Orlando Couple Receives PETA Award for Defending Animals at Every Turn

No Task to Stop Suffering Is Too Big for Husband-and-Wife Team

For Immediate Release:
November 20, 2013

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

If you see people handing out leaflets urging shoppers always to adopt a cat or dog from an animal shelter and never to patronize pet stores or breeders, you can bet that Bryan and Carla Wilson are among them. And when Ringling Bros. or another cruel circus comes to town and you see people tearing up their tickets and leaving the venue, chances are that the Wilsons just explained to them how elephants are beaten with steel-tipped bullhooks and tigers are stored in tiny cages and whipped into performing unnatural tricks. Seizing every possible opportunity to speak up for animals, they never pay a bill without slipping an animal rights leaflet inside the envelope. To recognize the Wilsons for their tireless efforts, PETA is presenting the couple with its Outstanding Activists Award.

Asked if they felt particularly strongly about any one animal-protection issue, the pair answered logically and passionately: “The issue of raising animals for food is such an important one because so many animals are suffering on such a large scale. If we can make one person think about his or her food choices, we believe that person will eventually change his or her ways, and that can have a ripple effect, causing others to change in response.”

One issue that also riles the Wilsons is the cruel “sport” of greyhound racing. The couple works closely with several groups that rescue greyhounds who have survived the deadly industry in which thousands of dogs die every year from heat stroke, heart attacks, broken bones, and other causes.

To learn more about the Wilsons and to see pictures of their activism in action, follow this link. The Wilsons are available for interviews upon request.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.