From Something New ("The Cove") to Something Blue ("I Am an Animal") and Lots in Between, Group's Wedding Gift Will Warm the Heart, Open the Eyes, and Make for Great Conversation
For Immediate Release:
April 27, 2011
Contact:
Kristin Richards 202-483-7382
Norfolk, Va. -- In honor of the groom's late and beloved mother—a compassionate woman who refused to wear fur and did not believe in hunting for "sport"—PETA is presenting the Royal couple with a collection of movies and a book on an array of hot-button animal rights issues. From something new (The Cove) to something blue (I Am an Animal and Glass Walls), PETA hopes that its gift will help the couple start married life on a compassionate note.
"Many Britons look to the Royals to set an example, and of all the qualities to emulate, none is more important than compassion," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "We hope that William and Kate will use their positions to speak up for the most oppressed citizens of the realm—and that certainly includes animals."
Princess Diana once said, "Anywhere I see suffering, that is where I want to be, doing what I can." After her death, PETA planted a rose bush in the garden of its Virginia headquarters in her honor.
For more information, please visit PETA.org or click here.
PETA's letter to Prince William and Kate Middleton follows.
Your Royal Highness and Ms. Middleton:
I am writing on behalf of PETA and our more than 2 million members and supporters worldwide with our very best wishes for your future happiness. As a wedding gift, we are sending you "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue." We hope that the enclosed movies and book entertain you and inspire you to extend to all beings the same kindness that you give to one another.
For "something old," we chose three classics that perhaps you watched as children and that you might someday share with your own children. 101 Dalmatians reminds us how ugly it is to kill animals for their fur (and also perhaps how important it is to desex our dogs!), Bambi shows how hunting destroys animal families, and Black Beauty reminds us that animals are all thinking, feeling beings.
For "something new," we've enclosed a recent film: The Cove, a documentary that exposes the cruel dolphin slaughter industry in Japan.
I'm also enclosing a signed first-edition copy of Peter Singer's Animal Liberation from PETA's library collection for you to "borrow" for as long as you like.
Finally, I've included two films that might make you "blue," but that have touched the hearts of countless viewers. Narrated by Sir Paul McCartney, Glass Walls expands on the former Beatle's famous saying: "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian." The documentary I Am an Animal: The Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA offers an intimate look at what motivates animal protection advocates to work to make the world a kinder place.
We hope that you will find these films and the book engaging, inspiring, and even challenging—much as marriage can be. We hope that you enjoy a long, happy, and compassionate life together.
Your obedient servant,
Ingrid E. Newkirk
President