About Compassion Over Killing (COK)

“Compassion Over Killing demonstrates that you do not need to be big to have an impact. A classic example of David trying to bring down Goliath is seen with the efforts of Compassion Over Killing…. The organization may be short on staff but has effectively gotten the public’s attention….”

Since 1995, COK has served as an unwavering force bringing about positive changes for animals, and thanks to our many generous supporters, we’ve come a long way in our short history: starting as an all-volunteer high school club and evolving into a national voice for animals.

Despite our small staff and limited budget, COK’s innovative, cost-effective campaigns are having a tremendous impact. Just look at what we’ve accomplished since 1995!

2010: COK Celebrates 15 Years of Compassion!

From day one, we’ve made it our mission to give a voice to the billions of animals who suffer behind the closed doors of animal agribusiness and to empower others to choose compassion by leaving animals off their plates. With your help, we’ve gone undercover inside factory farms to expose the truth, we put an end to the egg industry’s misleading advertising scheme, we’ve changed the way corporations do business, we’ve aired pro-vegetarian commercials nationwide reaching millions of viewers, and so much more. Thank you for allowing us to celebrate this anniversary! We hope you’ll continue standing with us during our next 15 years of advocacy. 

2009: A Year of Action in Review

Your support is so crucial to our work on behalf of farmed animals, which is why we’re thrilled to share our 2009 Year in Review video highlighting our efforts this past year—from our successful national campaign announcing that BOCA foods is removing eggs from all of its products by the end of 2009 to the DC VegFest which was celebrated by more than 2,500 people in the nation’s capital.

Read more about watch our 2009 year-in-review video!

2008: Another Year of Compassionate Action for Animals

In 2008, COK pulled back the curtains on animal agribusiness with undercover footage exposing the hidden horrors forced upon animals in the egg and foie gras industries. Our positive outreach efforts—from our hard-hitting ads on MTV to our 30-day egg-free pledge to our campaign urging Dunkin’ Donuts to serve soy milk—continue to empower others to stand up for animals every time they sit down to eat. And corporations are taking notice: after corresponding with Lightlife Foods about the growing demand for animal-friendly foods, the company committed to significantly reduce its use of eggs and introduce several new vegan options in early 2009!

Read more about watch our 2008 year-in-review video!

2007: COK Putting Compassion into Action

With your help, our efforts throughout 2007 to expose the miseries endured by farmed animals and promote the concept of not eating them reached new heights—from our first ever "Best Vegetarian Restaurant" contest on VegDC.com that generated a phenomenal news story on Washington, D.C.'s NBC-4 to our Morningstar Farms campaign victory in which the Kellogg subsidiary announced it will reduce its use of eggs by at least one million in 2008 and it will also create new vegan products!

Read more about our work in 2007 and watch our year-in-review video.

2006: A Year in Review

2006 has been a monumental year for COK. We’ve grown to a full-time staff of six, our undercover investigation inside a Pennsylvania egg factory farm led to a precedent-setting case of criminal cruelty to animals, we exposed shocking abuse inside a North Carolina turkey hatchery that supplies Butterball, our MTV pro-vegetarian commercial campaign went national and so much more…

Learn more about our work in 2006, and watch our 7-minute video highlighting our efforts throughout the year.

Highlights from Our First Ten Years

COK Timeline from 1995 to 2005

Please accept our most heartfelt gratitude for enabling us to accomplish so much for animals in the past decade, and we look forward to another decade of COK advocacy!

Learn more about our work over the last decade, and watch our 10-minute video.

COK’s Offices: Washington, DC and Los Angeles, CA