Everywhere in the world, we can observe and be touched by acts of kindness. People from all walks of life, faiths, and cultures extend themselves beyond the call of duty to help others unconditionally. Through their noble deeds, humanity as a whole is elevated.

To commend virtuous actions and encourage more people to be inspired by their examples, Supreme Master Ching Hai has lovingly created a series of awards, including the Shining World Leadership Award, Shining World Compassion Award, Shining World Hero and Heroine Awards, Shining World Honesty Award, Shining World Protection Award, Shining World Intelligence Award, and Shining World Inventor Award, to recognize some of the most exemplary, generous, caring, and courageous people who walk amongst us.

The impetus, part of the reason that I do what I do, or what drives me to do, is because of people like Jane Goodall, people like Saint Francis of Assisi, people like Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Albert Schweitzer, and César Chávez.

Throughout his life, visionary vegan veterinarian Dr. Elliot Katz has wanted to help animals and change humankind’s relationship with them for the better. He founded the California, USA-based non-governmental organization In Defense of Animals (IDA), which works to end exploitation and abuse of animals worldwide by protecting their rights, welfare and habitats. The group encourages people to regard our fellow beings as equals.

Over the past 27 years, the 80,000-member strong IDA has won many victories for our animal friends. Since early childhood, Dr. Katz has loved animals, and through caring for a litter of puppies as a young boy he came to realize his life's calling.

We lived down on the beach during the summertime, and I would bring stray dogs home and keep them for a while and find another home for them. So one dog that I found she was pregnant and so she had a litter of six puppies. And after they were probably about maybe five or six weeks old, one by one, they started coming down with distemper, which is a fatal disease. She apparently had never been inoculated.

And so we took them to a veterinarian, one at a time. And so through that whole process and taking the puppies to the veterinarian, and seeing how vulnerable they are, how much help they needed that’s when I decided I wanted to be a veterinarian. That was the start of my mission to do something to protect these very vulnerable beings.

We asked Dr. Katz about some of his heroes and he named the Catholic patron saint of animals and the environment, Saint Francis of Assisi.

“Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them. But to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission - to be of service to them wherever they require it.” And that’s (said) by Saint Francis of Assisi, centuries ago. And to me, that’s the core of what IDA is; is not just not to hurt them, but to advocate and to help them, give them sanctuary, rescue them, and so forth, and that’s why we’re basically around the world, doing things in Mumbai, India, Cameroon, Africa, and this country.

As a young veterinarian, Dr. Katz was deeply saddened to hear stories about the mistreatment of animals, and was very concerned about experimentation on them in laboratories. To help protect innocent, helpless beings without a voice, he formed In Defense of Animals in 1983. One of IDA’s most notable achievements has been closing down a huge animal testing facility in the USA that was performing unconscionable medical experiments on a group of 650 captive chimps.

Back in 2002 we closed down the largest chimpanzee research center in the world. We had a "whistle blower" inside, giving us information. Our point person was contacted by this person. And he would feed us all the horrors and all of the negligence and so forth. And we would then bring that to the federal government, the (National) Institutes of Health.

We'd bring it to their clients, so that eventually the clients stopped bringing their experimentation to them. This campaign went on for over nine years. And at the end of nine years we drove him to bankruptcy. And hundreds of chimpanzees saved.

IDA has saved chimpanzees in Africa, specifically baby chimps orphaned by the bushmeat trade and severely abused adult chimpanzees by opening a refuge for them in the West African nation of Cameroon. The group helped halt the proposed slaughter of thousands of baby seals off the coast of South Africa and rescued hundreds of dogs and cats after a devastating wildfire swept through two cities in Northern California that destroyed more than 3,500 homes. IDA also informs the public about the high intelligence and nobility of our animal friends, causing people to re-evaluate their thinking, habits, and traditions .

And this is by Albert Schweitzer. And he said, “The thinking man must oppose all cruel customs, no matter how deeply rooted in tradition or surrounded by a halo. We need a boundless ethic which will include the animal also.”

And it said that deeply rooted, cruel customs range from what we eat to what goes on in the circus, in the zoo, in the laboratory, in what we wear. Every one of those things are simply cruel customs that can be changed. That’s the role of In Defense of Animals, to change these customs, knowing they are simply customs and they don’t have to continue.

One idea that IDA invites people to question is that humans “own” animals and that they are property. I am reminded of the people when I was in practice in New York (USA), people bringing their dogs into me or cats and asking "Dr Katz, could you please put my cat to sleep, because she is scratching the furniture.” Or "Dr. Katz, my dog is barking too much, could you please put him to sleep.” Or “Dr. Katz my dog is jumping up on people, please put him down.” Or “My wife is pregnant could you please put him down.”

And so it was that, and part of that, the root cause of that insensitivity, I believe, and a lot of people believe, stems from the fact that they’re using that term and that relationship of an owner or a master of that being, rather than the guardian, the protector of that being.

So I felt it was important to change that paradigm and for people to start thinking and acting as a guardian of that animal as opposed to the owner or a master. It’s a whole different relationship. But the next generation of kids growing up thinking themselves as the guardians of the animals will change the paradigm, and to me that’s a major root cause of so much exploitation and cruelty and abuse.

