PETA Global 2020 Issue 1

T he first time I decided to take it all off for animals, I was nervous. But I reminded myself that provocative protests are all in a day’s work at PETA. Since then, I’ve been part of “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” demos around the world – from Beijing (where, in a slight overreaction, the government deported me!) to the White House. I’ve worn a lettuce leaf bikini in Kazakhstan to encourage people to go vegan and joined PETA’s Running of the Nudes, a protest against Pamplona’s infamous Running of the Bulls. Today, I’m a corporate negotiator for animals, but I know that gawk-worthy stunts rocket animal issues into the headlines. Whenever photos of PETA activists going naked – or at least appearing to – make the news, people think and talk about the fact that producing clothing with fur, feathers, wool, and skin involves hurting living, feeling beings.

From Rat Feet to Corporate Meetings I started at PETA as an intern in the ’90s, and at one memorable early demonstration, I was fully dressed – as a rat. We were protesting Gillette’s product tests on animals, a campaign we won, and I was arrested. Later that day, I had to appear in court, but I hadn’t been wearing any shoes inside the costume. So I stood before the judge in street clothes and giant rat feet. No one could stop laughing – including the judge. I was released, and the charges were dropped. I continued to volunteer, using my time off to travel for PETA. In New York, I joined an anti-fur sit-in at Ivana Trump’s office – resulting in my first ride in a NYPD squad car. In Milan and Paris, I was forcibly ejected frommultiple fashions shows – including Burberry and Jean Paul Gaultier (both now fur-free). Again, sympathetic judges released me without a fine. Since then, I’ve had more civil interactions with companies, from The Kooples to Victoria Beckham, all resulting in positive changes for animals, but it usually took something like a jaw-dropping protest to get them to the table. A Handcuffed Cow Got Us to Now Making one leather vehicle interior can require killing up to eight cows, so at a motor show in Birmingham, I

once handcuffed myself to a car while dressed as a cow. The show’s organizers couldn’t cut the handcuffs off, so they had to let me stay put as I told everyone that leather causes cows to suffer! Now, look at how far we’ve come: From Nissan to Ferrari to Tesla, carmakers are using vegan leather upholstery, and more than 1,000 companies worldwide use the “PETA-Approved Vegan” logo, which I’m proud to say I helped design and implement. I protested “mulesing” – a gruesome mutilation in which large swaths of skin and flesh are cut from lambs’ rumps before they even get to the shearing sheds, where they’re violently shorn for their wool, as demonstrated by PETA’s exposés. That campaign got the attention of Patagonia, among other companies, and played a part in getting vegan wool into many stores.

Celebrity, and I accompanied Joan Jett as she hand delivered a letter about seal skins to the Norwegian minister of foreign affairs. (EU countries have since banned seal skin imports.) I’ll leave you with a story about one of my favorite celebs, the late Sir Roger Moore, who worked with me to push Selfridges department store to stop selling foie gras and who helped PETA decry animal circuses and hunting. Once, we were filming on the grounds of a fancy hotel in Monaco that had lemon trees. I’d never actually seen lemons on trees before (it’s not warm enough for them in my native Scotland), and Sir Roger encouraged me to “steal” one. To help, he jumped up and down in front of a security camera to create a diversion while I did just that! R.I.P., you lovely man.

Take Action Now Start speaking up for animals today. Visit PETA.org/GetActive to find out how.

When James Bond Gives You Lemons … I’ve also had the honor of working with many

Fur demo photo: © Pierre Suu / Contributor • Torn paper border: © iStock.com/yasinguneysu • Polaroid: © iStock.com/blackred • Picture frame/border: © iStock.com/kyoshino

kindhearted celebrities on a variety of PETA campaigns, including Kate Winslet, who narrated an exposé about foie gras, and Simon Cowell, who recorded a PSA about the dangers of leaving dogs in hot cars. Russell Brand was a hoot when I visited him live on his radio show to tell him he’d been crowned PETA’s Sexiest Vegetarian

My Journey From PETA Demonstrator to Negotiator

By Yvonne Taylor, Director Corporate Projects for PETA UK

Global

PETA’S 2020 VISION: NEVER BE SILENT

16 SCOTTISH WILES

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