Emily lavender
Emily Lavender is a campaigner for PETA and works in Vancouver Island, Canada. She offered us insight into the daily life of an animal rights activist and the work PETA does that the public doesn't hear about.
How old were you when you became campaigner for PETA?
I was 20 (one year after I stopped eating animals).
What are some of the campaigns you have personally been involved in?
My first undertaking at PETA was spearheading our Stop the Seal Slaughter campaign in Canada. For two years I followed the Prime Minister around the country in a seal costume and generated widespread media coverage of the seal slaughter issue. I’ve also trailed President Obama in an elephant costume, urging him to help elephants abused by circuses. Right now I’m working on encouraging people to eat and wear vegan products, by staging media events involving costumed activists who engage in "street theatre" and frequently hand out free vegan food to the public. Just yesterday we handed out free vegan pizza! Also, a fellow campaigner, Ashley Byrne, is involved with a New York issue--our horse-drawn carriage campaign, an issue on which actress Leah Michelle has helped PETA generate public awareness.
Does Ingrid Newkirk get personally involved with the campaigners?
We hold regular "brainstorming" meetings at PETA, to develop ways of getting the animals' message into media and to create captivating new demonstrations and campaigns for animals–which yes, Ingrid often attends. Ingrid also attends many of our highest-profile demonstrations, like our protest at Linda Bean’s seafood restaurant in Maine following PETA’s undercover investigation into the cruel lobster and crab trade, and a recent demonstration in India where Ingrid was locked in a cage like a chicken outside KFC, to encourage vegan choices.
Why do you believe that animal rights matter in modern society?
We aren’t running around in loin cloths scrounging for food and learning to make fire anymore–in the 21st century we've got so many food and clothing options, there's no need to slaughter animals. We can buy delectable vegan cheese, order succulent veggie burgers, find fashionable faux-leather shoes, jackets and accessories, and so on. We can choose entertainment that doesn’t exploit and imprison animals for life, like non-animal circuses such as Cirque de Soleil. We now have cutting-edge programming where you can do virtual animal dissections instead of cutting up animals in class. Research has also come a long way, and there are many modern testing methods much more reliable than testing on animals for cosmetics, household products and medicines. We at PETA look forward to the day when these animal-friendly options will completely replace the use of animals. And that isn’t just good news for animals–it's good news for the planet (meat’s not green!) and our health.
What inspired you to get involved with PETA?
When I was in college, our cafeteria always had a big slab of meat on display, and I started seeing it as an animal. So I started cutting back on meat. Then a friend asked if I was avoiding meat because of how animals are killed. Realizing I had no idea what happens to animals before ending up on my plate, I went back to my dorm and watched PETA’s exposé “Glass Walls” narrated by Paul McCartney. I never ate meat again–and instead enjoyed our cafeteria’s veggie stir-fry, sandwiches and pizzas from then on. I started watching other PETA videos on animal experimentation (leading me to refuse dissecting a rat in my biology class) and the animal skins industry. I decided to halt my studies in Environmental Sciences and dedicate my life’s work to helping stop cruelty to animals, and went to volunteer with PETA as an intern about a year later.
What are some of the responsibilities of a campaigner?
I propose street theatre and campaign ideas, plan and organize demonstrations, then lead the campaigns in various cities across the country. We apply for permits, get costumes, have posters designed, invite volunteers to help, and contact and liaise with media. As a spokesperson I speak with reporters about our actions and animal rights issues. Frequently, at least tens or hundreds of thousands of people learn the next day in media about how animals are abused and how we can stop it–which is by not eating or wearing animals and not supporting companies that use animals for experimentation or entertainment.
Could you describe an average day of campaign work for PETA?
A typical day could involve calling newspapers, radio and TV stations in the morning to advise them about that days' demonstration. Sometimes I do pre-demo interviews. I'll do some morning planning for next month’s demonstrations, like arranging news releases and posters. I arrive at the demo site early, meet the volunteers, and unload all the costumes and props. Then I might zip over to a friendly grocer and pick up our order of fifty vegan rib-which sandwiches that we’re giving away for free. Our volunteers will don their piglet or other costumes, hold placards, often do street theatre like pretending to be zombies eating people parts ("Flesh is for Zombies!"), hand out vegan starter kits, and often give away free vegan food. We have great conversations with people, who take pics and spread the animals' message on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I do interviews with reporters. After the demo I write a report on the event for PETA, complete with photos, media turnout, volunteer’s names, and a rundown of what took place. We’ll then hit the road and drive to the next city and next demo for animals.
