Animal Rights Activists

"When I was in eighth grade there was a movie called Willard, about a rat, and I fell in love with rats. I wanted one … so one guy suggested that I call Hershey Medical Center … So I called and they said … "What experiment is it for?" I said, "I don't wanna experiment on it, I just want it for a pet!" And they said, "Well, we can't do that." … About two weeks later, I go out to the mailbox, and there's this thing from the [American Anti-Vivisection Society]. Lo and behold, I'm looking through all these different experiments and I see a rat there, spread wide open, and it said some of the experiments [were] done at Hershey med center. So boom! I put two and two together, and I decided to do a report in school about it. I took advanced bio and you had to dissect cats, and I started [asking] questions, "Where'd the cat come from?", and that really ruffled some feathers. "I'm not gonna do this, you know." So basically I got thrown out of advanced bio. From that point on I became an antivivisectionist. … [Things] are changing. When I went vegetarian it was really hard on the road, and that was just eight years ago. And I see people doing it twenty, twenty-five years, traveling, and it's like, wow! … I think on a very basic level people wanna do the right thing. And if we continue to focus on that part of them that wants to do the right thing, we can win maybe at the next generation or the one after that."

"Having the chance to watch … ', it was probably one of the first punches. Once I made that connection between loving an animal and eating an animal is when things clicked in my brain. Latinos have this obsession with everything fried, with a lot of animal protein, and, yeah, it’s true—we have a lot of problems with obesity, we have a lot of problems with diabetes, we have a lot of problems with asthma. We have a lot of problems with a lot of things that come from it. And I couldn't believe that to create a toothpaste, or to create a shampoo, there are a lot of animals that have to suffer for that. As you become a vegan, you start learning that everything in your life has to become cruelty free."

"I read something one day: “If someone can’t actually kill animals themselves to eat meat …,” which really put me over the top. I can’t remember where I read that, but I wouldn’t. I think a lot of people live life through convenience. … I don’t think that I fully realized until I stopped eating [meat] how much it was a part of society and how much it was affecting me. … Like anything else, you’ve been indoctrinated from day one. … when you stop eating meat, you stop supporting slaughtering animals. … people need to be more responsible for everything around them, you know—animal rights."

"We've put animals in categories. There's bad ones — rats and whatever — and there's beautiful ones like dogs and fluffy ones. And that's just gross. Man should love all animals equally and realize it's part of their family."

"When I was 6 and found out where meat came from, I was horrified. We were eating a meal of chops and three veg, and I was talking with my parents about where carrots came from; they said carrots grew in the ground. We talked about the other vegetables and got to the chops, and I asked what a chop grew on. My parents looked at each other like, "Who is going to tell her?" I felt betrayed they would make me eat an animal. After that I remember hiding my pet cat, hoping the cat wasn't going to end up on a dinner plate."

"Living in LA, there's so many vegan options for everything. And literally, your taste buds start to adjust. These days, it's like, "I'm craving cashew cheese!" … Potatoes are definitely comfort food. We always go to Crossroads, which is a vegan place in LA, they have chicken and waffles and things like that but it's all vegan. When I'm looking to fill up, and just feel full, that and some type of berry smoothie hits the spot."

"Of course, going vegetarian is a positive step to help stop animal suffering; it's also great for your health and the environment. I just feel better since I stopped eating meat, and when you feel better, I think you look better too."

"As human beings, we have the power to speak up for animals. They don’t speak our language, so I feel like it’s up to us to help them and give them a voice. Animals have feelings. They have souls. They have emotions. The way they’re killed for fur is very inhumane. … They’re electrocuted, beaten, drowned, skinned alive. Once you know that, how could you think wearing fur is cool? It’s not."

"What do animal rights advocates want? For most avowed rightists, that's easy: The complete liberation of animals from human exploitation as quickly as possible. Yet while we work diligently to achieve such a status for animals over the long term, we also have a duty to respect the "rights" of those individuals who are currently suffering to a life less miserable. To dismiss opportunities to ameliorate their pain and distress is to treat those animals as mere abstractions rather than as sentient beings inherently worthy of consideration now—a position, ironically, often held by the very exploitive institutions we seek to overturn."

