Esther the Wonder Pig is peta2’s ‘Best Animal Influencer’
The 13th Annual Libby Awards Honor Big Stars—Human and Nonhuman—Who Push Animal Rights Ahead
For Immediate Release:
December 18, 2018
Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382
Every year, the Libby Awards from peta2, PETA’s youth division, honor the athletes, musicians, actors, YouTubers, and others who’ve pushed animal rights forward—and this year, Ontario’s Esther the Wonder Pig nabbed the inaugural title of Best Animal Influencer in the 13th annual Libby Awards. “Libby” is short for “liberation”—as in “animal liberation.”
When Esther’s guardians, Steve Jenkins and Derek Walter, met her in 2012, they were told that the 4-pound piglet was a “micro-pig.” Six years and 650 pounds later, that’s obviously not the case—but Jenkins and Walter have made her part of the family, and their popular social media accounts and best-selling books reveal how loving, intelligent, and funny pigs like Esther can be. Her story has inspired numerous people to go vegan—including her own guardians, who even opened their own farmed-animal sanctuary to give more animals like her a second chance.
“The world has fallen in love with Esther the Wonder Pig, who’s inspired countless people to start seeing animals as individuals instead of as food,” says peta2 Senior Director Marta Holmberg. “peta2 is recognizing Esther and her guardians for showing the world that no animal deserves to be mutilated and killed to end up on someone’s plate.”
peta2—whose motto is “Animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way”—also awarded Libbys to Olympic gold medalist Alex Morgan (Best Athlete for Animals) and Disney Channel star Dove Cameron (Best Celeb Tweet for Animals), among others. The full list of winners is available here.
For more information, please visit peta2.com.
