogs and cats," says Keaton.

Kevin Nealon - Actor and comedian Kevin Nealon has supported fundraising events for the Amanda Foundation, Farm Sanctuary, the Washington Wildlife Protection Association, The Ark Trust's Genesis Awards and also Meat Out. He has been a vegetarian for many years and is involved with PETA.

Bill Maher - Maher is on the board of directors of PETA and has supported their campaign for a vegetarian Thanksgiving. He wrote the foreword to PETA President Ingrid Newkirk’s book, You Can Save the Animals. He has been quoted as saying: "To those people who say, 'My father is alive because of animal experimentation,' I say, 'Yeah, well, good for you. This dog died so your father could live.' Sorry, but I am just not behind that kind of trade-off."

Alexandra Paul - Usually recognized for her 5-year starring role as Lt. Stephanie Holden in the hit series Baywatch, Paul supports many causes and campaigns against animal testing.

Montel Williams - The talk show host is critical of animal testing. He says, "With all the technology we have we can reach the whole planet at the same time but we can't figure out how to cure a disease by poking people rather than poking animals? I don't get it." Williams uses his popular show to raise awareness for animal rights.

Victoria Principal - The former Dallas star entered into a legal dispute with a former housekeeper who Principal accused of abusing her dog.

Maura Tierney - Tierney, of E.R. fame, is active in the anti-fur movement.

Alicia Silverstone - The actress is a vegan and has starred in some provocative ads for PETA. In 2000, she was honored by FARM at the Animal Rights Conference, and has also been honored with awards by VegNews Magazine.

Tim Gunn - Project Runway's Tim Gunn makes sure the TV show is completely fur-free and has narrated ads for PETA against abuse of animals for fashion. He was awarded PETA's Man of the Year award for 2009.

Jerry Stiller - Stiller has participated in the Humane Society of the United States anti-fur campaign.

Ally Sheedy - The actress says, "I am a vegetarian because the honor, love and respect I have for my brother and sister animals and for the whole world is a reflection of the love I have for the divine spark within us." She is a supporter of Farm Sanctuary.

Simon Cowell - American Idol judge Simon Cowell has urged people to sign the WSPA’s Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) petition. He has also appeared in a video for PETA in which he reminds drivers of the cruelty to animals that can occur when their pets are locked in cars in the summer.

Eva Mendes - Mendes participated in PETA's "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" Campaign. She says, "At a time when there is so much violence in the world, this is one type of violence that all of us can help stop—by being informed consumers."

Kara DioGuardi - The American Idol judge has appeared in PETA's "Angel for Animals" ads with her dog Tikki. The ads promote responsible pet ownership.

Holly Madison - Holly Madison is an American model and television personality, best known for appearing as one of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends on the reality television series The Girls Next Door. She is a resident of Las Vegas and is active in her local animal shelter, promoting animal adoption and birth control.

Martha Stewart - The queen of home ec has spoken out against the use of fur for clothing. Her vegetarian daughter made her more aware of animal welfare issues. Although she features vegetarian and vegan dishes on her show, she continues to cook with meat and dairy.

Hayden Panettiere - A former child star and an actress on Heroes, Hayden is involved in the campaigns to stop dolphin and whale hunting.

Victoria Beckham - Beckham, an English singer and songwriter, is most famous for her part in the Spice Girls band and her marriage to soccer player David Beckham. Recently, she has turned to fashion design and has advocated against the use of fur in fashion. However, she did create handbags which used reptile fur.

"Sugar" Shane Mosely - Mosley is a boxer who starred in a PeTA campaign against dog fighting. He explains that boxers choose to fight for a living, whereas dogs have not been given the choice.
Ron Artest - The Houston Rockets basketball forward starred in a PETA campaign encouraging people to spay and neuter their dogs. Artest explained, "Millions of dogs and cats in shelters across the country are euthanized every year because there simply aren't enough good homes for them. Spaying and neutering your [animal companion] will help control the overpopulation problem."

