April is Prevent Cruelty to Animals month! While we work towards preventing cruelty to animals every day, we thought this was a perfect time to refresh on 5 compassionate choices you can make in your daily life.
- Leave animals off your plate! Every year, billions of animals are killed for meat, dairy, and eggs. Most animals in the animal agriculture industry suffer tremendously and are killed unnecessarily. For weekly vegan recipes, sign up for our email series Sanctuary Sweets.
- Don’t support animal entertainment industries (zoos, circuses, rodeos, horse/dog racing). Though on the surface animal entertainment may seem like fun, it is no fun for the animals. They are poked, prodded, shocked, and manipulated for human entertainment. Instead, visit your local sanctuary, or shelter, and interact with animals in a compassionate way.
- Buy less cruel cosmetics and cleaning products. The easiest way to verify if a product is not tested on animals is to look for a symbol that indicates this. Read more here about legitimate symbols for “vegan” and “cruelty free”, and what they mean.
- Choose animal-free clothing, bags, and shoes. Some clothing items, are made of animal skin/fur such as leather or suede. These industries require animals to die, simply for a piece of clothing. Seek-out animal friendly alternatives, with this Vegan Clothing Shopping Guide.
- Use your voice! Whether online, or with friends and family, share your knowledge with others and have open discussions. Communicate in a way that feels authentic and encourage the people around you to make compassionate choices. Sharing delicious vegan food in the process doesn’t hurt either.
– Claire Couron, social media coordinator
