Dr. Aysha Akhtar (vegan): Leader in Animal-person Rights and Neurology, Part 1 of 2

Dr. Aysha Akhtar of the United States is a vegan who follows in the steps of these earlier advocates for such rights. Dr. Akhtar is the founder and CEO of the Center for Contemporary Sciences (CCS) that was established in May 2020. The goal of CCS is to end the use of animal-persons in experimentation and testing, and instead create a shift toward using more effective and kinder methods that are non-violent and based on human biology.

“The main thing really why I chose to be a human doctor also is because I've just learned about how so much of our human health and human well-being is very much impacted by the way we treat animals. The more we can see the world through another animal’s point of view, the more it helps to step out of that human-centric viewpoint.”

Dr. Akhtar has said, “If we want to prevent these diseases and save millions of people from untold suffering, we have to face the inevitable and uncomfortable truth: the real culprit is how we choose to relate with and treat animals.” “I think the best thing we can do is, in every way possible, show other people who these animals are. Show these wonderful, positive videos because that shows other people that these animals are really not very different from our dogs and cats. And I think the more they see that, the more their empathy, their compassion will grow.”

Dr. Akhtar is also a writer. Her pioneering book, “Animals and Public Health: Why Treating Animals Better Is Critical to Human Welfare,” was published in 2011. Her second book, “Our Symphony with Animals: On Health, Empathy, and Our Shared Destinies,” describes many touching stories of people deeply influenced by animals and illustrates the mutually beneficial relationship between humans and animal-folk. “And I'm hoping to influence change through people's emotions because that's really what drives change in behavior.”