This is the second installment in a four-part series that offers a sneak peek inside the new paperback edition of Animalkind: Remarkable Discoveries About Animals and Revolutionary New Ways to Show Them Compassion. You can read part one here, and be sure to check back next week for part three!

Animals aren’t fabric. Animalkind, the latest book from PETA President Ingrid Newkirk and co-author Gene Stone, makes this abundantly clear. Along with dozens of stories from around the world that reveal the rich emotional lives of animals, the book offers invigorating new ideas that everyone can use to help protect them from abuse and exploitation.

For example, consider the story of a cow named Christmas Bonnet. She lived on a farm in southern England along with several other cows and their young offspring. One day, the farm’s owners had to take the mothers and babies across the farm to be counted in a government audit, leaving Christmas Bonnet alone. She made her displeasure about the situation known. It took just one day for her to hatch a plan and navigate her way around hedges, fences, and gates to be reunited with her friends and family.

Geese show similar devotion. In 2016, a series of photographs of goose partners saying goodbye to one another was shared around the world. Like many geese, the pair were lifelong mates. As the female goose was being taken away to slaughter, the couple shared their last kiss and the male cried out in distress. He may have chosen to remain a widower for the rest of his life, as many of the birds will when their mate is killed.

Researchers have even observed crocodiles—although they may not readily come to mind at the mention of animal friends and families—playing tag, giving each other piggyback rides, and engaging in mock fights.

Surely, individuals with capacities for decision-making, commitment, and the desire to enjoy their lives don’t deserve to be reduced to a shoe, a throw pillow, or a wallet—and they don’t have to be. Our ancient ancestors may have covered themselves in animal skins out of a lack of options, but we’ve progressed far, far beyond that time.

Now, we can wear leather made from coconuts, pineapples, fruit waste, wood, cork, or mushrooms. Advanced synthetic insulation technology—including Polartec, Thermogreen, Omni-Heat, PrimaLoft, and Plumtech—is warm enough for every outdoor adventure, and there are look-alikes for every kind of exotic-animal skin. In addition, we can reach dozens of people with an animal rights message every time we go out, just by wearing a shirt emblazoned with a funny, cheeky, or head-turning vegan slogan. There are endless ways in which we can vote to end cruelty with every dollar we spend—and it’s never too late to start.

For more ways to make a difference for animals used for their clothing—and for a wealth of fascinating insights about animals’ empathy, awareness, and intelligence—be sure to check out Animalkind, and keep the good going by sharing it with a friend or neighbor!

Order Animalkind in Paperback Today

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Have you already read Animalkind? Please leave a comment below, letting us know what you think of it. You may be quoted in a future post on PETA Prime!