"I have been a passionate animal activist for many years now. It's something I believe in and I feel strongly that people with a modicum of success should try and bring a voice to help bring more awareness to causes they believe in, and animals have no voice! So it's vitally important that we raise awareness for them. … I think most people love animals and if there was more awareness and less ignorance about what goes into making a fur coat, for example, people wouldn't even consider buying it."

"One of the reasons I became so involved in activism for primate conservation was not just from the books and movie’s I saw, but from looking into the eyes of a chimpanzee in a zoo. I’ll never forget it... it changed my life."

"When it's going well, stand-up is the best thing in the world, but when it's not, it feels like all your toes are being pulled off one by one."

"I know people who just absolutely everyday of their life work for change. … The animal rights people. THOSE are my people. … You always hear about the Farmer in the Dell and how he loves his animals, but we’re not educated. And now it’s all coming out and people are starting to finally get educated about it. is rescuing all these animals … I mean not one animal had a good life before they got here."

"I think my experience as an adoptee who was given beautiful, loving parents, makes me sympathetic to the plight of the voiceless and those who are disregarded or tossed away or thought to not have value in a society. I feel like no one is expendable because it’s convenient. So many animals out there without homes have so much love to give, and I want to do all I can to get them in forever homes so they can give that love. … Fostering a little life is so humbling and sacred. It reminds you we’re all here to help each other and that you’re not the central character in the story of life. You’re a supporting role and your hands are meant to help get someone or something where they should be. Helping and loving an animal is the greatest gift you can give yourself. Every time you save them, you save yourself a little bit, too."

"It can take up to 100 chinchillas to make one coat and Jennifer Lopez has one made of 80 of them, all killed by electrocution or having their necks snapped. … Besides, wearing fur makes you look like an old woman!"

"There is no kind way to rip the skin off animals’ backs. Anyone who wears any fur shares the blame for the torture and gruesome deaths of millions of animals each year. … Saving animals is as simple as choosing synthetic alternatives instead of real fur."

"Getting involved in Earthlings was pretty intense because there were still a lot of things I didn’t know. To raise compassion and awareness is so necessary. The documentary is not just about animals, it’s about how we treat each other as well. How we have empathy for the weak and we don’t abuse it. It exposes the truth. It is a very difficult film to get into mainstream because there are so many corporations that will hurt if their secrets revealed."

"I’ve been vegan since 1988, and over that time, my relationship with cooking has ebbed and flowed. I am very happy to eat very simply; I love to be able to taste the incredible produce I find. I enjoy making simple harmonies from whatever is seasonal. When I have people over though, I love exploring spices. Just because a meal is plant-based doesn’t mean it can’t be a flavor power-house."

"In life it’s always a bit of a challenge to be ethically motivated, and it’s not very different in this career. In the play I use all fake leather and no animal products on my face, hair or body. It’s up to me to put in the effort in life to make the most compassionate impact on the world around me without being rude or inconsiderate to others."

"It was my sophomore year at Yale, going through the food line for dinner, and I wanted a chicken breast, but the way they put it on my plate – all of a sudden it reminded me of my mom’s dog – and at that moment I was instantly on the outside of the food chain. I just couldn’t be a part of it. It was very personal to me in an instant, all because of a big breast of chicken that was oddly plated and slightly pink and I couldn’t do it. At first all I could think to eat was peanut butter and bread, so I put on a bunch of weight, but over the years it’s gotten a lot easier because people are much hipper to the fact that a plant based lifestyle is healthier for us. So it’s gotten so easy and so delicious to be vegan."

"That little, small voice in your mind and in your heart that makes you curious about being vegan is something you should listen to, because that’s the sound of your conscience making you be compassionate."

"Make it work!"

"I was called a fool when I was chair of fashion at Parsons and I invited PETA to speak to students. The industry went crazy. I said: "Wait a minute. The International Fur Trade Commission is coming here. I have a responsibility to bring another point of view, let the students decide." I would say if you're going to use fur, you have a responsibility to know its origins. … There's no reason to kill animals for fur. Wearing fur is like wearing a big sign reading, "I'm in favor of inflicting cruelty and pain on animals as a fashion statement." Unspeakable torture is inflicted on dogs, cats, bunnies, raccoons, foxes, minks and myriad trapped, helpless creatures in the name of fashion — yes, dogs and cats."

