Hi there! On this blog, I'm just going to go by "Cat", which is a variation of my real name. I am a vegan and a student living in Canada.
How I Became an Animal Rights Activist
I have always loved animals. When I was a child, I thought it would be "cool" to become a vegetarian, and I even asked my parents about it a few times, but I wasn't really committed to the idea, so when my parents were unsure about me becoming a vegetarian, I would usually just forget about it.
One day when I was in grade eight, I saw a bumper sticker that pictured a pig and was labelled, "NO, I don't have any spare ribs!" I looked up the phrase online and saw that the logo belonged to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). I went on one of their websites, http://www.goveg.com/, and learned a bit about vegetarianism and the meat industry. Deciding that I didn't want to eat animals any more, I became a vegetarian. Shortly after that, I became a vegan-- in other words, I cut out dairy, eggs, honey, wool, as well as all other animal products, in order to avoid harming animals. Over time, I also became passionate about the environment, as well.
Even doing these things, I still feel that I have an obligation to be an activist to help the animals. I don't just want to reduce my negative impact-- I want my life and actions to have a positive impact on the world! I want to help make the world a better place.
One of the things that I do to raise awareness about animal rights is this blog, The Animal Rights Action Site. I used to update my old eco-friendly living blog, as well, called Hug A Tree Today, Seriously. You can still go there and look at my eco-friendly living tips, if you'd like!
Also, from 2016 to 2018, I volunteered on the Board of Directors of a local vegan-related organization, and I now volunteer with another vegan organization in Canada.
Looking towards the future, I aim to continue taking actions to make a difference in the world.