Educate. Smile, be friendly and be patient! Talking to you may be the first time someone was ever exposed to the idea that there might be another way to behave toward animals. Even if someone seems unsympathetic, you're planting seeds that can lead to later change.
Is your neighbor's dog always tied outdoors alone? Use PETA's chained-dog leaflets (Adobe Acrobat reader is required to view this file - click here to download a free copy.) to explain that isolation is hell for dogs, who crave social interaction, and offer walks and play sessions.
Provide your City Council members with info on why the circus is dangerous to humans and even worse for the animals.
Donate only to health charities that don't fund animal experiments, and write to the ones that still do to explain why you've decided to take your contributions elsewhere.
Include an animal rights leaflet with every bill payment.
Ask local librarians to write to PETA on library letterhead to receive PETA's free library pack or to request books, videos, fact sheets and display boards.
Record an animal rights message on your answering machine.
Complain to managers of stores and restaurants that display live lobster tanks.
If you're enrolled in a class that involves dissection, insist on better, animal-free ways to learn.
Collect products tested on animals and return them to the manufacturers. Demand a refund.
Write or call companies that test on animals to let them know that you won't purchase their products until they declare a permanent ban on animal tests.
Don't shop in stores that carry fur clothing or accessories. Let store managers know that you won't be back until the store catches up with the times.
Use animal rights stickers on all outgoing mail, and put them anywhere else they'll be seen. (PETA notes that, "We are not suggesting that you put them on tollbooths, escalators, pay phones, drive-in order boards or bathroom stall doors. Honest.")
Encourage people with fur coats to put them in permanent "storage" with PETA. They can get tax deductions, and their coats will be used to educate and stop cruelty.
List your legislators' phone numbers in your address book so that you can easily contact them about animal rights issues.
Ask grocery stores to designate a cart for shoppers to use to donate dog and cat food to the local animal shelter.
Persuade your neighbor or coworker to spay or neuter their animal, or pay for it yourself.
Locate and join your local animal rights group (PETA can help), or start one yourself.
Complain to the sponsors of circuses, rodeos, or other cruel events.
Take tasty vegetarian food samples to work, along with recipe cards to hand out.
Stock your car with an animal rescue kit (nonperishable food for hungry strays, bottled water, a cardboard cat carrier, a leash, a towel, a bandage to use as a muzzle and emergency phone numbers of vets and animal shelters).
Ask the editor of your local newspaper to run a photo of a shelter animal up for adoption each week. (The Arizona Republic already does this - yea!)
Sign a young friend up for a free subscription to Grrr!, PETA's kids' magazine.
Hold a yard sale! Donate the proceeds to PETA or a local animal group.
Leave Animal Times and other animal rights literature in the seat pockets on planes. People are always looking for something to read while traveling!
Pledge never to buy any more leather shoes, belts or wallets, and start shopping for canvas, fabric or vinyl instead.
Use suggestion boxes and consumer comment cards to educate about animals.
Spend an afternoon - or one day a week - helping lonely shelter animals. Walk or groom dogs, play with animals or donate treats, toys and comfy bedding.
Never leave strays on the street, where they can fall victim to disease, starvation, cars and cruelty - as well as add to the overpopulation crisis.
Keep a stack of stamped postcards by your television, along with the addresses of major networks and local stations. When a show promotes animal abuse or is animal-friendly, jot down a brief, polite message to the producers.
Don't let fur-wearers pass you by without mentioning how animals suffered for their coats. (Shy? Write to us for a free supply of fur cards.)
Put leaflets in library books and videos when you return them.
Check PETA's action hotline (757-622-7382) or Web site (PETA-online.org) regularly for action alerts. Vow to write at least three letters every week.
Whatever the situation, never assume that someone else will take care of it, and never underestimate what you can accomplish. Don't worry that you won't know what to say or do - just try! Talk, educate, object, write, hand out a leaflet, make a fuss, hold your ground, suggest an alternative.
Help non-vegetarian friends "meet their meat" with PETA's educational videos.