For many activists, making changes in your own life is the first step towards helping animals. Each time we buy or boycott a product, we are voting with our wallets. By making these changes, you become part of the solution.
1. Switch to a Vegan Diet.
This is the most direct way in which we can help animals. If we eat fewer animal products, there will be less demand for them, and fewer animals will be bred and slaughtered for human consumption.2. Do Not Purchase Items Made of Fur, Leather, Wool or Silk.
By decreasing the demand for these products, we will cause fewer animals to be bred and/or killed for them. Fur, leather and silk all require the deaths of animals for their production. Even though sheep do not need to be killed in order to obtain their wool, the commercial production of wool sometimes includes cruel practices, and always leads to the killing of individual sheep who are unable to produce enough quality wool or are unable to breed.3. Boycott Companies That Test on Animals, and Buy Only Cruelty-Free Products.
When you’re not sure whether a company tests on animals, contact the company and ask them. It’s important to know before you buy, and this tells them that there is a demand for cruelty-free products. Two of the largest cosmetics companies, Revlon and Avon, stopped testing on animals after pressure from animal activists.4. Make Sure Your Own Cats, Dogs and Rabbits are Spayed and Neutered.
Millions of unwanted cats, dogs and rabbits are put to sleep in shelters all over the US every year. By spaying and neutering your own animals, you’ll make sure that you are not contributing to the problem.5. Adopt From a Shelter or Rescue Group Instead of Buying Animals.
When you buy from a store or a breeder, you are supporting animal breeding. With so many shelters full of lovable, adoptable animals, we should provide homes for the animals who are already here instead of breeding more.6. Boycott Zoos, Circuses and Other Types of Animal Entertainment.
Instead, support genuine animal sanctuaries where the animals have all been rescued and the sanctuary does not breed, buy or sell any of their animals. Support animal-free circuses, like Cirque du Soleil.
