Welcome to our latest issue of PETA's Animal Times, the magazine that speaks up for animals. Whether you're a student, an activist, a stay-at-home parent, or a busy entrepreneur, we've got tons of ideas and inspiration to help you get active for animals, including heartwarming rescue stories, investigative reports, easy animal-friendly recipes, and stories about how caring people like you are making a difference for animals in their own communities.
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Dear Animal Times Reader,
When I was about 6 or so, my father parked our car outside a
bullfighting arena somewhere below
the Spanish Alps. I think he was
studying the map. I was happily
eating popcorn when I looked out
of the window and saw the posters
of matadors (literally, “murderers”) doing what
matadors do. It took me a moment to
realize that the man in the silly bejeweled pants with the
red cape was holding a dagger
in his hand. I asked my mother to explain what was going on
and she did. The man
was stabbing the bull. Obviously, I was horrified.
According to studies by anti-bullfighting groups, most tourists
who casually buy a ticket
to this bloody spectacle end up so disgusted and nauseated
by the time they leave, they
never wish to see another “fight” again. At 6,
I certainly knew that I would never, ever
set foot in a bullfighting arena. And of course, that was
long before I learned that the
poor bulls are given laxatives to weaken them and that they
have Vaseline smeared into
their eyes to blur their vision before they even enter the
ring to be tormented to death.
When I returned to Spain as an adult, I was armed (we have
anti-bullfight leaflets
in English and Spanish). PETA had already persuaded some travel
agents to stop
promoting bullfights. There, and in Mexico, I managed to dissuade
fellow tourists and
others from going to them (as well as from having their pictures
taken with parrots and
baby monkeys obviously taken from their jungle homes and mothers).
Summer is a time when you can engage lots of people and open
their eyes. Not just
while on vacation but also while outside in the nice weather
with a booth or by
leafletting at fairs, festivals, and other events. Lots of
people who have stopped
thoughtlessly supporting the exploitation of animals in entertainment
or even at the
“seafood” buffet have done so because someone
got them to think or handed them a
pamphlet. Please be a voice for animals this summer. Whether
spoken or via the written word,
animals need that voice. We can make a
difference!
For all animals,
Ingrid E. Newkirk
President
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