Martin Sheen - Actor Martin Sheen is active in many humanitarian causes. In 1995, while protesting the annual slaughter of Canadian seals with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, he was attacked by angry hunters.

Tony Gonzalez - The star of the Atlanta Falcons is a vegan and has participated in the anti-fur campaign. He has also campaigned against the use of bullhooks in circuses. Bullhooks are heavy rods with a sharp metal hook and spike on one end, used to force elephants to perform tricks.

Jason Taylor - Jason Taylor of the Washington Redskins is an active member of ASPCA and has appeared in an ad for the organization.

Christina Applegate - Actress Christina Applegate most recently starred in the TV show Samantha Who?. She is a vegetarian and has appeared in ads against the use of fur in fashion.

Woody Harrelson - Inspired by a scuba diving trip, the actor became a vegetarian. He campaigned for the release of 14 chimpanzees from the research lab where they had been involved in experiments. These chimps had been brought to a rehabilitation facility after a long period of being used for research, and have been sent back to the labs.

Dennis Rodman - The eccentric basketball player participated in the PETA campaign to ban fur from fashion. He was the first man and the first sports start to participate in the "Rather Wear Nothing Than Fur" campaign. Rodman is also a long-time vegetarian.

Steve-O - Steve-O (real name Stephen Glover) of the movie Jackass 3D, is a vegan and active animal rights proponent. He has participated in a Save the Seals campaign and speaks out for adoption from animal shelters. He lives with two dogs whom he rescued from shelters before they were euthanized.

Christy Turlington - Supermodel Turlington is a contributor to PETA and is especially active in its anti-fur campaign.

Traci Bingham - The former Baywatch actress has appeared in ads promoting a vegetarian lifestyle and condemning factory farming.
Carre Otis - The actress appeared in a PETA ad in St. John’s, Newfoundland, urging people there to abandon fishing.

Kathy Najimy - Kathy Najimy is an American actress, best known as Olive Massery on the television series Veronica's Closet and the voice of Peggy Hill on the animated television series King of the Hill. She said, "I think I became an animal rights activist for two reasons. One is that my best friend, the one that has lived with me and loved me the longest... is my dog Al Finney. Someone told me once that animals don’t have hearts and souls...Well ,if that is true, then I have loved and been madly loved, and comforted by a stuffed animal for the last 15 years."

David Cross - The star of Arrested Development was one of the celebrities who posed nude for PETA's campaign against fur in the fashion industry.

Sheryl Lee - Actress Sheryl Lee, most famous for her role on Twin Peaks, is an active member of PETA and has campaigned against the mistreatment of animals and the use of fur.
Charlotte Ross - The actress is active in HSUS, PETA, Operation Blankets of Love and Animal Miracle Network. Her work for animal welfare is highlighted on her official website.
Sadie Frost - The actress and fashion designer has campaigned against fur in fashion. She is also a vegetarian.

Roselyn Sanchez - Originally from Puerto Rico, the actress and dancer starred in a Spanish-speaking campaign for PETA.

Sophie Monk - An Australian pop star and actress, Monk has appeared in ads promoting vegetarianism.

Joanna Krupa - The Dancing with the Stars alum, has participated both in the anti-fur campaign and the campaign to promote adoption from shelters and not from pet stores or breeders. She has four dogs which she has rescued.

Karina Smirnoff - Also of Dancing with the Stars, Smirnoff was inspired to campaign against fur in the fashion industry after seeing the clubbing of baby seals.
Dave Navarro - American guitarist and rockstar Dave Navarro of alternative rock band Jane's Addiction has posed nude for PETA’s "Ink, Not Mink" campaign. He also promotes buying products which were not tested on animals.

Maggie Q - Maggie Q plays Nikita on the TV show of the same name. A native of Hong Kong, Maggie works tirelessly to get the word out in Asia about animal rights. Maggie produced the 2007 documentary "Earthlings," which took a look at the day-to-day practices of some of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit. She also participated in an Asian campaign to save the moon bears in China.
Khloe Kardashian - Kardashian has appeared in PETA's ad against the wearing of fur and is attempting to convince the rest of her family to jump on the bandwagon.

