How have you fared during the pandemic? While lockdowns and shutdowns brought life to a virtual halt for many people, PETA has been busier than ever working to create a kinder world for all animals.
We quickly adapted to the new normal, holding drive-by demonstrations outside slaughterhouses and in the neighborhoods of experimenters who torment animals in laboratories. Our supporters took over social media with bathtub sit-ins to protest SeaWorld and hung clever signs in their windows urging their neighbors to go vegan. We also led the charge to shut down live-animal markets like the one where the novel coronavirus apparently originated, demanded transparency from dozens of laboratories when animals abused in experiments were suddenly deemed “nonessential,” and even helped Bolivian engineers develop a ventilator without testing it on animals.
Then of course, there are our dedicated fieldworkers who have been on the road every single day during the pandemic, ensuring that scores of dogs and cats in impoverished rural areas of Virginia and North Carolina receive essential veterinary care, shelter, and other necessities that are even more sorely needed during this time of economic instability.
All that PETA achieves for animals is made possible by one thing—the compassion and generosity of our members and supporters.
Most Americans have received their stimulus checks, and if as a result, you’re in a financial position to help animals, we have a friendly request: Give an immediate boost to our vital work by donating what you can today.
Pandemic-related layoffs and closures have made it a tough time financially for many, including some of PETA’s most ardent supporters—but animal suffering doesn’t stop because there’s a crisis. In fact, animals need our help more than ever during times like these.
Thankfully, many of our supporters recognize that. We’ve received stimulus-fund gifts from longtime donors, kind people moved by our recent undercover investigations, and even committed staff members who see what we’re accomplishing for animals firsthand. As one of our supporters explained in a beautiful handwritten note that accompanied his generous donation, “The government sent me $1,200, but I have learned to subsist on what I have. So, please accept this as my utmost appreciation for helping the helpless.”
We know there’s always room in your heart for animals in need, and we hope that during these unpredictable days, there might be a little room in your budget, too. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act has provisions that reward generosity, too: Americans who don’t itemize their taxes are eligible for a $300 charitable deduction in 2020, reducing their gross taxable income by up to $300 per person, after donating to PETA or other charities. For those who itemize their taxes, the threshold for charitable deductions has risen from 60% of adjusted gross income to 100%.
If you’re unable to help financially at this time, please consider sharing this blog post with compassionate friends or family members who appreciate this change in tax law and might consider supporting PETA’s groundbreaking work.
