Ivy Pepin
Animal rights activists share a common vision: a world where animals receive the love, compassion, and respect they deserve.
“Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.”
These words were spoken by one of the most celebrated animal activists in the world, Dr. Jane Goodall. And her words don't just apply to humans! Because every individual animal matters, too—and by advocating for them, we can make a difference in their lives.
Whether we advocate for wildlife, animals exploited for lab experimentation, or animals raised for food, animal activists share a common vision for the future: a world without animal abuse.
Activism doesn’t have to be a protest, a speech, or a letter to the editor. There are many small ways that we can show our love for animals, every day. Read on to learn about some of the most inspiring activists who are championing the fight for animal rights.
What is an animal rights activist?
Tragically, there are many forms of systemic animal abuse happening today. Wildlife habitats are being razed for crops and development, animals are exploited and killed for their fur, and animals are confined in laboratories for product and pharmaceutical testing. And one of the worst forms of systemic animal abuse is factory farming. Behind closed doors, atrocities unfold every day as chickens, pigs, cows, and other animals are raised and slaughtered for food.
But together, we can fight this cruelty through animal activism. An animal rights activist is someone who takes action, in any capacity, to end the suffering of non-human animals. This might be through radical tactics, like organizing protests or sit-ins, or by working with city officials and government to pass laws that protect animals. All these tactics are important, driving critical progress for the movement as a whole.
Animal rights activists may pursue animal protection as a career, or they may volunteer in their spare time. If you’re committed to ending animal suffering, and you’re taking action to create a more compassionate world—whether by donating to animal protection organizations, adopting a plant-based diet, or just talking about the issues to your family or friends—you are an animal rights activist!
Who is the leader of animal rights?
Peter Singer
Animal rights doesn’t have just one leader—it has champions hailing from every realm, from religion to philosophy to environmentalism. The practice of advocating for animals has a long, storied tradition in countless cultures, geographic regions, and time periods.
However, in conversations about the modern-day animal rights movement in the West, you’ll often hear the name Peter Singer mentioned. This is because Singer was one of the first philosophers to lay out a moral argument against speciesism, or discrimination based on species, and is credited with popularizing the animal rights movement as we know it today.
Singer published the book Animal Liberation in 1975, a text that is now referenced all the time in literature about veganism and animal rights. The book is considered essential reading for animal rights activists. Singer builds a powerful argument for animal liberation, drawing inspiration from other movements including civil rights, feminism, and more.
Who is the biggest animal activist?
Dr. Jane Goodall
One of the most well-known and celebrated animal activists is the one and only Jane Goodall. Now considered the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees, she shook up the scientific community when she became the first to argue that chimpanzees have emotions and personalities. While studying wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, she challenged conventional ideas and brought an ethical lens to her work—choosing to name chimpanzees rather than using the widely accepted numbering system. For her entire life, Goodall has advocated for wildlife conservation and helped people think differently—not only about chimpanzees, but about all the animals who share our planet.
Celebrity animal activists
Joaquin Phoenix
When he’s not making Academy Award-winning films, vegan actor Joaquin Phoenix is speaking out on behalf of animals in our food system. At the 2020 Oscars, he gave an impassioned speech while accepting his award for Best Actor in the film The Joker. “This form of expression has given me the most extraordinary life,” he said. “I don’t know where I’d be without it. But I think the greatest gift that it has given me, and many of us in this room, is the opportunity to use our voice for the voiceless.” Along with campaigning for animal rights groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Phoenix has produced several documentaries about animal rights and narrated two impactful films: the 2005 film Earthlings and the 2019 film Dominion. Phoenix’s high-profile advocacy has made him one of Hollywood’s most influential animal advocates.
Paul and Linda McCartney
Did you know that one of the most famous musicians of all time is also an animal activist? Paul McCartney went vegetarian in 1975, along with his wife Linda McCartney. The couple continued their animal advocacy throughout their lives. Not only do many of McCartney’s song lyrics promote animal rights, but he’s also appeared in numerous campaigns for PETA, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), and the World Society for the Protection of Animals.
Colin Kaepernick
Football quarterback Colin Kaepernick is a hero for justice in all its forms. After the murder of George Floyd, Kaepernick inspired a worldwide gesture of solidarity by taking a knee during the American national anthem in protest of racism and police brutality. And that’s not the only way he’s fighting for justice. Kaepernick has been vegan since 2016—and lucky for us, Kaepernick has his own flavor of vegan Ben & Jerry’s ice cream: Change the Whirled™. The ice cream sends a portion of the proceeds to Know Your Rights Camp, a campaign to advance the wellbeing and liberation of Black and Brown communities.
Betty White
Not only was beloved actress and comedian Betty White a pioneer of early television—she was also an early champion for animal rights. The late activist was heavily involved in supporting numerous animal-related nonprofits, from the Morris Animal Foundation to American Humane. Much of her advocacy was low-profile; in 2005, it was discovered that she had donated $70,000 to rescue otters and penguins from an aquarium in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina put their lives in danger. "I stayed in show business to pay for my animal business," she once joked. White’s legacy continues through the #BettyWhiteChallenge, a viral challenge urging people to support animal welfare organizations on her birthday, January 17th.