Seals are in trouble!

Study Finds Warming Arctic Decimating Harp Seal Populations

Scientists from Duke University and the International Fund for Animal Welfare have conducted a study of the harp seal in northern Canada. Harp seals, the cute and cuddly creatures, have long been hunted for their prized furs. To add to their struggle, the thinning ice is playing havoc with their breeding ground. Female seals depend on stable winter ice to give birth and feed their young in peace. Forced to go to ice closer to land, the baby seals are sitting ducks for arctic predators and human hunters. The seal pups are being forced to fend for themselves before they are ready. As a result, their populations are dropping catastrophically.


The study has highlighted Canada's need to shut down its commercial seal hunt. Last Thursday, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, an organization of Canadian government scientists, said that Canada should permanently ban seal hunting while compensating hunters and training them for other professions.

"It is time for the Canadian government to face the reality that the commercial sealing is neither viable nor necessary," said the organization.

Other northern countries have already taken action on the harp seal issue. Russia recently banned the import of harp seal pelts. The European Union only allows seal products from Inuit communities, not Western commercial hunting.

The Duke University study tracked sea ice cover in all four harp seal breeding grounds of the North Atlantic. Since 1979, the ice cover decreased by up 6 percent each decade. In particularly low sea ice years, the scientists estimate that nearly all of the seal pups die. In 2011, up to 80 percent of baby seals were believed to have died, according to the department of fisheries and oceans.

Stable sea ice is required for female harp seals to nurse their young until the pups are able to hunt on their own. During their breeding season in February and March, they seek thicker and older patches of ice.

During this time, thousands return to traditional breeding grounds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off Newfoundland, despite the thinning ice. To save themselves, they will need to go to areas with more stable ice such as those off eastern Greenland.

"There's only so much ice out there, and declines in the quantity and quality of it across the region, coupled with the earlier arrival of spring ice breakup, is literally leaving these populations on thin ice," Duke University researcher, David Johnston said. "It may take years of good ice and steady population gains to make up for the heavy losses sustained during the recent string of bad ice years in eastern Canada."

The study has been published in the journal PLoS ONE.

Captivty

People constantly say that aquariums are educational and we should not deprive our children of this interaction. What a load of bull. I have never seen a child suffer from not interacting with a dinosaur!!

The point I am making here is that children do not have to see captivity to learn. They can go on whale watches. They can learn to scuba. There are so many ways to interact with you environment than to put the animals in tanks and cages. No child will interact with every animal. Learning can be done in many ways without be cruel!

What is educational about dolphins jumping up in the air and doing tricks?? Nothing. This teaches the exact opposite of what we want our children to learn.

Zoos

If zoos are like arks, then rare animals are like passengers on a voyage of the damned, never to find a port that will let them dock or a land in which they can live in peace. The real solution, of course, is to preserve the wild nature that created these animals and has the power to sustain them. But if it is really true that we are inevitably moving towards a world in which mountain gorillas can survive only in zoos, then we must ask whether it is really better for them to live in artificial environments of our design than not to be born at all.

Help for Chris!

If you can help Chris by either spreading the word, donating money or anything else please do!

http://eleventhhourliberation.blogspot.com/2011/09/legal-defense-fund-for-activist-chris.html?spref=fb

Culture and Sharks

Culture has numerous positive connotations. The term “a cultured person” is often used to describe someone of refinement and sophistication. A person’s culture is seen as their rich heritage that is part of what forms them. I am not a fan of culture. It has the consequence that past deeds are re-performed into perpetuity without reviewing their merit, simply because it is part of a culture.

