Pamela Anderson, who recently called on President Barack Obama to pardon Julian Assange, and conservative political strategist Mary Matalin, who helped PETA defeat numerous “ag-gag” laws, will welcome D.C.‘s movers and shakers across party lines the night before the inauguration at the Animals’ Party, which will celebrate members of Congress involved in animal protection.
When: Thursday, January 19, 6 p.m.
Where: Willard InterContinental Hotel, 1401 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. (near F Street N.W.), Washington
It’s not a party thing: First ladies from Pat Nixon to Michelle Obama have shunned fur, George W. Bush called out Vladimir Putin for a “my dog is bigger than your dog” exchange, and Bush and his wife, Laura, recently took to social media to encourage people to adopt dogs and cats instead of buying them, in order to help combat the homeless-animal overpopulation crisis. And when PETA told Donald Trump that mule diving is cruel back in 1993, he joined us for a news conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to ban it from the boardwalk.
Awardees will include U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and U.S. Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada — cosponsors of the BEST Practices Act, which would phase out the practice of shooting goats and pigs in military exercises; U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, the Democratic cochair of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, who helped PETA rescue polar bears from a tropical circus and sponsored or cosponsored animal-protection bills — resulting in more funding to enforce animal-protection laws, tighter restrictions on the use of animals in laboratories, and stronger bans on animal fighting; and U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida, the Republican cochair of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, who has helped chimpanzees exploited as “pets,” hens confined to tiny battery cages, and horses slaughtered for human consumption.
“People say that animals have no voice, but in Washington, PETA depends on the voices of ‘elephants,’ ‘donkeys,’ and even those with no party mascot,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “At the Animals’ Party, we will celebrate the strides that are being made for animals — including progress yet to come in 2017 — such as preventing horses from being shipped abroad to become burgers, ending live-animal use in military training in favor of simulators, and getting orcas out of marine parks.”
There will be live entertainment, dancing, and an all-American menu with an international flair, from vegan gourmet cheeseburgers and apple pie à la mode to fabulous Asian- and European-inspired dishes, plus toasts with America’s first cocktail, the Sazerac.
