An Afternoon of Enchantment With Our Supporters to Celebrate PETA Victories
PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk and senior staff recently conjured up a magical fundraising affair at the home of The Magic Circle in London, hosting an alluring afternoon to celebrate PETA victories and the invaluable supporters fuelling our work for animals.
The enchanting event commenced with our Great Escapes video, narrated by the wickedly talented animal advocate Kathy Najimy, who unveiled some of the boldest heists PETA entities have pulled off to liberate animals from the bleakest of situations. As the secrets behind our extraordinary wins for animals were revealed, our guests savoured spellbinding vegan cocktails and canapés.
Speakers captivated the crowd with tales of how PETA entities around the world have bewitched judges in recent courtroom showdowns, mastered the art of disguise in the latest investigations, made thousands of dogs vanish from a hellish breeding warehouse in the US, and even brought a 3.5-metre-tall robotic elephant to life to help spare real elephants in India a life in chains! Ingrid also took guests behind the scenes of more perilous endeavours, sharing gripping accounts and videos of the PETA-supported rescue missions in Ukraine, Turkey, and Syria.
PETA’s senior staff wowed the crowd with tales of our recent victories, which included sparing hundreds of animals agonising tests that had been wrongly mandated by the European Chemicals Agency, persuading Moonpig to banish all cards featuring chimpanzees, and convincing HelloFresh, the UK’s largest meal kit company, to remove all Thai coconut milk products from its supply chain – the only way to ensure it’s not a product of monkey labour. The audience was also treated to PETA’s foray into the “dark arts” when we screened clips of our award-winning Red River Farm short and our heartwarming Toby the Turkey advert.
Attendees indulged in vegan Bellinis, soya caviar with vegan crème fraîche, chargrilled courgette with sundried tomato, vegan ricotta and rocket, and porcini mushroom arancini with black truffle mayo, among other delights. They cleansed their pallets with blueberry cheesecake and sipped on our signature cocktail, named “The Great Escape”. One lucky guest won an eight-course vegan fine dining experience for two at Gauthier Soho and a copy of Ingrid’s illuminating book, Free the Animals!
PETA also paid tribute to a select group of exceptional supporters who played pivotal roles in funding a spay and neuter project in Romania, sponsoring many of the animals who were rescued and retired to partner sanctuaries in India, contributing to the first anti-fur campaign in Russia, supporting our team of scientists in liberating animals from laboratories, and providing the afternoon’s matching funds. We also want to extend a special thanks to our friends at Jamm Print and Production for generously providing event materials free of charge.
The afternoon concluded with inspirational reflections from Ingrid, and each guest left with an exciting gift bag featuring covetable goodies donated by devoted PETA Business Friends, including Booja-Booja, Ethical Bedding, Floral Street, NOMO, Pacifica Beauty, Sweet Freedom, The Wooden Chopping Board Company, and Verdonce, providing a perfect finale to a truly magical day.