Let us draw an analogy with an individual. Being self aware involves constantly observing and analyzing your thoughts, actions and deeds to detect where you are weak or are acting in a manner that is unsuitable given your state of development. According to yoga philosophy, anything that is a regression from your standard of development is undesirable, and anything in line with your steps towards personal growth and improvement is desirable. So you need to constantly critically examine each component of your behavior and personality, and be honest and admit where an area needs to improve. You are realistic that it cannot all be done immediately and is a process, yet you are determined to work this process however long it takes. As such, nothing about you is accepted the way that it is. Yes, you accept yourself in your current state, because that is who you are, and you have to accept and love yourself. You are a work in progress and have already come an incredible distance just to be here in human form, but still have a way to go. If you accept yourself exactly as you are with a view of “I am never going to change”, well then, you may as well be dead. I say that because this life is nothing but an opportunity for you to grow and unfold and with that kind of stagnant outlook your growth will be negligible if anything. So, for example, I should accept that I am impatient but realize it as a fault and consciously try to improve my reaction to frustrating events and circumstances. When I am impatient and act in a manner that is inappropriate I need to be aware of it, watch myself doing it, be embarrassed and strengthen my resolve not to do it again.

There is that saying that goes along the lines of: When you change an action you create a habit, when you create a habit you shape your character. The yogis teach us that we are a culmination of our lifestyle practices and habits, and that we should be aware of each habit and its consequence on us. “I watch TV after dinner.” “I have a drink after work.” “I don’t eat vegetables.” These are common habits that people have without analyzing why they got stuck in it and what the consequence of this habit is on their lives. Does it contribute to their development, or improve the world around them? If not, why are they doing it? It is also surprisingly easy to change a habit – it comes down to changing that one activity at a time. Not buying that chocolate in the afternoon on this particular Tuesday afternoon is one action that can change a habit and change you.

So what does all of this have to do with culture? People perpetrate activities for the sole reason that it is part of their culture, without analyzing why did their culture have this activity and is it still relevant? Things have changed in 100’s of years and so must our actions. Some actions that may have been acceptable in the past, are no longer tolerable. Such an activity is the eating of shark-fin soup, and shark-finning.

Shark-finning is the despicable practice of taking a shark, “finning” it by cutting off its fins, and throwing the live shark overboard to die an excruciating death. It just sinks like a bleeding torpedo to the bottom and lies there, trying to swim but unable to move without its fins. Because only the fins are kept on board, and don’t take much space, countless thousands of sharks are slaughtered and stored on each ship.

I saw video footage of this ghastly and hateful practice on the incredible “Oceans” Blu-ray (not the censored Disney one, the French full version). It was the most disturbing thing that I have ever seen on the screen. Watching this splendid animal sinking to the bottom of the ocean after an Asian fisherman sliced off its fins, unable to swim and lying at the bottom bleeding grotesquely to death while it tried to move, unable to utter a sound. This image shocked me. Then I realized that this twisted and sadistic murder was not one special dramatic event, this was exactly what happened to thousands of sharks daily. All that had happened here was that I got a close up view. So I looked up how many sharks this is being done to. It is a truly horrific number. 140, 000 a day.

50 MILLION SHARKS A YEAR ARE BEING SLAUGHTERED LIKE THIS.
It is impossible for shark populations to stand up to this scale of mass slaughter. They are being decimated. For absolutely no purpose. Environmental degradation is always painful, but you can understand where it is coming from when there is a human need being satisfied. So when mines are built or grazing land made, it is sometimes wrong but you can understand the argument behind it. For example, in the Amazon we want the rainforest to exist but a poor family sees it differently if they see a chance to graze animals there or extract other resources.
Yet with Sharkfin soup, the reason is pathetic. The fin itself is tasteless cartilage. What shocked me is that it is not a fin or two in the soup, it is a bowl full of fins. Each serving is a massacre. I watched a documentary and read what I could find to try and understand it better. The senselessness is appalling. The only argument to support it, is that it is part of the Chinese culture, and that if you have a guest you must serve them sharkfin soup. It is a status symbol. Now that millions of Chinese are moving to Middle Class, the demand for shark fins has exploded. There is absolutely no thought of the damage incurred and the consequences thereof. It is a simple “it is our culture” without examining if it is a good practice. That is what initiated my rant against Culture. So sharks are being decimated so people can try to impress others.

Here is an actual quote from the documentary, “People say it is not humane what we do. But the shark is not humane, it eats the other fish, and kills them.”
Bizarre.

