These Activists Quit Their Jobs To Travel The World And Document Animal Exploitation

Activists and photographers Amy and Paul, who used to work with PETA UK,  have launched a multimedia project, Moving Animals, which documents animal industries around the world. The Moving Animals archive contains free-to-use photographs and footage of animal exploitation for anyone helping to make the world a kinder and more equal place for animals. We spoke to them about the project, how it shaped up, and what's next. 

What made you leave your jobs at PETA UK and launch the Moving Animals project? How did the idea come about?

While working at PETA UK, we saw first-hand the impact that photos and footage have on raising awareness of animal rights, and so we decided to start Moving Animals to help bridge the gap between readily available, free-to-use content for organisations, activists, and media platforms. Part of what drove us to launch Moving Animals was the belief that strong visuals and effective storytelling have the power to change mindsets,  and so every view of our work holds the promise to make the world a kinder world for animals, one person at a time. We hope that every view our content receives allows others to look through a different lens - one which views animals as individuals, not “commodities” or “property”.

A goshala in Bengaluru

How has the experience been so far? What are some of the challenges you've faced along the way?

Documenting farmed animals is always a challenge: whether a livestock auction in the UK or an industrial dairy farm in Sri Lanka, it’s always heartbreaking having to leave these animals behind. It is rewarding though when we see our visuals making a difference and helping to change people’s mindsets:  we’ve been lucky enough to have our photographs and footage featured by some of the most prominent news platforms, animal charities, and social media channels – allowing millions of people to hear the stories of those that are often left untold.

An intensive egg farm in Mysuru

How many countries have you visited, and what's next on the list?

So far, we have documented animal exploitation in the UK, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. India was an incredible country to visit - we spent four months travelling from the South to the North. We documented many different issues, and were lucky enough for The Logical Indian to cover two of our videos: one video celebrated the amazing charity Help In Suffering (in Jaipur) who attend the Pushkar Camel Fair every year to offer free medical attention and advice to the camels there. Our other video used our footage from an intensive egg farm in Mysuru, to help spread awareness about how cruel the egg industry is. We’re now in the process of turning our lens to South-East Asia.

A camel at the Pushkar camel fair gets free medical treatment from the charity Help In Suffering 

What's Your long term vision for the project?

Until all of the animals that share our world with us are free from suffering, we will continue to document their stories through photography and filming, in the hope that we can bring awareness to their plight. We hope that the Moving Animals archive will be a continually growing resource that helps activists and organisations have access to engaging and effective free-to-use visuals.

Amy at a dog shelter

All images courtesy Moving Animals. You can view their archive of visuals HERE.