AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW: INGRID NEWKIRK, Author and PETA Founder BACKGROUND: As humanity emerges from the pandemic and returns to offices, in-person attendance at sports events, and evenings out at restaurants, many new questions arise about our relationship with animals. Since Ingrid Newkirk founded PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) in 1980, it has become an unstoppable force and the largest animal rights organization in the world. Her latest book Animalkind explores the richness of animals’ lives, their talents, emotions, and intelligence, and how we humans can act to prevent harming them. The book delves into the many ways our modern world is leaving animal exploitation in the dust, from cutting-edge technology that is replacing experiments on animals to the apple, grape and tea leaf leathers and synthetic fibers that are already shaking up the clothing industry and the arrival of animal-free foods from plant milks to veggie “chicken” nuggets made of soy. On March 2, Ingrid Newkirk will be available to discuss her latest book, share fascinating animal facts, and explore a vision of the future that will allow humans to create a better world—such as choosing new materials over animal hide, fur, and feathers; giving teachers and students dissection models that can be re-used and do not reduce wild frog populations; healthier and environmentally protective vegan foods that remove the need for slaughterhouses and factory farms; and virtual reality experiences that allow close encounters with animals never possible in the circus. DID YOU KNOW THESE FUN ANIMAL FACTS? · While the divorce rate in the U.S. is around 40 to 45 percent, swans, like many birds, are so devoted to their romantic partners that they have a 95 percent rate of staying together for a lifetime. · Oinks, grunts, and squeals aren’t just arbitrary noises made by pigs. More than twenty of these sounds have been identified with specific circumstances, from wooing mates to expressing distress and joy. · Cows communicate with each other using subtle changes in facial expression; rhinos use a breath language; and frogs have learned to combat street noise by using drainpipes to amplify their calls. · Chickens form complex pecking orders in which each bird not only understands her ranking but can recall the faces and ranks of more than one hundred other birds.