This chapter explores personal childhood experiences in an animal research lab, revealing the initial societal biases against rodents like mice and rats. It reflects on the emotional turmoil and moral implications of using animals in medical studies, particularly through the lens of the speaker's father’s experiences. The conversation challenges listeners to reconsider their perceptions of animal welfare, addressing the complexities within the animal rights movement and prompting a deeper evaluation of the intrinsic value of all species.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals founder Ingrid Newkirk has been badgering meat-eaters, fur-wearers, and circus-goers for more than 40 years. For a woman who’s leaving her liver to the president of France in her will, she sounds quite sensible when she tells Steve what we can learn from animals, why she supports euthanasia, and who’ll get her other organs.
- SOURCE:
- Ingrid Newkirk, founding president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
- RESOURCES:
- "Paradoxical Gender Effects in Meat Consumption Across Cultures," by Christopher J. Hopwood, Jahn N. Zizer, Wiebke Bleidorn, et al. (Nature Scientific Reports, 2024).
- "PETA President Bequeaths Her Rump to a Reality Show," (PETA.org, 2023).
- Animalkind: Remarkable Discoveries about Animals and Revolutionary New Ways to Show Them Compassion, by Ingrid Newkirk (2020).
- "One Last U.S. Medical School Still Killed Animals to Teach Surgery. But No More," by Darryl Fears (The Washington Post, 2016).
- "The Naked and the Dead," by Katie Glass (The Times, 2013).
- "The Betrayal of 'No-Kill' Sheltering," by Ingrid Newkirk (PETA YouTube channel, 2013).
- "The Lab-Monkey Controversy That Launched the Animal-Rights Movement," by Caroline Fraser (The New Yorker, 1993).