Each Could Take Home a Libby if Deemed the Group's Fiercest Animal Advocates
For Immediate Release:
December 21, 2011
Contact:
Shakira Croce 202-483-7382
Toronto — They've both taken Toronto's animal rights scene by storm, so what's next for Vasant Challapally and Chelsea Dunstall? For starters, they have just been named one of four male and four female finalists, respectively, for Libby Awards for Street Teamer of the Year by peta2, PETA's youth division. The sixth annual Libby Awards ("Libby" is for "liberation") honour animal-friendly people and products. Visitors to peta2.com can vote for their favourites in each category, and peta2 will choose the winners.
"Vasant's and Chelsea's energy and dedication to helping animals have helped them become two of the most active student animal defenders in North America," says peta2 Division Manager Marta Holmberg. "Our impressive finalists prove that the real winners are the animals these students work so hard to protect."
Vasant Challapally attends Victoria Park Collegiate Institute, where he founded the Animal Relief Club. He and his group have urged Burberry to stop selling fur, written to McDonald's to speak out against the chain's cruel chicken-slaughter methods, and stood up for elephants who are beaten with bullhooks in the circus. The 16-year-old has also contacted schools in other countries to encourage them to start their own student groups as part of his growing Animal Relief Network.
Chelsea Dunstall rarely takes a day off from working to help stop animal suffering. She organizes demonstrations, gathers peta2 sign-ups across Canada, spreads the word about animal rights on her Facebook page, and tables with peta2 at Warped Tour. In fact, she held down the fort at four Silverstein shows when peta2's tour crew was unable to be there. And she's not a bit shy when it comes to speaking out against Canada's universally condemned seal slaughter.
Twenty-nine Libby Awards will be given out this year, recognizing everything from the most vegan-friendly restaurant chain to the best cruelty-free cosmetics company to peta2's favourite animal-friendly celebrity.
For more information about all the nominees, please visit peta2.com.
Voting ends on December 23, and the winners will be announced on January 17. They'll be chosen by peta2 based on equal consideration of three factors: the number of votes received, the quality of the animal-friendly product or the nominees' enthusiasm for being animal-friendly, and feedback from the nominees' fans. Each winner will receive a framed certificate and be featured on peta2.com.