Thereâs no doubt that this year has been different from anything weâve ever experienced before. But despite the adversity weâve faced as a global community and as individuals, Students Opposing Speciesism (SOS)âthe PETA-backed, youth-led revolt against human supremacyâhasnât missed a beat in furthering its mission of ending speciesism.
Our SOS leaders and members attended training sessions, shared eye-opening videos and cruelty-free how-to guides, and even posted their own hard-hitting memes on Instagram. They joined book club meetings, participated in Netflix Parties, brainstormed on Discord, attended the first-ever SOS virtual summit, and hit the streets in powerful protests around the country. Theyâve reached and influenced countless people, and itâs hard to believe how much the program has accomplished and grown in 2020!
These students and other young people are true leadersâbringing the issue of speciesism to their communities, high schools, and campuses (in person and virtually). Check out some of the ways they got loud for animals this year.
They protested East Fork Farms and using animals for food:
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They protested Urban Outfitters brandsâ use of leather, wool, alpaca fleece, silk, down, cashmere, and mohair:
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UCF (Knights 4 Animals Rights)
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They protested the National Institutes of Healthâs (NIH) monkey terror experiments:
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Other Actions SOS Has Taken
SOS activists also utilized the programâs other resources and platforms to speak up for animals. They called clothing stores and asked them to stop selling animal-derived materials, called NIH and asked it to stop funding monkey terror experiments, worked with their schools to cut out dissection, urged Walmart shoppers not to buy Great Value eggs (or any other eggs), stickered their cities, and so much more. Hereâs just a small glimpse of the things hubs all over the U.S. and Canada have been up to this year:
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SOS not only spread awareness of speciesism but also helped others identify and reject their unconscious assumptions about animals. Weâre so proud of all that these young activists have done to help people realize that animals arenât ours to useâand that if we want equality, we must respect their desire not to be harmedâand weâre so excited about everything theyâll accomplish in the coming year. SOS is working hard to dismantle human supremacy and paving the way for a speciesism-free future.
Thank you, SOS, for all youâve done this year. Get ready for an even bigger and louder new year!
If youâre between the ages of 13 and 24 and you havenât joined SOS yet, weâd love to have you on our team going into our second year:
