"They’re not human traits. They’re all shared traits because, of course, we all love. We all love our families, or not. We all grieve if somebody we love disappears or dies. A family dog, perhaps. A grandfather. We all feel loneliness, we all feel joy. We all really value our freedom. And so I think, if anything, looking into the eyes of the animal, even online, you see a person in there. There’s a someone in whatever the shape or the physical properties of that individual are. And that lesson is that I am you. You are me, only different. We are all the same in all the ways that count…Any living being teaches you– Look into my eyes. And there you are, the reflection of yourself."
Ingrid Newkirk is the founder and president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)—the largest animal rights organization in the world, with more than 6.5 million members and supporters worldwide.
She is the author of more than a dozen books that have been translated into several languages, including her latest, Animalkind: Remarkable Discoveries About Animals and Revolutionary New Ways to Show Them Compassion.
Newkirk, a former Washingtonian of the Year, has been featured for her work for animals in The New Yorker, Time magazine, People magazine, Forbes, the Financial Times, and numerous other publications. She has appeared on TV shows and podcasts all over the world, including on Real Time With Bill Maher, The Rich Roll Podcast, and Here's the Thing With Alec Baldwin. She is the subject of a BBC special and the HBO documentary I Am an Animal.
· www.www.peta.org
· www.ingridnewkirk.com
· www.oneplanetpodcast.org
· www.creativeprocess.info
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