NATALIA VILLAVECES

Dedicated to helping the animals

Reported by Sasha Levine
Photo By Enrique Tubio

Natalia Villaveces—writer, producer, actress, and television host for the Telemundo series Nitido—miraculously finds time in her schedule to be a strong advocate for animals. Having grown up spending a great deal of time on her grandmother’s farm, feeding the resident cows, chickens, pigs, horses, and donkeys, she was always an animal lover. When other girls her age were playing with dolls, Natalia wanted nothing more than to be surrounded by animals. “Even at a young age, I knew they were special to me. I also had this whole ugly duckling thing going and I recall how comforting it felt to be next to them.” Dogs, turtles, and fish resided in her own household, but she also treated her grandmother’s farm animals as beloved pets. She was amazed at the similarities between pigs and dogs. “[Pigs] respond to their names and like to play with toys. Not to mention the obsession with having their bellies rubbed.”

Her activism truly began when she was introduced to the reality of factory farms and puppy mills when she moved to the United States. “It’s not to say that in my home country, Columbia, this doesn’t occur,” Villaveces concedes, “but it seems like it is on a massive scale here. The more I discovered, the more I wanted to know.” She watched documentaries such as Food, Inc. and Supersize Me and read books such as Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer and The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. What she learned “turned [Villaveces’] world upside down.”

She expounds on this: “It has made me feel ashamed that I had been so blind to the very cruel truth. As a TV talent, I’ve participated in campaigns for fast food chains and other products that treat animals like inanimate objects, and it is a harsh reminder that turning profit comes at any expense—no matter how much suffering is involved. I refuse to be a part of that now. That’s why I scrutinize every meal I eat and product I buy, because I know my purchasing decisions affect the welfare of countless animals.”

Natalia is currently an active member of several animal welfare organizations, including PETA, for whom she’s recently proudly accepted their invitation to promote veganism; ASPCA; and Bernie Berlin’s rescue, A Place to Bark. Villaveces first saw a reference to Bernie Berlin’s work rescuing dogs from puppy mills about a year and a half ago in a tweet from The Humane Society. She immediately researched Bernie’s rescue operations by watching many online videos demonstrating the deplorable conditions forced upon the puppy mill dogs. “It immediately brought upon a great sadness that was quickly and powerfully overcome by a need to act and do something about it,” she says. She contacted Bernie, and the two have been close friends ever since.

Though Natalia has a demanding schedule, she always finds time for the little puppy mill rescue dog of her own named Bella. She also finds time to positively affect the life of other animals in need. Whether it’s through using social media to get strays adopted or stopping traffic to prevent homeless pets from getting hit, Natalia tries to “have at least one victory a day.” Natalia describes her actions at this point as transcending motivation. Because animals can’t speak or stand up for themselves, she feels that she and others like her have the duty to be their voices and protectors.

More information about Natalia and her dedication to animal welfare visit:
www.nataliavillaveces.com
and you can friend her on Facebook at: Natalia Villaveces.