
2024 Top 10 for Animals & People
Since 2016, the Gregory J. Reiter Memorial Fund has supported programs that both promote animal rights and benefit people.
I’m proud to share the 2024 top 10 highlights of work the Fund has supported — responding to animal crises around the world, promoting plant-based human health, modernizing research, transforming agriculture, and more.

1 – Helping Ukraine War Victims
Since war began in February 2022, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Global Compassion Fund and PETA Deutschland have partnered with Animal Rescue Kharkiv (ARK) to move some 20,000 animals to other countries or to the safest possible locations within Ukraine, while delivering millions of pounds of supplies. “Each rescued life is a small victory in this war,” says ARK, recipient of PETA’s 2023 Gregory J. Reiter Animal Rescue Award. The video 1000 DAYS OF MERCY depicts this courageous work.

2 – Combatting Animal Homelessness in Romania
PETA presented its 2024 9th annual Gregory J. Reiter Animal Rescue Award to Eduxanima, which combats Romania’s homeless animal crisis – the largest in Europe — by partnering with PETA Deutschland to sterilize tens of thousands of dogs and cats. Eduxanima also administers vaccinations and other veterinary care, donates animal food, delivers humane education programs to schools, and works with lawmakers on animal protection policies. In addition, Eduxanima has provided ongoing support for people fleeing war in Ukraine with their animal companions. More at Learn About the Winner of the 2024 Gregory J. Reiter Animal Rescue Award on the PETA blog.

3 – Promoting Plant-Based Human Health
Since its 2017 launch, The Exam Room Live (YouTube / Facebook) and The Exam Room Podcast have recorded 600 episodes about plant-based health from nutrition experts at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). The Greg Fund sponsored more than 20 episodes in 2024, including: Foods for Happiness, Five Foods to Eat for Weight Loss, Autoimmune Diseases: Foods That Help, and Bird Flu: Is Your Milk Safe?

4 – Stopping Cruel Animal Experiments
PETA has long worked to prevent animal suffering in the experimentation industry. Among many 2024 victories: as a result of PETA’s 2021 investigation, the US Department of Justice imposed a record criminal fine on Inotiv for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act and Clean Water Act at its now-closed Virginia Envigo facility that bred dogs for experiments. More in the NPR article A beleaguered breeder faces a record $35 million fine for mistreating its beagles.

5 – Transforming Agriculture
The Transfarmation Project of Mercy for Animals helps farm families transition away from raising animals under contract to large corporations, converting instead to growing crops for human consumption. The first demonstration hub in North Carolina, which opened in September, showcases one family’s transition from raising chickens to growing vegetables and mushrooms. More in the NBC News video segment Farming nonprofit helps farmers transition to sustainable agriculture.

6 – Combatting Illegal Horse Racing
PETA’s Equine Matters team works to end many forms of horse abuse around the world. A current focus is combatting 200 known illegal “bush tracks” across the US, which not only kill horses and jockeys, but are also intertwined with criminal activity. In September, a PETA investigation and complaint led the Texas Department of Public Safety to raid an unsanctioned track in the state. More at 14 Arrested in Raid of Texas ‘Bush Track’ After PETA Tipped Off Authorities to Drugging and Abuse of Horses.

7 – Conducting Animal-Free Human Clinical Research
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) works in many ways to modernize research, to both prevent the suffering of animals in experiments and produce better outcomes for people. For more than 20 years, PCRM has conducted and published clinical research in humans, showing the health benefits of diet changes for conditions ranging from type 2 diabetes to cardiovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

8 – Combatting Cruel Farming Practices
Woodstock Farm Sanctuary (High Falls, NY) — now in its 20th year of providing lifetime refuge for hundreds of cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys and other animals — is leading the Fair Campaign to end cruel treatment of animals at state and county fairs. The campaign partners with We Animals Media and with other sanctuaries across North America. More in Fairs are Built on Animal Exploitation.

9 – Introducing the Animal Movement to New Audiences
In 2024, the documentary Humans And Other Animals premiered in US theaters, and is now available on streaming platforms. This film, years in the making, presents evidence for other animals’ sentience, investigations into hidden animal-using industries, the philosophical case for a profound shift in how we view other animals, and steps individuals and institutions can take—all in a way that is fun to watch.

10 – Spotlighting the Role of Humanewashing in Grocery Stores
Faunalytics conducts research to help advocates help animals. In 2024, one of its many publications was the multiyear study The Role Of Humanewashing In Grocery Stores: How Welfare Labels Affect Purchasing Behavior — with concluding recommendations to educate consumers about animal welfare certifications, work to ban deceptive welfare claims, investigate how price affects the purchase of welfare certified animal products, demand higher welfare standards for farmed animals, and promote plant-based alternatives.
