PETA Annual Review 2004
When people come to the U.S. from other countries, they often say that we have everything here, from the Grand Canyon to the Great Lakes, from the plains to the mountains. That's true, and it often seems that there is every type of animal here, too, and every type of animal abuse. A sampling of what we have done in the last year is here before you, and it is certainly diverse.How do we pick our battles? By trying to touch the public imagination, the public heart, and by choosing targets that will result in great change for large numbers of animals and set an example for others to follow when we win our battles with them.
Everyone eats, so we have done our best not only to reform the worst abuses in factory farming and slaughterhouses, but to promote a compassionate vegan diet, providing all the resources, from recipes to health tips, that a person could ever need. We have also revolutionized the way some companies do business, getting them to stop selling fur, boycott Australian merino wool, and abandon painful animal-poisoning tests in favor of sophisticated non-animal methods. We have shown how to prevent flooding without destroying beavers' homes and how to prevent birds from entering "big box" stores without using cruel glue traps. In the past year alone, former circus and zoo elephants were sent to sanctuaries, hog-dog rodeos were banned, and cruel companies like PETCO were fined. We also educated millions of kids about animal rights through our teacher network and education programs.
It's a tough job, but we are up to the task because of our supporters, who encourage and fund our work to establish respect and understanding for animals.
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Ingrid E. Newkirk President
Board of Directors and Officers |
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