“Wherever you are, whatever you do, you can help animals. The people featured on this page aren’t superhuman; they’re everyday people who share a deep concern for animals and who have decided that doing something beats doing nothing. PETA can supply fliers, factsheets, posters, videos, advice, and moral support, but we need you to reach out in your community. Be bold. Just do it. Whatever style of action you choose—alone, with a friend, or a group—you’re in good company!”
—Dan Mathews, Director, International Grassroots Campaigns

Sail Away

Logan Cockey and his crew used the local waterway to protest the imprisonment of marine mammals at Baltimore’s National Aquarium. Don’t have a boat? Hang a sign on your bike, or drape a message across your car.

Power Breakfast

Charles Stahler hosted a vegetarian breakfast for coworkers at his workplace to introduce them to new healthful dishes in a friendly way.

Phone-y Friend

Daphna Nachminovitch calls people who have placed “free to a good home” ads in newspapers, warning them that “bunchers” scan such ads for animals they can sell to laboratories. Write to PETA’s Literature Department for copies of our “Finding the Right Home for Your Animal Companion” brochure to share with people who take out such ads.

Police Patrol

Alvin Stein of Rancho Mirage, Calif., wrote a letter to the Palm Springs Police Officers Association to protest its choice of entertainment, the Gatti Circus, at its annual fundraiser. His letter resulted in a decision to ban the circus from future fundraisers!

Get Crate-ive!

Emily Bufton and friends Leah Draisey, Grace Smith and Tina Griffiths spent 12 hours inside a cage to bring attention to the plight of animals raised for food, particularly calves, shipped from the U.K. to countries where it is legal to keep them in crates. The girls’ protest was covered by BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 5. Emily and her friends generously gave to PETA the money they raised by their action.

Banner Banter

Morning rush-hour commuters in Chicago, Ill., were greeted by a giant banner reading, “Meat Is Murder,” which three activists hung from an overpass on a busy thoroughfare. The activists also rented pig, cow, and chicken costumes and timed the banner drop to take the wind out of the “sales” of a meat industry convention. Banner hangs are easy! Just grab some spray paint, an old sheet, and a buddy, and pick a busy spot. Any event can be a “hook,” such as a circus coming to town, a holiday, or a day of action, such as “The Great American Meat-Out.”

Pupil Power

Sixth-grader Georgi Rosen wrote to her state senator saying that alternatives to dissection weren’t getting a fair shake in Rhode Island’s biology classes. Because of her letter, Senator Myrth York introduced a bill requiring teachers to provide students with humane alternatives to dissection exercises.

Dynamic Displays

Katherine Suttell of Georgia created five animal rights displays on five floors of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library. The posters, books, dioramas and printed quotations on vivisection, factory farming and other animal rights issues drew more commentary than any other display in the library. The library offered bibliographies, a filmography, lists of companies that do or that don’t test on animals and a summary of animal-related legislation. Contact PETA for information on how to set up a display in your library and how to arrange for your library to receive materials, including Animal Times, books and videos.

Restaurant Critic

Illustrator Amy Luwis designed her own comment cards to leave at restaurants after a meal. “I hope you will consider adding more vegetarian dishes to your menu,” read the cards. “This not only adds diversity, it also gives more people the opportunity to enjoy your restaurant.” Amy’s cards are now available from PETA.

To order a batch, contact our Literature Department.

Compassion in the Pulpit

The Reverend Carolyn Michael Riley, a minister in New York, declared her church a fur-free zone. She delivers sermons on adopting a vegan lifestyle and on the suffering of animals. Her church library circulates animal rights books and pamphlets. You can help bring animals into the fold at your church, synagogue or other place of worship by posting literature on bulletin boards and offering to show videos, sponsor speakers or host seminars.

Write It, Light It

These apartment dwellers let their colorful lights do double duty, decorating and spelling out a powerful message.

Lobster Lib

Anne Lancaster of Colorado Springs saw red when she saw a lobster, claws banded, sitting on a bed of iced lettuce in a Cub Foods store refrigerated display case. She gave the store manager literature from PETA about lobsters and wrote letters to Cub Foods’ upper management. Cub notified her that “this practice will stop.” When she called the store, she learned that Cub would no longer sell ANY live lobsters because “some lady raised a huge ruckus.”

Enlightened Licenses

If you drive a car, you can turn every rush hour into an opportunity to make countless motorists think about animal rights. Rob King bought an “If you love animals called pets, why do you eat animals called dinner?” bumper sticker after he found out that two of his friends went vegetarian after seeing one!

Table Talk

Jamillah Kelly and Jeremiah Boyd created an informational display at their school. Ask for permission to set up an animal rights table at your school or at the local mall. Then contact PETA’s Literature Department—we can send you all the materials you’ll need.