Contact:
Noah Cooper 757-622-7382

Chicago -- When 14-year-old Blake Wilson learned that the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was about to set up shop in Chicago last November, he decided to do everything he could to expose the circus’s notoriously cruel treatment of animals. With some help from peta2, the world’s largest youth animal rights organization, the Hinsdale Central High ninth-grader led a protest attended by nearly 50 people. His efforts didn’t go unnoticed. Nickelodeon got wind of Blake’s extraordinary efforts in behalf of animals and spent a day filming him. Blake will be featured on a Nick News special called "Rebels With a Cause" at 7:30 p.m. CST on Sunday, February 4.

Blake has fought hard to expose the way that circuses like Ringling Bros. use steel-tipped bullhooks, sticks, and whips in order to force elephants, big cats, and other animals to perform demeaning and confusing tricks. He also knows that everyday lifestyle choices affect animals in profound ways, which is why he made the decision to go vegetarian. As cofounder and president of his school’s animal rights group, Humans Out Promoting Empathy, he and his friends have worked with the school’s food committee to help make the cafeteria more vegan-friendly. They also recently held a vegan bake sale and donated all proceeds to a local humane society.

"I think it’s important to stand up for what you believe in, especially if it will help stop suffering," says Blake. "I’ve already been able to convince some kids at school that cruelty to animals isn’t cool and that eating meat is bad for them and bad for animals."

For more information, please visit peta2.com.