Women and Animals.
Many women seem to ‘get’ animals in a deep way – seeing their innate sensitivity and resilience – and understanding their vulnerability, too. Of course, many men ‘get’ animals as well. Yet when we look at the vast numbers of animal protection organizations, animal rescue groups, and animal sanctuaries, it’s clear that women are a potent force in the movement to change the world for animals.
And why not? Let’s face it. We’re good at it!
We women are good at supporting ourselves and our sisters. We are good at pressing for change. We are good at demanding better, for ourselves and for those we advocate for. We are good at all of these things because we’ve had to be.
Pushing for change is what we do. Even now, we see hard-fought gains being eroded even in nations like our southern neighbour, where the fight for women’s rights once flourished. Even when it looks like we are losing ground, we keep pushing. For ourselves. For our sisters. And for animals, too.
Women have always been advocates and activists. We’ve always done the work. And we always will.
A Dedicated Volunteer.
Compassionate, intelligent women are well represented in our organizations. Animal Alliance of Canada (AAC) volunteer, Verena Besso is one such woman.
A retired registered nurse, Verena is skilled at interpreting documents and scientific data. This skill was put to good use when Verena co-wrote our investigative report about the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) titled “Between the Idea and the Reality: A Critical Review of the Canadian Council on Animal Care”. She helps with office duties, including caring for Isaac, our beloved office cat. Verena also feeds and cares for feral cats in some of the managed cat colonies in Toronto.
Verena embraced a fully vegan lifestyle early in life, in part as a reaction to seeing transport trucks carrying animals to slaughter. She went on to learn about the many other ways animals are exploited and abused. Her advocacy for animals became the foremost mission of her life, as it is today. “Once you know, you cannot un-know” states Verena, explaining how her increased knowledge of what animals are made to endure has sharpened her commitment to animal advocacy.
“I fully embrace what I call ‘lifestyle activism’, Verena explains. “By that I mean that my vegan lifestyle is itself a potent form of activism. By not consuming or using animal products, and by not supporting activities that exploit animals, my lifestyle itself saves the lives of animals and reduces suffering.”
“I believe that ‘lifestyle activism’ is powerful and should be fully respected as a contribution to the animal protection movement. I choose to engage in other actions, but some people I’ve known have said they don’t feel they do enough for animals because they are not comfortable with political action. I want them to know that when they choose to live according to values of kindness and compassion for animals by not eating them, this is itself a form of activism. I respect those choices and see more people living in this way than ever before. And this gives me hope.”
A Baton is Passed. A New Leader Steps Forward.
Another hard-working woman who has contributed her considerable skills to our organizations is Lia Laskaris.
Lia started at Animal Alliance of Canada more than 25 years ago as a volunteer. Like other staff, Lia was so motivated to work for animals full time that she left a well-paying job to join the AAC team for a reduced income. Lia worked hard in all aspects of administration, advocacy, outreach, and donor relations and soon became an essential member of the team. No matter what was needed, working on weekends or staying late on weekdays, Lia did the work. With her help, our organizations grew and achieved a lot of wins for animals.
Explaining why it was so important to her to work full time in animal advocacy, Lia says:
“From a young age, I was acutely aware of my mortality and that our time on Earth is limited. If I wanted to make a difference for this planet, for our home, I had to get moving. I have only so many years and I have to make them count, in service to the animals.”
“My core value is that animals should not be exploited, and that it is my duty to protect them as much as I am able to,” says Lia. “When I saw how AAC advocates for animals, by exposing the ways that laws are intentionally designed to make it legal for humans to profit from their exploitation, I realized that the best way to protect them was to do all we can to change those laws. I’ve learned so much from AAC’s co-founder, Liz White, and the AAC board members who had decades of experience in advocacy and developed my own skills and knowledge.”
Lia also played an important role in the development of the Animal Protection Party of Canada (APPC) as the party’s treasurer. Today, Lia is the Chief Agent of the APPC, a critical role.
In 2024, after more than two decades of advocacy and effort, Lia took on a considerable challenge, one that she was more than ready for. When our co-founder and long-time director, Liz White needed to step back due to health concerns, Lia had the institutional knowledge, skill set, and experience to take over as the CEO of the AAC. Lia demonstrates every day that she was made for this work. She leads our organizations with competence and intelligence, and a commitment to animals that never wavers.
We’ve been privileged through the years to have strong women to lead us like Liz White and Lia Laskaris. The passing of the baton to new leaders is an essential step for long-serving organizations like ours, and with Lia at the helm, we continue to have a bright future, building on the solid base previously established. It’s all for the animals.
We are grateful that Lia Laskaris and Verena Besso have chosen our organizations as vehicles for their considerable advocacy. Both bring hard work, extensive knowledge and decades of acquired wisdom to our team. We are so much stronger with them by our side.
Honour Women Who Care About Animals With a Gift.
Do you know a woman who inspires you? Someone who has her own special story to tell, her own way of changing the world for animals?
Whether it’s someone who shows her love for animals through her ‘lifestyle activism’ by not using or consuming animals, or a woman who engages in other forms of advocacy, you can honour them by donating in their name.
Your gift will empower us to keep working toward better laws to protect animals and ending their exploitation. We will let them know that you have shown your love for them, and for animals by sending them a note of gratitude.
Thank You.
To all of our many sisters, women who have done the work, built the movements, both for women’s rights and animal rights, and those who take up the torch today, thank you.
Sincerely,
Vicki Van Linden
Board Member
Animal Alliance of Canada
