A human flesh handbag, an eyeball plucked out, mounted and presented to a US federal agency and feet transformed into macabre umbrella stands.
No, not a twisted horror plot written to terrify Halloween moviegoers – but the last will of PETA president Ingrid Newkirk who plans to use her body to continue fighting for animal rights after she dies.
“Everything to do with death is a little unsettling, but I’m very happy to know my work will carry on,” she explained.
“If I get a few more minutes, days, weeks or months of campaigning from doing this I’ll be overjoyed.
I’ve asked for suggestions for whatever’s left and had crude suggestions from hunters and butchers – but they’re not doing anything with my naughty bits!”
SWL got the chance to chat to the PETA president ahead of World Vegan Day to chat about near-death experiences, the plight of chickens and why opting to go vegan is easier than ever.
Ingrid explained that it was during a terrifying flight to Virginia back in 2009 that she got the idea of continuing her work from beyond the grave.
She said: “I almost died in a plane incident a few years ago with a tornado in North Carolina going into Virginia.
“Our plane was the only one they hadn’t diverted – we got caught in a wind shear and were thrown out over the ocean.
“It was the most harrowing experience of my life – people were crying and shouting and we all thought we were going to die.”
“It was the most harrowing experience of my life – we all thought we were going to die.”
During a third attempt they finally landed and the passengers bonded over their ordeal.
She added: “I had been thinking during that ghastly time up there I thought ‘my time’s up, I’m going to lose my life I won’t be an activist any longer.
“I should make some provision to carry on my activism after I die’.”
After that fateful day Ingrid decided to give her body to PETA to draw attention to her animal activism cause.
Despite her good intentions she revealed that not everyone was as keen on the idea as she was.
“Some people thought it was a bit revolting but I thought it was practical, useful and allowed me to do something,” she explained.
“I asked for my mother’s blessing and she was wonderful. She said ‘sweetie if that means something to you you must do it’.”
Ingrid will be jetting to India on World Vegan Day for a fortnight-long visit to PETA vet stations before heading to Mumbai to take part in a vegan demo.
Last year she focused on fish by painting herself with scales, and lying on a BBQ in the middle of the city’s bustling street, whereas this year the focus is on chickens.
“They are one of the most abused animals,” she explained. “The overcrowding and the filth these animals endure in laying factories or chicken farms is abominable.”
“What these animals endure is abominable.”
Despite being an animal lover from a young age and a keen animal activist for the last 30 years, Ingrid only stopped eating meat when she hit her twenties.
She explained: “I used to be a meat-eater’s meat eater up until my 20s – I loved the taste even though I loved animals.
“But you just have to look at the exposés, thank god for the press, and the filth and the cruelty that goes on there.
“Dairy farm investigations have shown cows wading in liquid manure and getting were also getting mastitis in their udders from being worked so hard.
“I think it think it’s fairly easy these days to choose vegan food, which is readily available at supermarkets and online, unless you’re made of steel or are oblivious of world conditions.
“It’s good for your health, tastes good, it’s convenient, and by being kind you are setting a good example as a mother, father, brother or sister.
“If you just go vegan for one day a week or one meal you have done something good.
“It’s good for your heart physically and the heart you have for animals.”
World Vegan Day is on November 1. For more information , and to read more about Ingrid’s will, click here.
