Speaking of Animals Outreach boosts animal rights through individual connections

Connecting with animals one-on-one sparks empathy and action

By: Lauren Threlkeld

Kate and Tiny Tim. Photo provided by Kate Myers

In the realm of animal welfare and animal rights advocacy, Kate Myers stands out as a dedicated force for change. With a career spanning five decades, Myers has been at the frontlines directly tackling some of the most prominent animal rights issues, from puppy mills to industrial farming. At the heart of her efforts is her organization, Speaking of Animals Outreach. I had the pleasure of interviewing her and learning more about her work.

A lifelong animal lover, Myers was 23 years old and living in Eugene, Oregon at the time when she stumbled upon three tiny puppies abandoned in a box. She shared, “in the process of finding out what I could do to help them, I realized that 18 million animals a year at that time were being euthanized in shelters I didn’t know about… I didn’t know it [and] a lot of other people didn’t know it, too.” 

Myers had hoped that major national organizations like the ASPCA, American Humane Association, or The Humane Society of the U.S. would initiate comprehensive campaigns on companion animal issues such as overpopulation, spaying/neutering, and pet identification. In the absence of these projects, she took it upon herself to raise awareness. Equipped with a degree in advertising and public relations, Myers joined a local animal shelter and began a “Pets of the Week” section in her local newspaper, in addition to talking on radio shows and writing for various media outlets including here at YS. Her conviction that public education on animal welfare could enact lasting and meaningful change in the way human beings regard fellow animal species culminated in the launch of Speaking of Animals Outreach.

Speaking of Animals, a relatively new organization, offers an innovative approach in the animal welfare field. While many groups draw on heart-wrenching statistics and a heavy use of pathos, Myers has observed these can detract from the individuality of the animals affected and deter collective action in addressing the root causes of these issues. Myers told YS, “I decided I was going to start an organization that tells animal stories. And the sanctuaries seemed a perfect place to go to because every animal in a sanctuary has a history with a human.” 

Sanctuaries, whether for livestock or wildlife, offer animals a “second chance”, providing refuge and comfort following experiences that require them to be in captivity for their safety and well-being but where they are learning to trust human beings. Myers said, “Animals are much more forgiving than humans…[They] can be rehabilitated and can learn to live and love people again.” These sanctuaries, often on the frontlines of animal care, benefit from the work of Speaking of Animals Outreach, whose stories involve films about misunderstood or maligned animal species, and offer powerful tools of education and awareness.

Myers explained how myths and misconceptions affecting certain animal species can vary, ranging from the cognitive dissonance of animals in agriculture viewed for consumption to animals perceived as pests, vermin, or threats to livestock. She told me about her experience with bats, a sorely misunderstood species, at Bat World Sanctuary. “I got to see millions of these little tiny bats. Some of them stood on my shoulder…but they were so gentle, their little tiny hands. I mean, they were just such wonderful creatures. And they do so much good for humans, that’s a lot of what I’m trying to do, is do films about maligned species like wolves and bats.” 

Myers drew on an example of gray wolves and how long-standing misconceptions about their role continue to harm them today. “Since they [wolves] aren’t protected in Wyoming, [people in Wyoming] are luring them across the border with sounds of an injured elk or deer. And they shoot them. People have such a bad impression about wolves. They don’t go around killing millions of cows and sheep…And I mean they’re just very beneficial to the environment and they take the other animals that either would not survive or would survive to breed and reduce the viability of the offspring.” Whether on bats or wolves, Myers emphasizes the vitality of understanding these species beyond their stereotypes. Through their films, Myers and her team at Speaking of Animals Outreach aim to change public perception through education on the essential roles these species all play in environmental health and ecological balance.

Myers’ advocacy has also extended to Capitol Hill. She shared with YS some of the challenges experienced in passing legislation to regulate puppy mills, citing the obstacles of its billion-dollar industry and surprising influences like the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Yet her grassroots activism and unwavering determination has led to many victories. “We passed an anti-cruelty bill, a really strong one in Washington state when I was there. I was lucky enough to work for Adam Smith, who is now a U.S. senator…Everything that has to do with animals goes to the Agricultural Committee…So I worked on this campaign, so I got to know him…I gave him all the information about a cycle of violence, and how violence against animals leads to violence against children and women. And he read it over the summer. He actually read it…And he said…[this] really should be in law. And justice is about law. And we passed it.”

In addition to Speaking of Animals Outreach, Myers has been working on a book called Places of Hope, which expands on a previous YS article she wrote covering the work of animal sanctuaries. In conjunction with filming, Myers is writing a chapter for each sanctuary and further detailing the stories of the individual animals featured.

Myers believes lasting and meaningful change in animal welfare efforts are best enacted when driven by genuine personal desire. She discussed a recent film she and her team did at Speaking of Animals on two pigs, Arnie and Frankie, who arrived by themselves as young piglets at Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary in Erie, Colorado, after escaping a neighboring farm from slaughter. Myers stated, “we can individualize the situations with individual animals. Those things I think can be much more effective with people than lecturing at them or telling them what they should do or giving them horror stories and showing them horrible pictures. I don’t think that reaches people.” Myers is also a strong believer in meeting people where they are, and that no step forward is too small to lack significance: “I believe everybody’s on a continuum…All I’m saying to people is just think about it…And, you know, if you did decide to do a little something about it, that would be wonderful. But at least you know now…our motto is: know better, do better.”

Little changes can go a long way. Maybe this can look like adopting a companion animal at The Humane Society of Boulder Valley rather than purchasing from a pet store, or skipping the zoo to visit The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado, for a chance to see bears, tigers, lions, and wolves thriving in sprawling environments closely replicating their natural habitats. No matter how incremental these individual actions may seem, collectively, there is incredible potential. Myers noted that every story filmed at Speaking of Animals Outreach has a happy ending–a testimony of how even the smallest acts can bring significant avenues of positive and meaningful change in animal welfare. And is there anything better than happy animals? We’d be hard-pressed to think otherwise!