PETA's Legislative Guide

Contacting your legislators? Fantastic! Please keep in mind that a legislator perceives a correlation between the amount of effort you put into personal communication and how likely you are to remember the legislator's response at election time—that is, a personal letter sent via snail-mail speaks louder than an e-mail message.

Best Method:

Use the points in our letter, but put them in your own words and explain why the issue is of personal importance to you. Write your letter on your own letterhead and mail it.

2nd Best Method:

Cut and paste our letter onto your own letterhead, add a few personalized sentences, and mail it or fax it.

3rd Best Method:

Print our letter on plain paper, sign, and send as is.

In summary, sending an e-mail is far better than not contacting your legislator at all, but most congressional offices do not yet have the capability to respond to the overwhelming amount of e-mail they receive. By writing a letter, you will be making more of an impact and are almost guaranteed to receive a response. The more individualized your letter is, the bigger impact you'll make.

Please remember, the animals cannot afford for legislators to become put off by an angry or threatening tone. You are far more likely to persuade your legislator by being courteous and respectful. For the animals' sake, please make sure all communications are polite.

Lastly, if your legislator gives you the desired response to your request (e.g. cosponsors a bill, votes against a harmful amendment, etc.), please write him/her a thank you letter. Positive reinforcement goes a long way.

Not a U.S. Resident?