"Stella’s work has helped to redefine and recalibrate our thinking. … Higher-end brands have said they couldn’t exist without fur. Stella proves, of course you can."

"I’ve always been an animal-lover and when I was about twelve I became a vegetarian. My mom subscribed to PETA’s magazine and I just started looking at the level of what it was. And I just thought it was unkind, so I made my personal choice — which at that point had nothing to do with the global scale of the situation. And so I know it was really early, but I made up my mind then to become an entertainer primarily because I thought I could help. I noticed that all my friends respected entertainers and knew more entertainers names than politicians names, so that was my turning point from possibly doing politics to entertainment … So that was one of the reasons I went into this field. And then the more I kept going career-wise, the more I’ve been able to use that vehicle — that megaphone. And that was exciting — the only exciting part, personally, about being a celebrity. I don’t think there’s anything good about it, except the ability to make positive change."

"I had seen … the mistreatment and abuse of these elephants … and I was brought to tears. When you look at something like the circus and everyone's laughing and there's color and there's music and everything seems so great, but when you go right behind that door and they're in these crates all day long and then they're getting shocked and beat just so they can get up and dance around on a ball — it was just so sickening. … Stop going to the circus, don’t buy real fur, don’t buy a dog, go rescue a dog. You can’t keep supporting people who are doing this to helpless animals, at all."

"As a proud person of Chinese descent, it broke my heart to learn just how terribly animals suffer and die on Chinese fur farms and that there are no penalties for this abuse. … When you think about even that little tiny trim of fur on your gloves or on your collar, that is still coming from an animal that had to endure so much pain just for you. There’s nothing good about pretending like you don’t know."

"I want to … empower other women to go vegan to feel better about their body and to live a compassionate lifestyle. … I'm vegan for the animals. If you go into the factory farms, when you see what these animals endure and the torture, it's not right and the only way to not participate in that is to go vegan."

"Growing up, I've always had so much love for animals, and I wasn't really fond of eating meat and really anything with a face because I just felt that it was an awful thing to do. Just recently I switched to a vegetarian. I had my first Thanksgiving with being a vegetarian; no turkey, I had tofu. A vegan dish, it was delicious. I did not miss turkey. I've never had a hamburger in my life. And I'm so glad that I can say that."

"I believe in living a vegetarian lifestyle from a health standpoint and I also have deep compassion for animals. I wanted to raise awareness and educate people on the abuse and inhumane treatment that goes on every day in slaughterhouses. … I want people to know that you can still be fit and have curves living a vegetarian lifestyle. … [I have been a vegetarian] since I was little girl. I grew up on a ranch and animals were my pets."

"Since I was a little girl, I never felt right eating animals before. I’ve always known what the animals have went through. They’ve been abused. They’re giving up their lives to satisfy somebody’s appetite. … I am a Christian girl. It may come as a surprise to some people that I support gay marriage. I believe wholeheartedly in “Do not judge others.” Let people live their lives and be happy. That’s what the bible teaches—love one another."

"Because I love all animals so much, people, I feel like they should realize they don’t have to cut into something to learn about it. … If you feel weird about dissecting something, say “no.” I would totally say, “I'm not cutting into this animal.” I would never do that… You’ll learn so much more off of the computer. If you have the other option, why not take it? You should ask your teacher for other human alternatives."

"That is something I'm very passionate about. I love animals so much. To think that any animal would be trapped — it makes me so sad. It's like living in your bedroom for your entire life and never being able to go outside. … You should always speak up. That's what I'd like to teach my fans — to be real and speak up for things you're passionate about."

"[Receiving an anonymous email about animals getting skinned alive for fur] made me furious, and angry and depressed. I was an animal lover my whole life, but I never realized that humans beings were capable of such cruelty. … It was a huge wake-up call for me, and I knew I had to get involved, so I dedicated my life basically to being a voice for animals because they're voiceless and defenseless. … If you're an animal lover, just try to educate your friends and be a voice. Always try to find products that are not tested on animals and stay away from fur. … It's amazing how powerful social media can be – animals can be saved just because people share info and care. It's all about being active and just trying to make the world a better place."

"If you can spend a little time with these creatures, you can connect them again to animals that you love, which I think helps everybody remember the importance of treating them humanely and with dignity. These are, you know, the lucky animals that have fallen off the backs of trucks and stuff. If you want to help the environment, go vegetarian."

