Happy International Women’s Day! We know that any day that someone is helping an animal is a good day! So to celebrate March 8th this year, the team at NHV wanted to shine a light on six amazing women who are changing the world for animals everywhere!

Dr. Jane Goodall

Dr. Jane Goodall’s seminal study of chimpanzees in the 1960s forever changed our understanding of humanity and our place in the natural world. For over 60 years, she has devoted her life to conservation, hoping to inspire millions in working together to preserve wildlife habitats and species biodiversity. She established the Jane Goodall Institute to further her community-based conservation work that focuses on the interconnections between animals, people, and the environment. Dr. Goodall believes that we can heal the planet when we put our heads and our hearts together.

Genesis Butler

“At a very young age, I realized that each animal was a unique individual and that I wanted to do everything I could to help them”

At the age of 3, Genesis Butler first realized where her chicken nuggets came from and decided that she would no longer eat meat. A few years later, she learned where her milk came from and so decided to go vegan. Since then, she has helped her family transition to a plant-based diet and has gone down in history as the youngest TEDx speaker. Her talk—entitled “A 10-year old’s vision for healing the planet”—advocates for a plant-based diet and how eating animals impacts the future of the planet. As an animal rights activist, she works to help advance animal protection laws and spends a lot of time speaking up for animals! She is a hero to animals everywhere!

Temple Grandin

Although she had trouble speaking until the age of 4, Dr. Grandin has since gone on to become a well-known professor, author & animal rights advocate. Her autism gave her unique insights when it came to understanding animals and her keen observational skills allowed her to design livestock handling equipment that took into consideration the wellbeing of the animals. Now at least 1/3 of the cattle and hog handling facilities across the United States utilize her equipment as well as many slaughterhouses too. One of her most well-known sayings is: “Nature is cruel but we don’t have to be.”

Dr. Sangdeun “Lek” Chailert

Dr. Sangdeun Chailert is an award-winning conservationist who has dedicated her life to rescuing injured, neglected, and abused elephants. In 2003, she was able to create Elephant Nature Park – a permanent sanctuary that is home to over 100 elephants near Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. There, elephants are not required to work, perform tricks or offer rides to tourists. Instead, they can live a more dignified life, free of fear and abuse. Some would call her the ‘elephant whisperer.’

Jill Robinson

Having spent 12 years in Hong Kong during the late 80s and early 90s, writer and animal activist Jill Robinson decided to found Dr. Dog. The goal of this organization was to change the perception of dogs in Asia by creating animal-assisted therapy programs for those in need of a best friend and emotional support animal. Robinson later created Animals Asia, to advocate for kindness and respect for all animals, with a focus on long-term change. She now splits her time between Hong Kong, Vietnam, and mainland China to try and end bear bile farming, promote dog and cat welfare, as well as captive animal welfare. 

Priya Sawhney 

Known for standing her ground, Priya Sawhney has put her body on the line in the name of animal rights. She has been jailed three times, faces eight felonies, and has even confronted Jeff Bezos to speak out on animal cruelty. Shocked at the level of abuse and injustice animals were faced within her home country of India, coupled with the discrimination she faced as a new immigrant in the USA, Priya took it upon herself to transform this negativity into a message of compassion and kindness for humans and animals everywhere. She has co-founded Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) – a grassroots network of animal rights activists with the goal of achieving meaningful social and political change for animals in one generation.

We are so grateful to women across the globe for their hard work for the advancement of women’s rights and animal care! NHV is proud to be a female-founded company and give other women opportunities and encouragement. There are so many women that are making the world a better place, don’t forget to tell an inspiring woman in your life to keep up the good work! Happy International Women’s Day!