Multi-part Series of Courage and Compassion on the Street, Part 11: Taking a Stand: The 9th World Day for the End of Speciesism

The Ninth World Day for the End of Speciesism (WoDES) occurred on August 26, 2023, with many animal-people rights groups from more than 24 countries around the world hosted events to highlight speciesism and bring attention to the unacceptable act of raising and slaughtering animal-individuals for food, clothing, laboratory testing, and entertainment.

WoDES Demand: A new legal status – Abolition of animal property institution

In 2020, Supreme Master Ching Hai (vegan) broadcast an urgent message to all world leaders and governments, encouraging them to enact a vegan law in order to protect our innocent animal friends. “We cannot continue massacring other beings or humans. You have the power to stop all this. […] And ANIMAL LAWS IS THE BEST. ANIMAL PROTECTION LAW, meaning VEGAN LAW, no more causing any harm, any pain, any fear to animals.”

WoDES Demand: Spreading kindness to animals through education – Prevention of speciesism

“I teach vegan cooking classes to elementary, middle school, and adult students as an action to end speciesism. Seeing the children find love for themselves was very moving to me.”

WoDES Demand: A non-violent dietary culture – The end of fishing and the closure of slaughterhouses

“Just like humans, animals feel pain, animals are suffering tremendously at our hands. Millions of animals each day are killed completely unnecessarily through the food industry, the clothing industry, through testing for products – it’s all completely unnecessary. The easiest thing we can do is go vegan. It’s better for our health, it saves billions upon billions of animal lives each year, and it’s a lot of fun. You get to try new foods, you get to meet new friends and you get to come out here with really energetic, loving people that are all supporting the cause as well.”

WoDES Demand: Ethical research – Animals are not scientific equipment

A protester who is also a medical student from Boston, Massachusetts, USA, reflected on this. “I hope there will become a day where you know we treat other animals with respect, where we do not kill them, where we live together with them in the way that we try to live with other human beings now.”