19-Year-Old Never Passes Up an Opportunity to Speak Out for Animals
For Immediate Release:
December 6, 2012
Contact:
David Perle 1-202-483-7382
Monterrey, Mexico — The fight for animal rights is at an all-time high, and young people are leading the charge. A perfect example is 19-year-old Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas UANL student Katia Rodriguez, who's in the running for a Libby Award in the category of Street Teamer of the Year from peta2, PETA's youth division. Now in their seventh year, the 2012 Libby Awards ("Libby" for "liberation," as in animal liberation) include 22 categories.
"Katia is a role model when it comes to taking on animal abusers, including multinational corporations that support factory-farm and slaughterhouse atrocities," says PETA Youth Marketing Manager Emily Rodriguez. "All our teen nominees are winners because they're inspiring other young people to take a stand against the abuse of animals, wherever and whenever it occurs."
Katia runs the gamut when it comes to helping animals and raising awareness about their suffering. A vegetarian for four years and a vegan for one, she has interned for peta2, was named a Star Street Teamer, and has served on the peta2 Youth Advisory Board, helping the group with new campaigns and ideas. In her spare time, Katia volunteers at a local animal shelter, helping some of the millions of animals who are abandoned every year, and she organized a drive for food and materials to benefit the shelter. She also regularly sets up outreach events—speaking with hundreds of students about animal rights issues—and organizes protests against bullfighting, the Canadian seal slaughter, and McDonald's (which refuses to stop its suppliers from scalding chickens to death). In addition, she acts as the administrator of a vegetarian group that boasts more than 1,000 members.
Voting ends on December 17. Winners will be chosen by peta2 based on several factors, including vote count, and will be announced on December 19. See the full contest details here.
For more information and to cast your vote, please visit peta2.com.