Every piece of animal protection legislation that has ever become law started with someone deciding they weren’t going to stay silent. When you lobby for animals, you become that someone — a constituent with standing, a voter with power, a voice for beings who have none.
At Voters For Animal Rights (VFAR), lobbying for animals is the core of everything we do. We mobilize voters, organize advocacy campaigns, and go directly to legislators to push for stronger protections for animals in New York. We’ve helped ban foie gras in New York City, fight wildlife killing contests, and protect tenants who care for companion animals. And we’ve learned that ordinary people who lobby for animals are often the most powerful force in any campaign.
This guide will walk you through exactly how to lobby for animals — from your first email to a council member all the way to testifying at a legislative hearing.
What Does It Mean to Lobby for Animals?
The word “lobbying” carries a lot of baggage — images of suits and corporate checkbooks. But at its core, to lobby for animals simply means to communicate directly with elected officials about laws that affect animals, and to urge them to act.
This is protected civic activity. You have the right (the responsibility, really as a voter) to contact your representatives, attend public hearings, and make the case for the sentient beings who share our world, but have no seat at the table where their fates are decided.
Elected officials care what their constituents think and lobbying is simply making sure they know you care about animal protection laws. When you call your city council member or state representative as a voter in their district, that carries real weight. And when hundreds of voters do the same thing? That’s a movement.
Why Lobbying for Animals Works
Politicians are responsive to pressure — that’s the nature of democratic accountability. When you lobby for animals, you’re not begging for a favor; you’re exercising the political influence that comes with being a voter and a constituent.
Here’s what makes animal advocacy lobbying especially powerful:
1) Animal protection enjoys broad public support. Polls consistently show that large majorities of Americans across party lines support stronger animal protection laws, making legislators far more willing to act.
2) Opposition is often quiet or industry-specific. The loudest opposition to animal protection laws typically comes from narrow industry interests. A broad coalition of constituent voices can counterbalance well-funded lobbying by animal-exploiting industries.
3) Local and state wins create national momentum. New York City’s foie gras ban, California’s Prop 12 — which the Supreme Court upheld — and local pet store bans all started with people lobbying for animals at the city and state level and then spread nationally.
4) Elected officials want to be on the right side of history. No one runs for office hoping to be remembered as the person who blocked animal protection. Legislators often just need political cover and constituent support to act.
When VFAR mobilized voters to lobby for New York City’s foie gras ban, we packed council hearings, flooded lawmakers’ inboxes and voicemails, and organized neighborhood-level advocacy. The result? New York City became the first major U.S. city (outside of California) to ban the sale of foie gras. That’s what happens when voters lobby for animals.
How to Lobby for Animals
You don’t need to be a lawyer, a professional activist, or even particularly confident in public speaking to lobby for animals. Here’s how to do it effectively at every stage.
Step 1: Choose your issue.Pick one specific animal protection issue you’re passionate about — whether that’s ending puppy mills, banning wildlife killing contests, protecting farmed animals, or supporting tenant rights for animal guardians. Focused advocacy is far more effective than trying to address everything at once. Check VFAR’s current agenda to see what bills need your support right now.
Step 2: Learn the facts.Before you contact a legislator, get informed. What is the specific bill number or proposed ordinance? What does the current law say, and why is it inadequate? We recommend researching similar campaigns and connecting with others already working on the issue (if you’re in New York, you can always reach out to us!). Being able to speak knowledgeably makes you a far more credible and persuasive advocate.
Step 3: Find your elected officials.When lobbying for animals, start with the officials who represent you — your city council member, state assembly member, state senator, and federal representatives. Use vote.gov to find every official who represents you by entering your address. You are their constituent and your views carry particular weight.
Step 4: Contact them by phone, email, and in person.Phone calls to a legislator’s office are the most impactful form of constituent contact. Emails and letters follow. Personal visits, especially in small groups, can be extraordinarily effective. Be clear and concise, support your argument with facts, and always state specifically what you want the legislator to do.
Step 5: Attend or submit public testimony. Legislative hearings are where laws are made or broken. Showing up in person to testify — or even just filling the room in support — sends a powerful message. If you can’t attend in person, written testimony is accepted for most committee hearings. Lewis & Clark Law School’s animal law program notes that personal stories are among the most compelling testimony a lawmaker can hear.
Step 6: Hold officials accountable at the ballot box. The full power of being a voter who lobbies for animals is felt at election time. When you let officials know that your vote depends in part on their record on animal protection, it concentrates the mind. VFAR publishes an Animal Rights Voter Guide so you can compare candidates and support those who stand with animals.
