“Animalkind”: Remarkable Discoveries with Ingrid Newkirk (vegan), Part 3 of 3

“We’re always learning something. Just the other day, we saw where some whales were actually rescuing seals from orcas. And so we find out all of these things, and we think, ‘Gosh, they’re really just like us, except they have superpowers that we don’t understand.’ ”

“The relationship at the moment between humankind, this human supremacist attitude we have, and the rest of the animals – because we are just one animal among many, but we’re all here together – is not as it should be. And we are all neighbors; we should all be friends, we should all be colleagues, if you will. But what we need to do is just show respect, understanding, consideration, and allow everybody to be themselves. Because each individual has their own group, their own culture, their own language.”

“Our strength is that we work at the grassroots. We know the power of the consumer, that every individual is important in this struggle to have the animals recognized and respected. And so, when we educate the man at the bus stop, the woman buying groceries, the lawyer, the student, they are the force that will change legislation. Legislation is the last thing to change.”

PETA has achieved many remarkable milestones. In 2010, PETA went undercover in laboratories, releasing alarming facts that resulted in Utah legislators conclusively voting to ensure that homeless cats and dogs housed in governmental shelters are never again sold to laboratories. In 2011, PETA cited the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution for the first time to stop the slavery of nonhuman animals in captivity. The plaintiffs were five orca whales, captured and forced to perform for human entertainment.

“If you have kindness in your heart, then expand it, please. So please, walk the walk with us, come on board and be an animal rights activist, even if you’re taking baby steps in that direction.”