Most of us accept that life will be harvested by humans, in the form of animal life and plant life being killed and used. The sickening part about sharkfinning is the waste. By throwing bodies overboard they can pack a ship high with only shark fins. I will use an example of Egypt. Egyptian fishermen never caught much sharks because they did not get a lot for a shark carcass. Then Chinese buyers taught them to just keep the fin and throw the shark overboard, and now sharks in that area are in the process of being wiped out. You don’t have to be brilliant to know that if you lose the top of the food chain, you are going to find some serious imbalances falling through.

The sharks are caught with long lines – the ocean is filled with lines with huge hooks that the sharks swim into and are hauled up and the fins sliced off and the bodies thrown in. Pure slaughter. The rate is truly alarming, and if we don’t do something soon, sharks will be gone because of the most stupid reason in the world.


I had the great privilege of diving with Sharks in Kwazulu Natal, reef sharks. I will return there to dive with the Tigers when it is warm enough for them to move, and am planning dives with 7-gill sharks and pelagic sharks. These are dives without a cage, just naturally seeing them in their element. You can not dive with them and not be moved by the experience. They are magnificent, powerful, perfectly designed creatures with a great dignity about them. This is what makes their mutilation so disgusting to me. See the link here to the photos of the sharks.
photos of sharks

I need to ask my Asian friends what it is with Asian people. There is so much of value in their philosophy, but the 4 most awful injustices being wreaked on animals in the world at the moment are due to beliefs and views that can only be described as fucking stupid.


1)Sharks being destroyed for shark fin soup to prove status
2)Rhinos being destroyed and their horns taken so little penises can try become erect. There are so many natural ways to achieve this – ginseng, guarana, etc.
3)Dolphins and whales being destroyed for meat that is high in lead and not needed by anyone – just to prove a point?
4)Seahorses being destroyed and dried and crushed so that the idiot eating it can try and get some of its magical properties


I am of the view that we should be taking a radical stance. Have you seen “The Cove”? Instead of a few hippies watching the fishermen, if a thousand people went there and beat the living daylights out of every fisherman that tried to kill a dolphin, it would stop.

Sea Shepherds should not stand and talk over the microphone. They should board ships where finning is done and slice off the right hand of everyone there. Do that across the world and I am sure that finning would stop.
I was seeing a client in the Cape Town harbour who was in the fishing industry. He told me that right there a few meters from us in the harbour was a ship piled with shark fins. Dogs were guarding it, and the local South African Harbour Police did not go there because the Chinese Mafia was too strong. This is just plain not acceptable, society should not be tolerating this. We should not be tolerating this.

We are the custodians of the planet, and I am ashamed to be human when I look at the disgraceful way that we are handling this responsibility. Scientists who expose global warming get death threats. Animal populations are destroyed for a quick buck with not one shred of care or compassion. We each have a role to play, and I pray that I find a way to play an effective role that makes a change in this planet and how we treat our fellow occupants of it.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 13th, 2011 at 9:54 pm and is filed under Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Shared by a friend of Laura Halifax McKenzie

