Animal rights activists have been a driving force to change the lives of animals subjected to suffering for basic human requirements such as food, clothing, animal research, or entertainment.
Ever since the planet was formed, different animal species have made it their home. Nature evolved these species to maintain an ecosystem. But when the species of humans evolved, they were more advanced and intelligent than other species, and they recognized that they could use other animal species to fulfill their needs for food, clothes, and other requirements. This was the time when domestication and hunting came into practice, and with time, this practice grew exponentially. As the human population advanced in science and technology, they utilized their inventions and findings to use these animals to their extreme potential. And this resulted in the extreme exploitation of animals. Although this was done by humans for humans, there were few people to whom this immoral and unethical practice of exploitation was unacceptable. They decided to become the voice for these innocent creatures and pledged to dedicate their lives to animal rights, and this is how animal rights activism became a movement.
Who are animal rights activists?
An animal rights activist is someone who believes that animals are not commodities that can be used to satisfy the needs and requirements of human beings. Just because they are voiceless, human beings do not get a right to control their lives and treat them as any factory-manufactured product that can be exploited. To stop this exploitation, animal rights activists must become a voice for these voiceless creatures and fight to reduce non-human animal suffering.
Animal rights activists have been a driving force to change the lives of animals subjected to suffering for basic human requirements such as food, clothing, animal research, or entertainment.
Here is the list of the top 20 animal rights activists who have devoted their lives to becoming a voice for innocent animals.
Jane Goodall
Dr. Jane Goodall is a well-known primatologist who researched the behavior of chimpanzees and found out for the first time that animals do have feelings and emotions. She established the Jane Goodall Institute, which focuses on protecting chimpanzees and their habitat. Along with chimpanzees, she has also advocated for other wildlife species and their conservation and protection.
Ingrid Newkirk
Ingrid Newkirk is the founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Her organization is active throughout the world, conducting various campaigns against the exploitation of animals in various industries such as food, animal research, entertainment, etc. Newkirk has been at the forefront of advocating animal rights for decades.
Peter Singer
Peter Singer has been considered one of the top animal rights activists. He is best known for his book “Animal Liberation,” published in 1975, in which he criticized the inhumane treatment of animals in factories, farming, and research laboratories and argued that animals should be given equal moral consideration as human beings. He has been vocal about the discrimination that non-human animals face because they are considered inferior to human beings. He uses ideas from other important movements, like the civil rights movement and feminism, to explain why animals deserve more respect and better treatment.
Singer’s work has had a big influence on the animal rights movement. His arguments have helped shape how people think and talk about the treatment of animals. Thanks to his ideas, more people are aware of the importance of treating all creatures fairly, regardless of their species. This has helped the animal rights movement grow and become more recognized around the world.
Margret Murie
Margret Murie is considered the “grandmother of conservation,” as she was the one who worked for decades to bring the 1964 Wilderness Act to the USA, which banned the exploitation of millions of acres of forest land for development. She also contributed to the creation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Her conservation efforts began alongside her husband, Olaus Murie, a respected wildlife biologist. Together, they conducted extensive research in the Alaskan wilderness, studying various species and their habitats. These experiences deeply shaped Murie’s commitment to environmental protection.
Beyond her activism, Murie also wrote books that detailed her love and experiences in the wilderness. These books have been a source of inspiration for many who are passionate about nature and its conservation.
Gary Yourofsky
Gary Yourofsky has been advocating animal rights and veganism by criticizing the inhumane practice of exploiting animals in factory farming and biomedical research. He has given many talks and written about why he believes it’s wrong to use animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose. Gary argues that animals should not be harmed and that people should not eat meat, dairy, or eggs.
He is well-known for his passionate way of speaking and has convinced many people to become vegans. However, some of his views and the way he talks about them have been controversial. For example, he has made comparisons that some people find too extreme or upsetting.
Priya Sawhney
Priya Sawhney is the co-founder of Direct Action Everywhere, through which she has been advocating for animal rights. She has led many protests advocating animal rights and was once arrested for confronting Jeff Bezos in Las Vegas.
Melanie Joy
Melanie Joy is an internationally recognized animal rights activist who introduced the term “carnism” to refer to the complex belief that conditions people to eat meat. She is the founder and president of an international organization that trains and educates people about animal rights called Beyond Carnism.
