MACCA AND HIS ANIMAL RIGHTS ADVOCACY
I’ve heard of their music way before, but it’s just recently that I fell deeply in love with The Beatles.
You’re probably thinking, how did that happen? Well, blame it on curiosity. There’s something about the Fab Four, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, that had me hooked to their music. What made me love them even more is Sir Paul’s longtime advocacy for animals.
Considered as one of the world’s most prolific musicians, Sir Paul has done a great deal for animal rights as much as he did for music.
Fondly called Macca, Sir Paul has been a vegetarian since the 1970s. His decision to change his lifestyle was because of an epiphany he had while eating dinner with his late wife Linda. Living in a home near a secluded farm in Kintyre, Scotland has opened his eyes into the slaughter of farm animals.
Sir Paul also used his talent in songwriting to pen several animal rights theme songs. One of which was “Martha My Dear” inspired by his English sheepdog named Martha. The track “Wildlife,” on the other hand, dabbles on animals trapped in zoos.
Every year on his birthday, Sir Paul asks his fans to participate in his “Meat-Free Monday” campaign which encourages people to ditch meat to help reduce the adverse effects of factory farming. In addition, he lent his voice to narrate PETA’s Glass Walls, a documentary that exposes the cruel treatment farm animals had to go through in exchange for animal products that will be sold in markets.
In 2013, Sir Paul wrote a letter to then President Benigno Aquino III to free Mali, the country’s lone elephant. To quote, he said: “Mali seems no closer to enjoying her well-deserved retirement at an approved sanctuary. With the stroke of a pen, you (President Aquino) can bring an end to her suffering, and I urge you, with all my heart, to direct that Mali be given that joy now.”
Mali was donated 30 years ago by the Sri Lankan government to the Philippines after she was found orphaned in the wild at four-years old.
Sir Paul also stood against animal testing. In 2011, he joined the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, which calls for the ban on all cosmetics companies that test their products on animals.
There’s still much more out there about The Beatles that I don’t know. But one thing is for sure, as busy as he really is with new music and an autobiography, Sir Paul will definitely make time to speak words of wisdom on animal rights.
Considered as one of the world’s most prolific musicians, Sir Paul has done a great deal for animal rights as much as he did for music