In Defense of Animals has been active in promoting the vegan lifestyle with “World Go Vegan Week” being a prime example. In 2010, events were held in the USA, Ireland, Bolivia, and South Africa and other nations to celebrate this special week.

It’s now about six years ago that I started "World Go Vegan Week." Everywhere I looked, I saw vegetarian, vegetarian world, vegetarian day, or vegetarian festivals, and so forth. And as a veterinarian, I’ve seen the suffering that goes on, on dairy farms or the killing of veal calves and so forth and I felt I wanted to do my part to get the word “vegan” to be more of a household word. That’s why we started World Go Vegan Day.

Learning of the praiseworthy work of In Defense of Animals, Supreme Master Ching Hai honored the group with the prestigious Shining World Hero Award. Our Association members went to IDA’s headquarters in San Rafael, California, USA to present the crystal Award plaque on her behalf. The plaque reads:

In Recognition of Extraordinary Effort and Loving Care Providing New Lives of Contentment and Security for our Primate Friends Promoting a Message of Respect and Compassion for all Beings With Sincere Gratitude for The Unconditional Love and Merciful Heart of your Organization Inspiring Others with Your Successful Life-Saving Rescue Mission.

A letter of appreciation from Supreme Master Ching Hai accompanied the Award. Here is the letter in its entirety:

Dear Dr. Katz, It is with much pleasure and gratitude that we present to In Defense of Animals the “Shining World Hero Award.” This Award is presented in recognition of your organization’s extraordinary life-protecting efforts to save precious animals - a superb example of loving kindness helping to uplift humanity creating a more humane world for all co-inhabitants.

Your compassionate and heroic response to the plight of 55 long-tailed macaque monkeys suffering and confined in a chemical testing laboratory that went out of business, was to lovingly arrange to transport them all safely to several primate sanctuaries across the USA. This was no mean feat! Aged from two to five years and in all sorts of condition, your tireless work and benevolence found good, kind homes for all these very lucky beings.

Scotlund Haisley, President of IDA, said he felt good by promising the monkeys a better life and an end to their suffering. Linda Barcklay, founder of a Sanctuary that took in 8 primates said “The joy is beyond description. I’m so proud to be able to take these monkeys and give them a safe secure habitat the rest of their lives with the best food they’ve ever had.”

All involved in this formidable task deserve our greatest respect and thanks. On behalf of our animal friends, thank you and congratulations for achieving a fantastic result! We offer our heart-felt thanks to all participants for their devotion towards enhancing the lives of animals.

For your outstanding heroic efforts, for your compassion and commitment to care for precious lives, and for being a noble role model, we hereby applaud and celebrate the great loving kindness of In Defense of Animals, and all staff, volunteers and supporters. With Great Honor, Love and Blessings, Supreme Master Ching Hai

As a veterinarian and founder of In Defense of Animals, I accept this graciously with deepest appreciation. This obviously was given to me on behalf of our fantastic staff, our wonderful thousands of supporters, our volunteers and the board of directors. It’s such an honor to receive such an award.

Everything that you've said about In Defense of Animals on the plaque goes back double from me towards your wonderful Association, (Thank you.) and to Supreme Master Ching Hai. Meeting you all here, seeing your gentleness, kindness, warmth, has touched my heart deeply. And I am so thankful for this award on behalf of everybody who’s been a part of In Defense of Animals. Thank you.

Supreme Master Ching Hai also contributed US$10,000 to In Defense of Animals to help further the group’s benevolent and compassionate work.

This will go a long way in helping the animals that we have advocated for, rescued, given sanctuary to, whether it's an IDA India, IDA Africa, rural parts of Mississippi (USA) for Project Hope or those in captivity in our our nation’s laboratories, laboratories across the world, on the fur farms, on puppy mills, and it goes on and on. And thanks to you, thanks to everyone here on our staff. We will keep fighting for those gentle beings.

During their visit, our Association members hosted a delicious vegan lunch for the IDA staff and presented them with other gifts from Supreme Master Ching Hai including some of her DVDs, CDs and books, among them, her international #1 bestsellers, “The Dogs in My Life” and “The Birds in My Life.”

This will make some wonderful reading and listening. I have actually read a couple of the books already. And they were truly a source of inspiration to me.

Finally, Dr. Katz was given a handsome and distinctive yellow “Hero” jacket designed by Supreme Master Ching Hai.

Thank you, I will wear it with honor. Whenever I put it on, I will think of Supreme Master Ching Hai (Thank you.) and yourselves, and all of you here today. Thank you so much.

At the end of their visit to IDA headquarters, In Defense of Animals gifted our Association members some wonderful In Defense of Animals t-shirts. To conclude, we are grateful Dr. Elliott Katz and all other members and supporters of In Defense of Animals for your firmly upholding the rights of our animal friends. May IDA continue to play an important role in moving our world increasingly closer to an era where all sentient beings live together in equality and harmony.

For more details on In Defense of Animals, please visit

Thank you for your gentle presence today on this edition of the Shining World Award series. Up next is Enlightening Entertainment, after Noteworthy News. May love forever fill your heart and peace always fill your days.