Practical responses to Animal Rights

Ethical Consumerism

This works for human rights issues and poverty as well as animal rights.

• Positive buying is favouring ethical products, e.g. free range eggs, organic or cruelty free 'freedom foods'. This option is arguably the most important since it directly supports progressive companies.
• Negative purchasing means avoiding products you disapprove of such as battery eggs or intensively farmed meat; leather goods etc.
• Company-based purchasing involves targeting a business as a whole. For example, KFC are one of the most boycotted companies because of the way they treat chickens. There is a website about this PETA campaign called 'Kentucky Fried Cruelty'.

Campaigning

There are a number of organisations commited to the better treatment of animals. Christians might get involved in campaigns, write to their MP, stage a protest etc. These groups include:

	People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world, with more than 2 million members and supporters. PETA focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: on factory farms, in the clothing trade, in laboratories, and in the entertainment industry. PETA works through public education, cruelty investigations, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns.
	Greenpeace focus on the environment as a whole rather than specifically on animal rights. However, they have campaigning specifically to stop whaling, to stop the destruction of Orang-utan habitat through the use of pine oil etc.
	The League Against Cruel Sports is a registered charity that brings together people who care about animals. They work to expose and bring to an end the cruelty inflicted on animals in the name of sport. They raise awareness and campaign for change by lobbying government, politicians and businesses.  Their campaigns include: Bullfighting, Fighting Dogs, Hunting, Greyhound Racing, Shooting, Snaring, Trophy Hunting