‘Every animal is someone’: PETA launches free empathy kit to inspire kinder choices

Animal lovers are being encouraged to put themselves in the paws, hooves and wings of other species with a free “empathy kit” designed to help people lead kinder lives.

PETA’s downloadable “Every Animal Is Someone” guide asks readers to consider the world from another individual’s perspective and recognise that animals experience emotions including love, happiness, grief, pain and fear.

The animal rights organisation says empathy is more than simply feeling sorry for somebody. It also means understanding their experiences and allowing that compassion to shape the choices we make.

The two-page kit contains practical exercises intended to help readers look beyond their assumptions and concentrate on the characteristics they share with other people and animals.

One activity suggests listing qualities shared with an individual of a different age, race, religion or species, such as feeling hunger and pain, loving family members and wanting to live free from oppression.

Readers are also encouraged to observe animals in their natural habitats, learn about their hidden lives and watch responsibly filmed nature documentaries.

PETA describes empathy as being like a muscle, which can become stronger when it is exercised regularly.

The organisation says: “We may not see eye to eye with everyone, but we can look into each other’s eyes and understand that we’re all animals and that each one of us deserves respect, kindness and a life free from needless pain and suffering.

“Every animal is someone.”

As well as helping people understand animals’ experiences, the kit suggests a series of everyday actions which PETA believes can turn compassion into meaningful change.

These include choosing vegan meals, buying toiletries and household cleaners which have not been tested on animals and selecting clothes and accessories made without leather, wool, feathers or other animal-derived materials.

People are also encouraged to avoid entertainment which forces animals to perform, volunteer at a human or animal shelter and support charities that do not fund or conduct animal experiments.

The campaign argues that the way people treat animals can often be shaped by whether they regard them as individuals or simply as products, possessions or entertainment.

PETA says animals have distinct personalities, abilities, relationships and preferences, regardless of whether they are dogs sharing our homes, pigs living on farms or chickens being transported to slaughter.

Its campaign invites people to extend the concern they might naturally feel for a beloved cat or dog to animals of every species.

PETA said: “Humans share this planet with millions of other species, and we all have inherent worth.

“When we consider the individuals around us, whether they’re a lonely elderly neighbour or a frightened chicken on a transport lorry heading to slaughter, we can recognise that everyone feels love, grief, joy, pain, fear and hope.”

The group hopes people will not only download the guide for themselves but also share it with friends, relatives, neighbours and colleagues whose choices may affect animals.

It suggests passing it on to someone who eats meat or dairy products, wears clothing made using animals’ bodies or handles their companion animal impatiently.

PETA adds that it is not necessary to see eye to eye with another individual to treat them with consideration.

The guide states: “Empathy doesn’t require us to see eye to eye with everyone. It simply asks us to look into another’s eyes, see the individual and respond with compassion.

“All individuals deserve empathy, not because they have characteristics that we admire in ourselves but because they’re living, feeling beings.”

The free “Every Animal Is Someone” empathy kit can be downloaded from PETA UK’s website, where people can also find further information about cruelty-free shopping, vegan living and other ways to help animals.