What to Lobby For: Key Animal Rights Issues
Not sure which issues to prioritize? Here are the fights that need your voice the most right now, particularly in New York:
● Stopping octopus farming in New York before it starts
● Prohibiting the sale of birds in New York City
● Ending the abuse of wild animals in traveling acts
● Protecting tenants with companion animals
● Ending kangaroo leather sales
● Banning commercial bird releases
● Stopping adhesive animal trap (glue trap) sales
● Supporting cat rescuers and getting vital funding for TNR programs
● Ending elephant captivity in zoos
● Fighting the federal EATS Act
Each of these campaigns requires constituents who are willing to contact lawmakers, show up at hearings, and make clear that animal protection is a voting issue.
Tips for Effective Animal Advocacy Lobbying
Lead with your identity as a constituent and voter.Before anything else, establish that you live in the official’s district. Always identify yourself as a concerned citizen and voter first — legislators often respond more strongly to constituents than to organized lobbyists.
Be specific and ask for a specific action. Don’t just say you “support animal rights.” Reference the specific bill. Tell the official exactly what you want them to do — cosponsor the bill, vote yes, attend the hearing, issue a statement of support.
Make it personal.Data and studies matter, but personal stories move people. Have you witnessed animal cruelty? Do you live with companion animals who depend on humane housing policies? Tell legislators why this issue matters to you, personally. That emotional authenticity cuts through scripted talking points.
Be persistent without being hostile.Legislative change rarely happens on the first contact. Be patient, and be persistent — sometimes it takes more than one legislative session to see results. Follow up, come back to hearings, and bring more people with you each time.
Join an organization like VFAR.VFAR tracks active legislation, alerts members when action is needed, provides training for lobbying visits, and coordinates testimony at hearings. Joining means your effort to lobby for animals is part of a strategic, coordinated push, not a solo effort in the dark.
How VFAR Lobbies for Animals in New York
Voters For Animal Rights was founded with a singular focus: use the tools of democracy — elections, lobbying, voter education — to win stronger protections for animals in New York. We are different from traditional animal protection organizations because our focus is explicitly political. We believe that lasting change for animals requires changing the laws, and that requires changing who makes them and how they vote.
Here’s how VFAR’s model works:
● Our team identifies pro-animal legislation and immediately mobilize our network of advocates to contact the lawmakers who hold the bill’s fate.
● We coordinate lobby days where VFAR members travel to City Hall or Albany to meet directly with officials.
● Annually, VFAR publishes a voter guide that rates candidates and officials on their animal protection records.
● Voters For Animal Rights endorses and supports candidates who have demonstrated a commitment to animal protection legislation.
● We train advocates who want to lobby for animals but don’t know where to start — demystifying the legislative process and turning passion into political action.
Our victories speak for themselves: the NYC foie gras ban, ending the sale of dogs, cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs, the prohibition of circuses in New York City, and ongoing campaigns to protect animals across New York State.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I lobby for animals if I’ve never done it before?
Start small. Send a brief, personal email to your city council member or state representative about a specific bill. Identify yourself as a constituent and voter, name the legislation, say why you support it, and ask for their vote. That single email is lobbying — and it counts.
Do I need to register as a lobbyist to advocate for animals?
No. Individual citizens contacting their own elected representatives is protected free speech and civic participation — it does not require registration. Lobbyist registration requirements apply to paid professionals who lobby on behalf of clients, not ordinary constituents. Both lawyers and non-lawyers can build careers in animal law lobbying, but as an everyday advocate you need no credentials at all.
Does contacting elected officials actually make a difference?
Yes — especially at the local and state levels. Staffers track contact volume and report it to their bosses. A surge of calls or emails on a specific bill gets noticed. Personal, substantive messages from constituents carry far more weight than form letters. VFAR continues to hear that legislation we’re working on gets the most amount of calls to legislators’ offices.
How is VFAR different from other animal rights organizations?
VFAR is exclusively focused on political advocacy in New York. Unlike other animal protection nonprofits — which do valuable work across many fronts and whom we work closely with — VFAR works specifically through New York elections and legislation. If you want to create systemic change for animals by changing the laws in New York, VFAR is the organization built to do exactly that.
Start Lobbying for Animals Today
The laws that govern how animals are treated — or mistreated — are made by people who answer to voters. Every factory farm that operates legally, every animal tested in a lab does so under rules that were written by politicians who could, with enough political pressure, write different ones.
When you lobby for animals, you are exercising the most fundamental power in a democracy: you are telling the people who hold power what kind of world you want to live in. You are saying that animals are important. You are making it politically costly to ignore their suffering and politically rewarding to protect them.
It works. We’ve seen it work — in New York City, across New York State, and wherever organized, persistent advocates decided to lobby for animals as voters and constituents.
Sign up for VFAR’s email list and we’ll let you know the moment a lobbying opportunity arises — whether that’s a bill moving through committee, a hearing that needs your voice, or an election where your vote can make a difference for animals.