"I've been an animal lover my whole life and I consider myself environmentalist, and often the two subjects come together."

"I don't think that animal rights is a political issue, as far as I'm concerned it's a humanist issue, it's an anticruelty issue… In every way, the older I get, I try to conduct my life in a way that inflicts as little pain, as little cruelty and as much kindness on anyone, and when I say anyone that means humans and nonhumans as possible."

"I don't eat or wear animals and I have a pretty simple reason; because they are animals. They have lives, they feel pain, and I don't think they should give those lives nor feel pain for humans. As humans, we have the ability to understand that not only do we not need to eat meat; in fact we can live healthier lives without it."

"It's been really difficult, honestly. I'm all shaken up right now. I had to do a lot of acting, basically, to get through the last 48 hours. It was shocking, and I think I'm still in shock, to an extent. I don't think I have fully, completely come to terms with it yet. I have waves and flashes. One moment, I feel fine and I'm myself. Then all of a sudden, it hits me, and I go, 'Wow, he's really gone.' It's very troubling."

"I’m a huge lover of animals. My mother wasn’t the best, but despite an abusive childhood, we always had a lot of pets growing up. I was basically raised on a farm with horses, chickens, ducks and cats. We did a lot of rescuing. At early age, I became a vegetarian. There was a lot of resistance from family — “It will stunt your growth. It can’t be healthy.” … Going vegetarian at such a young age, it was a stance for myself."

"[Michael Jackson] was adamantly against drugs and alcohol, he was extremely straight-laced; I couldn’t even swear around him. Being with Michael brought me back to my innocence."

"[Michael Jackson] did real damage in my overall life. I was a 12-year-old boy who was hurt by his family and ignored by people at school. Michael would sit and talk to me for hours and he would listen. Then he would get bored. The biggest thing that Michael's done to children is befriending the ones that are in need and then abandoning them"

"The No. 1 problem in Hollywood was, and is, and always will be pedophilia."

"I come to you today with great sadness, acknowledging the loss of the greatest entertainer in the history of mankind. For me he was more than that, he was my idol, he was a role model, he was someone to cry to when my childhood was unbearable, he was a brother, he was a dear friend."

"Susie and I choose the vegetarian way of life because for us, there really is no other choice. We must evolve as a race and as a planet, and evolution includes learning and changing from our mistakes. We will never truly grow until we as a whole come to the realization that all beings on this Earth should be treated with love and respect."

"One respectful question will be addressed to Jews who plan to continue to eat meat: In view of strong Jewish mandates to be compassionate to animals, preserve our health, help feed the hungry, preserve and protect the environment, conserve resources, and seek and pursue peace, and the very negative effects animal-centered diets have in each of these areas, will you now become a vegetarian, or at least sharply reduce your consumption of animal products?"

"Central to Jewish mysticism is the role that vegetarianism plays in messianic expectations: here vegetarianism functions in the concept of Jewish mystical time which chronicles human development from the vegetarian state in the Garden of Eden to the Messianic age when it is believed we will be vegetarians again. … in Judaism the laws governing responsibility to animals derive from the animal's place in the divine economy, assured by the covenantal statements, by the Jewish view of creation, and the Jewish view of a just and compassionate Creator. The stress of these laws with respect to the Jew is summed up in the question: How should the righteous (just) Jew behave toward animals, and the answer lies in the concept of the “imitatio Dei.” The just and merciful human behaves toward animals as a just and merciful Creator behaves toward humans."

"Total abolition [of vivisection] … will be achieved sometime, when the conduct of humanity toward all that breathes and suffers shall be governed by ideas of altruistic equity."

"Everything the Nazis did to Jews we are today practicing on animals. Our grandchildren will ask us one day: Where were you during the Holocaust of the animals? What did you do against these horrifying crimes? We won't be able to offer the same excuse for the second time, that we didn't know."

"Delving into my history, preparing for the imminent re-release of this epic, I have been a kind of father-figure looking back kindly on a young man who was fighting his way out of a kind of emotional black hole... For me, it’s been a nice thing to explore. Again, probably if Covid hadn’t have happened I wouldn’t have had the time... it’s been a discovery of where my brain was at the time."