On your page on the peta.org website, it says that the toughest part of your job is "being surrounded by cruelty to animals, especially when new undercover investigations break." Could you describe some of these investigations or difficult circumstances?
PETA routinely breaks new undercover investigations, and it’s our duty as spokespeople to view the footage and witness the animals' suffering so we can communicate these realities to the public and press. To start, all new PETA staff are shown the documentary Earthlings, a compilation of undercover footage on the four major industries where the majority of animals are abused: for food, clothing, experimentation and entertainment. Recent investigations include the angora wool industry in China where rabbits scream as their hair is yanked out. An investigation into the wool trade in the U.S. and Australia shows gentle sheep being beaten and slammed to the floor as workers pin them down to shear the terrified animals. Every time I watch a new investigation I cry, but I know we now have all we need to terminate a cruel industry and save animals' lives.
How are these investigations conducted?
Typically an employee or someone who witnesses animals being abused will inform PETA (often through an anonymous tip). We have someone apply to work there, and wear an undercover camera. We then break the investigation's footage and report to the media, and use the footage to lay cruelty to animals charges against the company/employees and even lobby for legislative changes. The investigation that launched PETA, the Silver Springs Monkey’s case, led to the U.S.’s first-ever arrest and criminal conviction of an animal experimenter for cruelty to animals, the first confiscation of abused animals from a laboratory, and the first U.S. Supreme Court victory for animals used in experiments. It even led to landmark additions to the Animal Welfare Act.
Is there anything else you would like to tell people who are interested in the topic of animal rights?
It’s never been easier for young people to help animals, and peta2 (PETA’s youth division) will help you every step of the way. We’ll send you free stickers, leaflets, and other campaign materials to (for example) help students get vegan options added in their schools, get alternatives to dissection, and raise awareness about animals in captivity—like at SeaWorld—or animals killed for their fur. Anyone who'd like to help animals can join the peta2 StreetTeam at peta2.com/StreetTeam, or check out the free peta2 app at peta2.com/app.
I was 20 (one year after I stopped eating animals).
What are some of the campaigns you have personally been involved in?
My first undertaking at PETA was spearheading our Stop the Seal Slaughter campaign in Canada. For two years I followed the Prime Minister around the country in a seal costume and generated widespread media coverage of the seal slaughter issue. I’ve also trailed President Obama in an elephant costume, urging him to help elephants abused by circuses. Right now I’m working on encouraging people to eat and wear vegan products, by staging media events involving costumed activists who engage in "street theatre" and frequently hand out free vegan food to the public. Just yesterday we handed out free vegan pizza! Also, a fellow campaigner, Ashley Byrne, is involved with a New York issue--our horse-drawn carriage campaign, an issue on which actress Leah Michelle has helped PETA generate public awareness.
Does Ingrid Newkirk get personally involved with the campaigners?
We hold regular "brainstorming" meetings at PETA, to develop ways of getting the animals' message into media and to create captivating new demonstrations and campaigns for animals–which yes, Ingrid often attends. Ingrid also attends many of our highest-profile demonstrations, like our protest at Linda Bean’s seafood restaurant in Maine following PETA’s undercover investigation into the cruel lobster and crab trade, and a recent demonstration in India where Ingrid was locked in a cage like a chicken outside KFC, to encourage vegan choices.
Why do you believe that animal rights matter in modern society?
We aren’t running around in loin cloths scrounging for food and learning to make fire anymore–in the 21st century we've got so many food and clothing options, there's no need to slaughter animals. We can buy delectable vegan cheese, order succulent veggie burgers, find fashionable faux-leather shoes, jackets and accessories, and so on. We can choose entertainment that doesn’t exploit and imprison animals for life, like non-animal circuses such as Cirque de Soleil. We now have cutting-edge programming where you can do virtual animal dissections instead of cutting up animals in class. Research has also come a long way, and there are many modern testing methods much more reliable than testing on animals for cosmetics, household products and medicines. We at PETA look forward to the day when these animal-friendly options will completely replace the use of animals. And that isn’t just good news for animals–it's good news for the planet (meat’s not green!) and our health.
