This Animal Rights Awareness Week, it’s worth remembering: You wouldn’t rub bleach into a bunny’s eyes, but it happens. Just like you wouldn’t cram a pig into a cage so small she can’t turn around, or smuggle a terrified baby monkey in a plastic bottle to sell as a pet. And yet, across labs, farms, and illegal markets, animals endure these horrors daily all for softer skin, cheaper meat, or as status symbols.
Held during the third week of June each year, Animal Rights Awareness Week is a call to action. Launched in 1991 by the activist group In Defense of Animals, the initiative highlights the cruel treatment of animals and draws from ancient philosophies like ahimsa – the principle of non-violence toward all living beings – and channels that into modern-day animal advocacy. It serves as a reminder that behind lipstick shades and burgers, there’s a life that didn’t need to be harmed.
The modern animal rights movement traces its roots to 19th-century protection societies that campaigned for more humane treatment. By the late 20th century, the conversation had evolved: beyond welfare to rights, the belief that animals are not ours to use.
Yet today, over 100 million animals are used in laboratory testing every year, while countless more are exploited behind the scenes in the entertainment and fashion industries, with over 100 million animals killed for fur alone.
Factory farming remains one of the most systemic forms of cruelty: pigs confined to crates, chickens denied sunlight, calves separated from their mothers within hours of birth. All part of the 80 billion land animals farmed for food each year.
But individuals can make a difference just by changing a few daily actions. Here’s how you can begin to shift the narrative.
Harmful Industries
Beauty: Choose cruelty-free brands and check the label. Look for trusted certifications such as the Leaping Bunny or PETA’s cruelty-free logo, which guarantee the product and its ingredients haven’t been tested on animals. With so many ethical beauty brands now on the market, switching to cruelty-free has never been easier.
Fashion: Say no to fur, exotic skins, angora, and down, all of which cause immense suffering to animals. Instead, embrace innovative materials like vegan leather, plant-based fabrics, and cruelty-free alternatives that look good and do no harm.
Entertainment: Avoid experiences that exploit animals for human entertainment from elephant rides and bathing – which often involve cruel training and stressful conditions – to marine parks, where dolphins and whales are kept in small, unnatural enclosures. Instead, support ethical wildlife sanctuaries and observe animals in the wild, where they belong.
Food: One powerful way to mark Animal Rights Awareness Week is to try going vegan, even just for a week. Doing so not only spares animals from suffering, but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions and supports a more sustainable food system. Studies show that plant-based diets can cut emissions by up to 73 per cent compared to meat-heavy ones. More importantly, it’s an act of compassion. By choosing oat milk over dairy, or lentils over lamb, you send a message: farmed animals have rights, too.
Pets: Millions of cats, dogs, and other animals are waiting in shelters for a second chance. By adopting from your local shelter or rescue group, you’re giving an animal a loving home and helping reduce the demand for unethical breeding.
How to Take Action This Week
There are playful, powerful ways to participate in Animal Rights Awareness Week with no megaphone required:
Raid your bathroom cabinet: Swap any animal-tested products for cruelty-free alternatives.
Host a vegan dinner: Show your friends that going meat-free doesn’t mean sacrificing flavour. Think jackfruit tacos, beet burgers, or coconut-based ice cream.
Learn and share: Watch a documentary like Dominion, The Ghosts in Our Machine, or Seaspiracy. Share what you learn online.
Get creative: Turn your skills into a mini fundraiser. Sell art, bake vegan treats, or teach a yoga class and donate the proceeds to an animal charity.
Foster or volunteer: Support your local animal shelter with your time, money, or home.
Change doesn’t always come from courtrooms or campaigns, it comes from everyday people choosing differently. Buying cruelty-free mascara. Skipping the leather boots. Leaving meat off the plate. For Animal Rights Awareness Week, take one of those steps. Then take another.
