COK Turns Ten!

In 1995, Compassion Over Killing was founded as an extracurricular high school group with only three members and without any funding. While the fledgling organization was limited in size and budget, it was already rich with passion, dedication, innovation, and the understanding that reducing the suffering of animals was—and is—our greatest priority.

As we celebrate ten years of advocacy, please know that every step of the way—from our early days of anti-fur and anti-circus campaigning, weekly demonstrations, and hand-written signs to a half-million dollar annual budget, office space, and national media coverage of our work on behalf of animals—we couldn't have accomplished anything without the support of countless volunteers and members. Thank you for letting us enjoy this anniversary and for your commitment to the organization in the next ten years!

COK Highlights from 1995 to 2005

1995

• COK was founded as an all-volunteer high school organization in Washington, D.C.

1996

• The first issue of The Abolitionist is photocopied and distributed.
  
• COK designs the first "Dog on a Plate" t-shirt.

1997

• COK activists rescue two young chickens left stranded on the road after falling from a transport truck.
  
• "Choose Vegan," COK's first pro-vegetarian brochure, is printed.

1998

• The "Faunette," a mobile TV/VCR unit, is used for the first time at a COK's anti-fur demonstration.
  
• COK hosts its first vegetarian feed-in.
  
• COK assists in the rescue of more than 150 pigs after a slaughter-bound three-tiered transport truck is abandoned on the streets of D.C.
  
• COK conducts undercover investigations at three Asian live animal markets and slaughterhouses in D.C. and Minnesota.

1999

• COK launches its Restaurant Outreach Campaign and creates the "Proud to Serve Vegan Meals" window decal for animal-friendly eateries.

2000

• VegDC.com goes live.
  
• COK's "Factory Farming in America" exhibit debuts on the National Mall during the summer months.
  

2001

• COK's FaunaVision van—the very mobile theatre vehicle featured in The Witness—hits the streets of D.C.
  
• COK hires its first full-time employee.
  
• COK conducts its first egg factory farm investigation and openly rescues eight egg-laying hens, with an exclusive running in The Washington Post and articles featured in several other media outlets.
  
• Hope for the Hopeless: An Investigation and Open Rescue at a Battery Egg Facility, a documentary about COK's egg facility investigation, is produced and hundreds of copies are distributed.
  
• COK investigates livestock auctions and garners press attention on this often-forgotten venue of animal abuse.
  
• The first Vegetarian Guide to Washington D.C. and Surrounding Areas is printed.

2002

• Our second documentary, The Auction Block: An Inside Look at Farmed Animal Sales, is released with much acclaim.
  
• COK investigators gather damning evidence of animal abuse at another egg factory farm and openly rescue ten hens in need of care. Press coverage runs throughout the region.
  
• COK hires its second full-time employee.
  
• The New York Times features an exclusive, full-page story on COK's third egg factory farm investigation and open rescue of ten laying hens. Subsequent articles run in more than 75 media outlets, including CNN, The Baltimore Sun, The San Francisco Chronicle, the U.K.'s Guardian, the two largest papers in South Korea, and dozens of television stations.
  
• COK prints its first Vegetarian Starter Guide and launches TryVeg.com.
  
• Our pro-vegetarian ads run in 380 Metro buses traveling throughout the nation's capital.
  
• COK airs its first-ever pro-vegetarian commercial on a local D.C. television station.

2003

• The Baltimore Sun and D.C.'s Fox 5 report on COK's investigation inside a Maryland egg farm that was badly damaged during a snowstorm.
  
• After conducting another egg farm investigation, COK launches EggScam.com.
  
• COK files a petition with the Better Business Bureau asserting that the egg industry's "Animal Care Certified" logo is misleading. The consumer protection agency rules in COK's—and the hens'—favor, and a story runs on the Associated Press wire.
  
• COK conducts a six-week investigation inside a broiler chicken factory farm.
  
• Our third documentary, 45 Days: The Life and Death of a Broiler Chicken, is released.
  
• COK launches ChickenIndustry.com.
  
• COK hires its third full-time employee.
  
• The Washington Post profiles COK's farmed animal advocacy efforts on the front page of its Style section.

2004

• COK launches its MTV Commercial Campaign with two 30-second ads—"The Counter" and "Old MacDonald's Farm."
  
• A COK investigator works undercover at a Perdue chicken slaughter plant. The story receives extensive print and television coverage.
  
• COK releases its sixth egg farm investigation, garnering much television coverage.
  
• The Korean Broadcasting System airs an hour-long documentary on COK.
  
• COK runs pro-vegetarian ads in two popular teen girl magazines—Teen Voices and Girls' Life.
  
• COK hires its fourth full-time employee.
  
• Java Green, a busy downtown-D.C. eatery, adopts an all-vegetarian menu after meeting with COK.
  
• USA Today, the Associated Press, and The Des Moines Register run stories about the Better Business Bureau's referral of COK's complaint against the egg industry's misleading advertising to the Federal Trade Commission.

2005

• COK and four egg consumers file a lawsuit in the D.C. Superior Court against two retailers and an egg distributor, alleging false advertising for their continued use of the "Animal Care Certified" logo.
  
• An out-of-court settlement is made with Giant Food, one of the defendants, as reported in The Washington Post and The Baltimore Sun.
  
• COK creates two new 30-second commercials—"Lap of Luxury" and "If You Knew"—airing on MTV stations in more than 35 U.S. cities.
  
• COK launches a new educational campaign, "45 Days" in 50 States, to expose the broiler chicken industry's disregard for animal welfare.
  
• The Washington Post features an article on COK's latest undercover investigation exposing Maryland's egg industry.
  
• COK runs a pro-vegetarian ad in SG, a popular teen girl magazine.
  
• COK investigators travel across the country to document and expose farmed animal suffering during interstate truck transport.
  
• COK co-sponsors a rulemaking petition filed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture requesting that the federal "Twenty-Eight Hour Law" be enforced to protect animals transported on trucks.
  
• COK announces a campaign victory against the egg industry's use of the "Animal Care Certified" logo, receiving national media attention in such outlets as The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, and The Baltimore Sun.
  
• Much more to come…
  

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