Stop using chimps for experiments

This week chimpanzees are much in the news -- in an op-ed in today's (Thursday) New York Times, on a CNN blog written by Peter Singer, and in movie theatres where the box office smash "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," and the stunningly reviewed "Project Nim" are both challenging audiences to rethink our relationships with the great apes.
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>The Thursday, August 11, New York Times includes an op-ed by the Roscoe G. Bartlett, a Republican representative from Maryland, titled, "Stop Using Chimps as Guinea Pigs."
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>It opens with:
>"Before I was elected to Congress, I was a physiologist at the Navys School of Aviation Medicine. For our successful missions to transport men to the moon and return them safely to Earth, I invented a series of respiratory support devices, which we tested on primates, including Baker, a squirrel monkey. Before humans were rocketed into space, Baker was the first primate to survive a trip into space and back; Able, her counterpart on the flight, died from an allergic reaction to an anesthetic during a procedure shortly after the landing.
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>"At the time, I believed such research was worth the pain inflicted on the animals. But in the years since, our understanding of its effect on primates, as well as alternatives to it, have made great strides, to the point where I no longer believe such experiments make sense scientifically, financially or ethically. Thats why I have introduced bipartisan legislation to phase out invasive research on great apes in the United States."
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>You'll find that full op-ed on line at http://tinyurl.com/3cayvyj
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>The title of the piece (titles generally being chosen by NY Times writers, not the contributing op-ed writers) while meant to be humorous, points to a problem that we, as advocates for animals, will naturally have with this kind of battle. As Jeremy Bentham so beautifully put it, many years ago, "The question is not 'Can they reason?' nor 'Can they talk?' but rather 'Can they suffer?'" Animals other than chimpanzees truly suffer in laboratories. And even if we were to focus on reasoning and communication, the more we test that in other species, the more we realize our tendency to underrate it. In fact I am moved to share here an interview I came across this week with the captivating scientist Dr Neil DeGrasse Tyson in which he discusses the inappropriate hubris with which humans have traditionally treated members of other species. His discussions of the intelligence of dogs, and his half joking comments that the term "bird brain" is destined to become a compliment, are well
>worth listening to. I recommend you check out the interview at
>http://tinyurl.com/3qphntz
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>My intent here is not to detract from the legislation aimed at protecting chimpanzees or from the op-ed supporting that legislation. That legislation will be a blessing for chimpanzees. It will also open the door for future protection for other species. If we protect chimpanzees based on their similarities to us, then how can we fail to protect other animals in the face of increasing evidence that they too, regardless of their size, are like us in many ways? My intent is simply to make sure we don't lose sight of that ultimate goal, and also that we take every opportunity to move towards it. The op-ed in the Times makes way for letters supporting the article and the legislation, but it also gives us the opportunity to note that it is not only chimpanzee testing that is cruel and outdated.
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>You can send appreciative letters to the editor to letters@nytimes.com
>Note -- It is important that your letters do not use my words. Please use your own words to speak up for the chimps and for all animals suffering in laboratories. You will influence the thinking of other New York Times readers, plus legislators look to the letters pages as barometers of public opinion, so your letters matter.
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>Today's New York Times piece is complimented beautifully by a blog on the CNN site by "Animal Liberation" author, Professor Peter Singer, titled "A Planet for All Apes." Singer discusses two films currently in theatres that deal with our relationships with chimpanzees. We lean that Rupert Wyatt's "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" uses no live chimpanzees, with Wyatt noting, "To get apes to do anything you want them to do, you have to dominate them; you have to manipulate them into performing. Thats exploitative."
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>We also learn that James Franco plays a scientist who experiments on chimpanzees while seeking a cure for Alzheimers disease. Singer writes:
>"Many films would have glorified a scientist seeking such a goal, and treated the use of animals for that purpose as obviously justified. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, however, portrays Rodman as, in Franco's words, 'a cold, isolated person.'"
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>Sounds perfect! I am going to see that film on Saturday. Then on Monday I will see Project Nim, of which you can read the gorgeous reviews at http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/project_nim/
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>Singer ends his piece with:
>"Perhaps the release of these two very different films will lead to a further push to bring great apes within the circle of beings with moral and legal rights. In that way, our closest relatives could serve to bridge the moral gulf that we have dug between ourselves and other animals."
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>Note that Singer doesn't point to legal rights for chimpanzees as the end goal but rather as a bridge over the moral gulf. That is an idea explored fully in Steve Wise's classic book, "Rattling the Cage: Towards Legal Rights for Animals." Pick it up.
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>You'll find Singer's piece on line at:
>http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/09/a-planet-for-all-apes/
>It is well worth reading. Check it out, and please leave a supportive comment. Again -- feedback matters!
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>Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to be published.
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>Yours and the animals',
>Karen Dawn
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>(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts only if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line.)
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>Please go to http://tinyurl.com/254ulkx to check out Karen Dawn's book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals," which in 2008 was chosen by the Washington Post as one of the "Best Books of The Year!"