In her groundbreaking book, “Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows,” Joy explores the psychological and cultural reasons behind why people have different attitudes towards different animals. She presents the idea that our choices about which animals to eat are not just personal preferences but are influenced by a deeply ingrained societal belief system. This system, according to Joy, is often unnoticed and unchallenged.
Leela Hazzah
Dr. Leela Hazzah is an Egyptian activist who works for the conservation of lions by reducing the human-animal conflict in the Egyptian region. She is the founder of a nonprofit organization called Lion Guardians in East Africa. She is also a director and founding member of Women for the Environment Africa and the PRIDE Lion Conservation Alliance.
Jo-Anne McArthur
She is a photojournalist, an author, and best known as the founder of We Animals Media. She has documented the hidden lives of animals in the wild and advocated for the rights of animals. She aims to deliver the stories of the treatment of animals around the world to a wider audience.
Alex Hershaft
Alex Hershaft is an animal rights activist who helps animals through his non-profit organization called Farm Animal Right Movement (FARM), which he founded in 1976. His organization aims to protect the animals from overbreeding, slaughter, and lifetime imprisonment. He also spreads awareness among people by promoting veganism and animal rights.
Jane Velez-Mitchell
Jane Velez-Mitchell is a veteran news journalist and the founder of Unchained TV, which is devoted to animal rights and promotes veganism. As a journalist, she has devoted much of her career to advocating for animal rights.
Sangdeun “Lek” Chailert
She is the creator of Elephant Nature Park in Northern Thailand, which provides a home to over 200 rescued elephants. Dr. Sangdeun has dedicated her whole life to working towards the welfare of elephants and other animals.
Jill Robinson
Jill Robinson is a writer and animal rights activist born in Britain who spent 12 years of her life in Hong Kong consulting for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. While working in Hong Kong, she founded Dr. Dog, and later she also founded Animal Asia to promote animal rights and respect for animal rights activism in Asia.
Michelle Cho
Cho is a well-known leader in animal rights activism. She was Associate Director of Communication at PETA for 7 years. She is the face of many campaigns where she, along with many celebrities, advocates for animal rights, influencing a larger audience.
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Laurie Marker
Dr. Marker is the founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund and Conservation Research Centre for the wildlife cheetah, which is active in Namibia. Her mission is to release captivated cheetahs into their natural habitat and conserve and protect them and their habitat.
Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers
Virginia Mckenna and Bill Travers acted in the wildlife film Born Free, which motivated them to start an international animal welfare and charity project called “The Born Free Foundation.”
Beth Stern
She is the national spokesperson for North Shore Animal League America and has played an important role in making people aware of shelter adoption. She has also rescued and fostered several cats and kittens.
Her involvement in the field of animal rescue is both deep and impactful. Beth has dedicated herself to fostering numerous cats and other animals, actively participating in their rehabilitation and rehoming. Her commitment to this cause has played a crucial role in highlighting the importance of adopting pets from shelters, offering an alternative to buying from breeders or pet stores.
Carole Baskin
Carole Baskin is the founder of the well-known Big Cat Rescue, which is based in Tampa, Florida. It is a sanctuary that protects lions, tigers, bobcats, cougars, and many other similar species who were abandoned, abused, or orphaned.
Robert Garner
Robert Garner is a British political scientist and author. He has advocated animal rights through his several well-known books, such as Political Animals, The Animal Rights Debate: Abolition or Regulation, A Theory of Justice for Animals, The Political Theory of Animal Rights, and many more.
Marc Bekoff
Marc Bekoff is an American biologist, educator, and writer who serves on the Science Advisory Board of Project Coyote, a non-profit organization that aims to promote compassionate conservation and coexistence between people and wildlife and reduce human-animal conflict. He has been advocating for this cause through education and science. He, along with Dr. Jane Goodall, has announced the formation of the Ethologist for Ethical Treatment of Animals (EETA).
All these animal rights activists have become the voice for the voiceless creatures who have been exploited for ages but are helpless. These icons have worked and are still actively promoting animal rights all over the world to make this planet a better place, not only for humans but also for all other creatures, and teaching humankind the art of coexisting without exploiting other species for their selfish needs.