Ingrid Newkirk, 73 years old, founded the animal rights foundation PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, some 40 years ago. She seems to be set on still fighting for animal rights, even after her death. Indeed, Ingrid Newkirk, has decided to leave behind a very peculiar legacy.
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In her most recent will, she claims to have demanded that several of her body parts be severed and sent to famous people such as King Charles and billionaire Elon Musk. Mr Musk will therefore be happy to receive a piece of Ms Newkirk's heart, while King Charles will be blessed with a piece of her neck.
Ingrid Newkirk leaves an odd will
Ms Newkirk has planned to leave several of her body parts in very strategic hands. She has said one of her legs is to be severed and broken, before being put on display at the Aintree racecourse during the Grand National Festival, to highlight the treatment of injured horses during the famous race. PETA, along with other animal rights campaigners, have asked for a ban on jump racing and for tightened security measures after three horses died during this year's race.
A piece of Ms Newkirk's heart is supposed to go to Elon Musk, whose company Neuralink still performs animal testing for its brain implant trials. She says Mr Musk can use her brain to clone, instead of using innocent animals.
The founder of PETA will also leave a piece of her bare skin to the Ministry of Defence, should it continue to use real bear skin for the King's Guards caps, especially since faux fur is available now. One of Ms Newkirk's ears will also be sent to the King of Spain as a protest against his country's tradition of bullfighting, at the end of which the matador often cuts the bull's ear to keep as a trophy.
According to Metro, to justify her odd will, Ms Newkirk has said:
On his deathbed, they asked Bob Hope where he wanted to be buried and he replied 'Surprise me'.
In my case, when I die I hope to keep on surprising those who harm animals, provoking conversation about speciesism, and campaigning against animal abuse.
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She demands The Firm cut ties with pigeon racing
Ingrid Newkirk insists that King Charles, who is about to give up one of his favourite homes, will receive a piece of her neck after her death, unless he cuts ties with pigeon racing. Indeed, the royal family has long been associated with the sport even since King Leopold II of Belgium gave them racing pigeons to breed in 1886. On the Royal Pigeon Racing Association website, the sport is described as:
Pigeon racing is a sport in which specially bred and trained pigeons are released from specific locations. They then race back to their home lofts.
Queen Elizabeth II has held a keen interest in pigeon racing throughout her reign, and even held 'respectable' pigeon races at Sandringham, according to the RPRA.
The family tradition was maintained by Queen Elizabeth II, and the Royal Lofts are well established at Sandringham under the supervision of a loft manager, where many respectable racing performances have been recorded.
PETA claims that the birds' necks are often wrung after races such as the cross-Channel race. Also, many birds die before they can reach the finish line.
It is not known whether King Charles shares his late mother's love of pigeon racing, who, according to NBC, participated in a lot of pigeon racing competitions.
The queen had participated in so many local and national pigeon-racing competitions over the years that the Royal Pigeon Racing Association could not say how many races she participated in as monarch.
So far, neither Buckingham Palace nor the Ministry of Defence have agreed to comment on the PETA founder's will.
Read more:Is having a vegan diet as environmentally friendly as you think?
Sources used:
Metro: Peta founder will donate a piece of her neck to King Charles after she dies
Mirror: PETA founder grim demand for body parts to be sent to King Charles after she dies
PETA: Which Body Parts Is PETA President Ingrid Newkirk Donating in Her New Will?
Royal Pigeon Racing Association: About RPRA
NBC: Pigeon racing and swan upping: Queen’s love for animals extended beyond corgis