peta2 Star Street Teamer: Heather Murphy of Lorain, Ohio! June 8, 2009

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Some people are just fearless. When it comes to speaking up for animals, Heather Murphy definitely fits the bill. Whether it's calling up David Novak to give him a piece of her mind, relentlessly standing outside of her local KFC for hours handing out leaflets and informing people about KFC's bottom of the bucket animal welfare standards, or writing to the Trollsen twins about how disgusting fur is, Heather takes every opportunity to be a voice for animals. For all of those reasons and more, Heather is peta2 Star Street Teamer for the month of June! Check out the interview I did with her this past week!

I think the first time I ever corresponded with you was when you sent in a video of yourself calling David Novak. You've done so many protests, peta2 missions, and handed out so many leaflets—what is some advice you have for Street Teamers who may be nervous talking about the issues with strangers?
I say practice! Practice what you are going to say and maybe even write it down before calling a company. With handing out flyers, just be sure to know what you're talking about and try keeping on the topic as much as possible. People try very hard to knock you off track and will try to make you look like a "stupid" vegetarian PETA member who knows nothing. Don't let this get you down! Stay really calm, be yourself and be as polite as possible. If someone says they don't want a flyer, don't take it personally. It has happened to me many of times—just go on to the next person.

What is the biggest challenge you've faced as a peta2 Street Teamer, and how did you overcome it?
I think the biggest challenge was probably protesting for the first time and trying not to feel stupid in front of everyone. I overcame this by just going out there and not caring about anything but getting the word out about animal rights. Animal rights are more important than worrying about what someone thinks. Holding up a sign, handing out a flyer, calling a company or even starting a petition gets a lot done. It helps get the word out about things that need to be changed.

It seems like you're a force to be reckoned with in your community—have you been surprised by how many of your fellow students have reacted to the information you've given them?
Many people have been very shocked and I'm very surprised on how many people actually listened to what I had to say about animal rights. In my sophomore year of high school, I was talking during my biology class about animal testing and I handed a flyer to a person behind me. My teacher overheard me talking and was surprised about the truth of dissection and even let me show Testing ... One, Two, Three!

What's your favorite vegan food?
I have to definitely say regular Boca burgers. I never get sick of them!

You rescued your dog—can you tell us a little about that and about her?
I recently found a dog who was walking alone in busy streets in the next town over. I kept her over night, gave her food and water then ending up finding a rescue shelter an hour away. I took her there the next day. I called in three days later to see how things were and she already had a great home! I have three rescued animals living with me now—all yorkies :).

What animal abuser are you going after next?
I think I'm going to focus a lot more on the circus. I usually always focus on everything else and haven't emailed or wrote letters as much about the circus as I have other animal right issues. I think it's because the circus doesn't come around as often either. Elephants are also my favorite animal, so I'd love to focus more on that issue.

No doubt Heather will do amazing work for elephants in the future! If you're as inspired as we are, check out the peta2 Street Team and get active!

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