Alec Baldwin
From his vegan diet to his advocacy, Alec Baldwin is a champion for animals in so many ways. He’s pushed for an end to bear pits, a cruel form of confinement for bears housed in zoos. He’s worked with PETA to raise awareness about the animal cruelty and exploitation happening in the circus business. And above all, Baldwin is a fierce opponent to the systemic animal cruelty happening on factory farms. In an op-ed for CNN, he wrote: “We can feed the world with the land we have. While our current food systems are causing great harm to the planet, as well as our health, it does not have to be this way. There is a better path, and it starts with our diets.”
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi
Ellen and Portia are truly a power couple—especially when it comes to protecting animals. They’ve used their platform to raise awareness about animal rights issues many times, and even helped pass California’s Proposition 2, or the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act. In fact, for Ellen’s 60th birthday, Portia gave her a truly special gift—a fund in her name at the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, a conservation fund to protect some of the most amazing and threatened animals in the world. The Humane Society of the United States awarded the couple with one of the organization’s most prestigious awards for animal activists, the Wyler Award.
Lizzo
Closing out the list of celebrity animal activists is none other than… Lizzo! After going vegan in 2020, she’s already encouraged a meat-centric restaurant to add a vegan menu and donated her hit song, “Good as Hell,” to appear in a video for PETA. The singer is truly a champion for animal rights, self-love, and really good music.
Famous female animal activists
Genesis Butler
Genesis Butler is a prominent animal rights activist, vegan, and leader of the Youth Climate Save movement—all at just 15 years old. As one of the youngest people ever to give a TEDx Talk, she’s become one of the most powerful voices of her generation, raising awareness about the impact of animal agriculture on climate change. And as if that wasn’t cool enough, Genesis is even featured as the hero in a Marvel comic. Learn more about her nonprofit, Genesis for Animals, on her website.
Melanie Joy
Melanie Joy is a Harvard-educated psychologist, author, and internationally recognized animal rights advocate. She coined the term “carnism,” referring to the complex belief system that conditions people to eat chickens, cows, and pigs—even though they’d never dream of eating cats or dogs. Joy brings a psychological lens to her work and writing, focusing on the power of effective communication to transform the lives of animals. She’s also founding president of Beyond Carnism, an international organization seeking to empower animal advocates through training and education.
Priya Sawhney
One of the co-founders of Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), Priya Sawhney has shown time and again that she’s willing to put everything on the line in pursuit of justice. Born in Punjab, India, Sawhney faced discrimination in school following 9/11. The experience made her realize that most people stay quiet in the face of injustice—and she became determined to speak up. Sawhney has led many high-profile protests on behalf of animal rights, even making international headlines after being arrested for confronting the world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, onstage in Las Vegas.
Jo-Anne McArthur
Award-winning photographer Jo-Anne McArthur has made it her life’s mission to make the invisible visible. Her multi-year project, We Animals, documents the full spectrum of human interactions with animals—from loving relationships with companion animals, to the horrific truths of factory farming. (She now provides free stock photography for animal advocates through We Animals Media.) McArthur’s wrenching investigative portraits expose the stark realities of animal exploitation, offering a window into worlds that have always been hidden behind closed doors. Her work will undoubtedly influence hearts and minds for decades to come.
Famous animal activists in history
Frances Power Cobbe
A pioneering feminist and animal rights activist, Irish journalist Frances Power Cobbe was no stranger to using her voice for good. She wrote about animal rights issues in London newspapers—also championing women’s suffrage, property rights, and freedom from domestic violence—at a time when women were encouraged to stay silent. Cobbe was especially outspoken about vivisection, the practice of experimenting on animals. “Every system of law is a system of education,” she said, “and in extending legal sanction to the scientific torture of animals, the State educates the nation in a false view of the relations of man to the lower creatures, encourages selfishness and cruelty and the disregard of the rights of the weak by the strong.“ In 1875, Cobbe founded the Society for the Protection of Animals Liable to Vivisection (SPALV), and also founded the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) in 1989. Both groups are still active today.
Harriet Hemenway
In the late 1800s, feathered hats came into fashion—resulting in the slaughter of between 5 and 15 million American birds every year. The style became so popular that over 60 species of birds around the world became threatened with extinction. This was until Harriet Hemenway, a Boston socialite and birdwatcher, learned about the issue. Hemenway organized a series of ladies’ tea parties to discuss the issue, and crafted a strategic plan to persuade a group of the city’s high-profile women to boycott feathered hats. They targeted established bird experts to join their cause, ultimately resulting in the formation of the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
Henry Bergh
It was 1863, and New York diplomat Henry Bergh was visiting Russia when he saw a carriage driver beating an exhausted horse who had collapsed. Horrified, Bergh rushed over to stop the driver. He was so disturbed by the incident that he went on to found the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) just a few years later. At a time when animals were regularly exploited for dogfighting, pulling overloaded carts, and other abuses, Bergh promoted the belief that animals deserve compassionate, respectful treatment—and should be protected under the law. The ASPCA is now one of the most prominent animal protection organizations in the US.
Feeling inspired by these activists’ stories? You can take action for animals right here, right now! Our Fast Action Network is jam-packed with effective actions—like calling companies, sending emails, and more—that you can complete in a couple minutes or less. Together, as activists, we have the power to create the compassionate world that every animal deserves.
