Activists with In Defense of Animals joined forces with several other organizations on June 1, 2025, to mark National Animal Rights Day with a powerful show of solidarity. Held on the first weekend in June in over 150 cities worldwide, the day honors animals exploited and killed each year while educating the public about humanity’s abuse of animals, animal-free alternatives, and progress toward ending it. It also unites the animal rights community, offers space for mourning, and inspires activism.

Events often begin with a public reading of the Declaration of Animal Rights, which has been translated into over 20 languages and signed by thousands worldwide, followed by a march and a solemn memorial ceremony. The declaration affirms the dignity, sentience, and inherent rights of all animals to live free from captivity and exploitation, recognizing their capacity to feel pain, experience emotions, form social bonds, and desire freedom. All beings, human and non-human alike, are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Therefore, animal rights simply mean animals should not be used or killed for profit, food products, clothing, testing, labor, sport, entertainment, hunting, or any human purpose. They have the right to food, water, rest, safety, freedom from cruelty and enslavement, and to express natural behaviors, live with their families, and thrive in their natural environments. Their rights must be protected; violations should be treated as crimes.

The San Francisco event featured speeches from Lia Wilbourn and Jack Gescheidt of In Defense of Animals, Dr. Will Tuttle, author of The World Peace Diet, and other animal rights groups and activists. The march for justice and recognition of all animals was reverent yet passionate, resounding with chants such as “Their bodies, not ours,” “Their babies, not ours,” “Their milk, not ours,” and “Animals want to be free, just like us.”

Animal Rights Awareness Week continues to elevate the needs and rights of animals. With a strong will to live and a curious nature, each individual can grieve, empathize, and, when they feel safe, experience joy and play — yet the vast majority face fear, sorrow, and pain daily.

Humans may have dominion over animals, but that dominion must stand for guardianship, not domination. Whether born with or without fur, scales, or feathers, walking on four legs or two, every species and sentient being deserves the right to live freely, safe from harm, suffering, and killing by humans.

Let us carry their voices forward to inspire empathy and animal liberation. 

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