Bethany Fullerton of San Diego, a 15-year-old sophomore activist against SeaWorld, is a finalist for 2014 Cutest Vegan Alive.
The ninth annual contest is sponsored by peta2 — the youth division of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA.
Bethany is one of 20 finalists — the five females and five males who received the highest number of votes, plus 10 selected by peta2. peta2 will consider three factors in choosing the “judges’ pick” finalists and winners: votes, enthusiasm and cuteness.
The top female and one male will win a professional photo shoot and a chance to star in their own peta2 ad.
Bethany organized her first animal rights protest at a local McDonald’s “over the company’s refusal to hold its suppliers to higher standards of animal welfare,” PETA says.
Bethany volunteers with the San Diego House Rabbit Society, and she’s planning to apply soon for a volunteer position with the San Diego Humane Society and SPCA. She’s also an artist who enjoys drawing in charcoal and pencil, painting in soft pastels, and sculpting in clay.
As a sixth-grader at Mt. Everest Academy in San Diego, Bethany was a semifinalist in the 2010 Endangered Species Day Art Contest organized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other groups, She drew a San Joaquin kit fox.
“Bethany is determined to make the world a kinder place,” says peta2 Director Marta Holmberg. “Kids who go vegan show respect for animals, the planet, and their own bodies, and that makes all of them cute in our book.”
Bethany went vegan a year ago after she stumbled upon peta2’s video “One Minute of Reality: Factory Farming,” PETA says.
“She felt so guilty for supporting the cruelty of the meat industry that she promised herself she’d never do something so hurtful to animals again,” said a new release. “About a month later, her mother went vegan, too, and her father is going vegetarian. Bethany’s activism for animals doesn’t end there, though.
“Many of her friends pledged never to go to SeaWorld after she showed them the acclaimed documentary ‘Blackfish,’ which highlights the amusement park’s history of cruelty to orcas,” PETA said. S
Peta2 says it will select the two winners based on factors including vote count.
Voting in the finalist round ends at noon EDT on July 3. Winners will be notified and announced by July 8.