Search www.satyamag.com

Satya has ceased publication. This website is maintained for informational purposes only.

To learn more about the upcoming Special Edition of Satya and Call for Submissions, click here.

back issues

 

February 2001
Alice Hopper: Activist Bunny

By Carol Moon

 

She was rescued from a restaurant where the chef promised that he would kill her in the morning. She spent the next four and a half years in the home of six cats, two parakeets and an animal rights activist. She left this conscious world on November 9, 2000 after suffering a possible heart attack which caused a startled leap from her favorite couch and a possible massive head trauma.

Alice Hopper, activist bunny, earned her place in history by educating hundreds of people about the wonder of rabbits and the horrors of their exploitation. Boldly, she endured childish grabs at her ears, awkward adult attempts to cradle her body (so unlike their own cat or dog friends), and the unwelcome sniffing of curious canines. She persevered because she was part of a team—an informal team of two—formed for the express purpose of educating those who already had enough empathy to admire the “cute bunny.”

Rabbits get abuse from all angles—they’re eaten, worn, and experimented on, as well as hunted. It didn’t take much for the human activist to start a conversation in the park with one of Alice’s many inquisitive admirers. Explanations like: “She was rescued from a restaurant, but she’s safe now because I don’t eat animals,” or “She eats everything I eat because I’m a vegan,” always worked for the food angle. Her mere presence demonstrated how beautiful her fur coat looks on her and not on someone’s ear muffs. The pictures that sometimes accompanied her showed identical rabbits with white coats and pink eyes immobilized in stocks awaiting the incomprehensible torture of the Draize test, where chemicals are poured into a bunny’s eyes to test for toxicity. While her human companion may have used words to describe this suffering to members of the oppressing species, Alice’s patience, beauty and serenity spoke to their hearts.

Together, Alice Hopper and her human friend gathered over 400 signatures against Procter & Gamble’s use of animal experimentation simply by wandering through parks, while Alice wore her red bandana sporting “Boycott Procter & Gamble!” stickers. They visited numerous schools and nursing homes, always silently proclaiming the message that rabbits are amazing beings worthy of respect. For many open-hearted homo sapiens, she inspired love. The appropriate literature was usually available so that this love and respect could be transferred to other rabbits and other species.

Alice’s exit was unexpected and untimely, occurring, as it did, the morning she was scheduled to visit an elementary school. But Alice visited that school anyway, in spirit. Her best friend taught the students that no animal should be used, abused, owned, or disrespected and that it is OK to cry when one of your animal friends leaves this earth. Alice loved her job and she will keep doing it with the help of those who remember and love her.

Speaking as the activist lucky enough to share Alice’s home and mission, I feel incredibly blessed. Despite the chewed electrical cords, the demolished couch, and the intensified housekeeping chores, there was nothing as thrilling as her soft, rabbit tongue licking my hand as I rubbed her ears or as heartwarming as watching her munch down treats of pink wafers, apples and peanut butter, or baked tofu (she really did eat every thing I ate).

Alice Hopper was an ambassador for rabbits and, ultimately, for all sentient, but voiceless, animals. Her mere presence engendered compassion. Her strength and gentleness changed lives. In the efforts of all those who teach compassion for all beings through words or example, Alice lives on!

Carol Moon
is Farm Sanctuary’s Humane Educator and works in New York City. To learn more about their campaigns or to volunteer, contact (212) 567-4556 or kids@farmsanctuary.org, and visit www.farmsanctuary.org.

 


© STEALTH TECHNOLOGIES INC.
All contents are copyrighted. Click here to learn about reprinting text or images that appear on this site.