What inspired you to get involved with PETA?
When I was in college, our cafeteria always had a big slab of meat on display, and I started seeing it as an animal. So I started cutting back on meat. Then a friend asked if I was avoiding meat because of how animals are killed. Realizing I had no idea what happens to animals before ending up on my plate, I went back to my dorm and watched PETA’s exposé “Glass Walls” narrated by Paul McCartney. I never ate meat again–and instead enjoyed our cafeteria’s veggie stir-fry, sandwiches and pizzas from then on. I started watching other PETA videos on animal experimentation (leading me to refuse dissecting a rat in my biology class) and the animal skins industry. I decided to halt my studies in Environmental Sciences and dedicate my life’s work to helping stop cruelty to animals, and went to volunteer with PETA as an intern about a year later.
What are some of the responsibilities of a campaigner?
I propose street theatre and campaign ideas, plan and organize demonstrations, then lead the campaigns in various cities across the country. We apply for permits, get costumes, have posters designed, invite volunteers to help, and contact and liaise with media. As a spokesperson I speak with reporters about our actions and animal rights issues. Frequently, at least tens or hundreds of thousands of people learn the next day in media about how animals are abused and how we can stop it–which is by not eating or wearing animals and not supporting companies that use animals for experimentation or entertainment.
Could you describe an average day of campaign work for PETA?
A typical day could involve calling newspapers, radio and TV stations in the morning to advise them about that days' demonstration. Sometimes I do pre-demo interviews. I'll do some morning planning for next month’s demonstrations, like arranging news releases and posters. I arrive at the demo site early, meet the volunteers, and unload all the costumes and props. Then I might zip over to a friendly grocer and pick up our order of fifty vegan rib-which sandwiches that we’re giving away for free. Our volunteers will don their piglet or other costumes, hold placards, often do street theatre like pretending to be zombies eating people parts ("Flesh is for Zombies!"), hand out vegan starter kits, and often give away free vegan food. We have great conversations with people, who take pics and spread the animals' message on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I do interviews with reporters. After the demo I write a report on the event for PETA, complete with photos, media turnout, volunteer’s names, and a rundown of what took place. We’ll then hit the road and drive to the next city and next demo for animals.
On your page on the peta.org website, it says that the toughest part of your job is "being surrounded by cruelty to animals, especially when new undercover investigations break." Could you describe some of these investigations or difficult circumstances?
PETA routinely breaks new undercover investigations, and it’s our duty as spokespeople to view the footage and witness the animals' suffering so we can communicate these realities to the public and press. To start, all new PETA staff are shown the documentary Earthlings, a compilation of undercover footage on the four major industries where the majority of animals are abused: for food, clothing, experimentation and entertainment. Recent investigations include the angora wool industry in China where rabbits scream as their hair is yanked out. An investigation into the wool trade in the U.S. and Australia shows gentle sheep being beaten and slammed to the floor as workers pin them down to shear the terrified animals. Every time I watch a new investigation I cry, but I know we now have all we need to terminate a cruel industry and save animals' lives.
How are these investigations conducted?
Typically an employee or someone who witnesses animals being abused will inform PETA (often through an anonymous tip). We have someone apply to work there, and wear an undercover camera. We then break the investigation's footage and report to the media, and use the footage to lay cruelty to animals charges against the company/employees and even lobby for legislative changes. The investigation that launched PETA, the Silver Springs Monkey’s case, led to the U.S.’s first-ever arrest and criminal conviction of an animal experimenter for cruelty to animals, the first confiscation of abused animals from a laboratory, and the first U.S. Supreme Court victory for animals used in experiments. It even led to landmark additions to the Animal Welfare Act.
Is there anything else you would like to tell people who are interested in the topic of animal rights?
It’s never been easier for young people to help animals, and peta2 (PETA’s youth division) will help you every step of the way. We’ll send you free stickers, leaflets, and other campaign materials to (for example) help students get vegan options added in their schools, get alternatives to dissection, and raise awareness about animals in captivity—like at SeaWorld—or animals killed for their fur. Anyone who'd like to help animals can join the peta2 StreetTeam at peta2.com/StreetTeam, or check out the free peta2 app at peta2.com/app.