PETA’s 2016 Person of the Year

Pamela Anderson has made an art out of channelling the media’s interest in her in order to help animals.

From being a role model for vegan eating to speaking out against circuses that use animals and calling for a ban on foie gras, the adored blonde is a tour de force in the animal protection movement.

That’s why PETA has named her its 2016 Person of the Year – a title that has, in previous years, been given to Morrissey, Ricky Gervais and the late Tony Benn.

‘Anderson’s advocacy for animals helps open eyes, hearts and minds. Animals who are in dire need of assistance have a beautiful friend in her, and we are grateful that she takes every opportunity to explain why, as our motto states, ‘Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way’.’

INGRID NEWKIRK
PETA Managing Director

A year of advocacy

Just weeks ago, Anderson hand-delivered a 180,000-strong petition to the High Commission of Mauritius urging the country to implement a spay-and-neuter programme to tackle its stray-dog overpopulation crisis.

In late October, she took to the streets of London with a bevy of animal mascots to encourage everyone to see animals as friends, not food, saying, ‘Eating animals is so yesterday’.

And in early October, she urged prime minister Theresa May to bring forward legislation banning wild-animal circuses, writing, ‘Brexit is complicated, but kissing circus animal acts goodbye is easy as pie’.

And that’s not all: earlier this year, she urged the French Assembly to ban foie gras, asked the Canadian government to help her save seals, offered to cook vegan meals for prisoners in Louisiana, urged women to give up real fur (saying at a news conference in Russia that ‘dressing in real fur is kind of old-fashioned and boring’), and expanded her vegan shoe collection –proving that compassion and fashion go hand in hand.