Guide to Becoming an Activist: Getting Started

Sections: Introduction Getting Started Information Stalls Making Displays Producing and Distributing Leaflets Starting a Group Public Speaking Lobbying Working With the Media Campaigning Fundraising Frequently Asked Questions and Comments

The best way to persuade others to adopt a humane lifestyle is to set a good example. Becoming a vegetarian – or better yet, a vegan – is an excellent first step. While a vegetarian eats no meat (and that includes fish), a vegan eats no meat, eggs or dairy products; wears no animal products, such as leather or wool; and uses only cruelty-free products (those that contain no animal ingredients and are not tested on animals). You can get a list of companies that sell cruelty-free household products, toiletries and cosmetics from PETA.

Many wonderful cookbooks, such as The Single Vegan, How it all Vegan and The PETA Celebrity Cookbook, are available from PETAMall.com or from your local book shop, health food shop or library.

The switch to a cruelty-free lifestyle is often made in small steps – the important thing is to begin taking those steps. You might not get rid of all your leather shoes or the leather belt that you received for your birthday right away, but when you are ready to replace those items, start shopping for canvas, fabric or vinyl products, instead, and gently remind your friends and relatives of your new preferences.

DRESSING THE PART

Remember, when you’re presenting an animal rights point of view, your appearance and actions must reflect the sincerity of your beliefs. If you’re discussing factory farming while munching on a hamburger or picketing a fur store while wearing leather shoes, others may dismiss you as a hypocrite. Sceptics are quick to notice such details and take advantage of inconsistencies.

Dress neatly. Society has many prejudices, and despite the old adage, people do judge a book by its cover. By adapting your dress to your audience’s style, you’re saying, ‘I’m like you. You can understand what I’m saying.’ Rather than being distracted by your appearance, people will listen to your message.

GET REALISTIC

Think realistically about how you’re going to fit activism into your life. If you have a full-time job, you may have to juggle the time that you can spend being a voice for animals with the time that you need for family and friends. Consider ways that you can incorporate animal rights work into the church, office, family or political activities that you’re already involved in. You don’t want to overextend yourself in a blaze of glory, only to burn out in six months, so make activism a part of your life – not an intrusion into it.

CHOOSE YOUR ISSUES

As you read and learn more about animal rights issues, choose the ones that mean the most to you. The abuse of animals is so widespread that you cannot possibly address every instance. PETA primarily concerns itself with projects that will help the greatest number of animals, such as those involving animals who are used in laboratories or slaughtered for food, or with those projects that will help fundamentally change the attitudes of a large number of people.

LEARN THE FACTS

You don’t need to have all the answers to start getting active, but before you can educate others effectively, you do need to know some basic facts. We highly recommend Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation as a basic primer on animal rights. You can order it from your local book shop, borrow it from the library or order it online at PETAMall.com.

You might also find the following books helpful:

• You Can Save the Animals by PETA President Ingrid Newkirk is bursting with tips for activists – from investing in compassionate corporations to forming a neighbourhood animal-watch group and just about everything in between.
  
• Free the Animals by Ingrid Newkirk is the compelling inside story of the dedicated activists whose daring rescues exposed the abuse of animals in laboratories, as told to the author by ‘Valerie’, the leader of the American Animal Liberation Front.
• Monkey Business by Kathy Snow Guillermo is the exciting story of the people who started PETA and their decade-long struggle to free the Silver Spring monkeys.
• The Power of Your Plate by Neal Barnard, M.D., is a concise and fascinating guide to the tremendous impact that food choices have on your health and your life.
• In Defence of Animals edited by Peter Singer is a collection of excellent essays on factory farming, zoos and other animal rights issues. It includes a chapter by PETA cofounder Alex Pacheco, who recounts his experiences while working in the laboratory where he exposed the abuse of the famous Silver Spring monkeys.
• Animal Factories by Jim Mason and Peter Singer is an exposé of modern factory farming that reveals how it affects the animals, the environment and the world.
• Slaughter of the Innocent by Hans Ruesch describes the vivisection industry and provides graphic examples of the human health hazards that are intrinsic in animal tests.
• Food Revolution by John Robbins is a moving and well-documented book that describes the inhumane and unhealthy conditions under which animals are raised for food and shows how we can find good health and ecological well-being through vegan diets.

There are also countless articles and Web sites relating to animal rights on the Internet. Try typing your keywords into the search facility at www.google.co.uk.

Know your city and county’s anti-cruelty laws. Information about these should be available from your council or local library.

Finally, read through the ‘Frequently Asked Questions and Comments’ on this site. Ask a friend to quiz you on tough questions so that you can think about the issues and prepare good answers.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR COMMUNITY

Become familiar with the people and facilities in your area so that you can recommend ethical options and businesses to people who come to you with questions. As you compile facts, resources and other materials, set up a filing system to keep your information organised. File important or useful newspaper clippings according to the issues that they concern. Keep the names and addresses of good veterinarians, shelters, low-cost spay/neuter programmes and wildlife rescue services by your telephone for easy reference.