Serj Tankian Discusses Animal Rights With Peta2

Hot on the heels of the release of his third solo album, Harakiri, System of a Down's Serj Tankian is challenging the ways humans view—and abuse—animals. In an exclusive peta2 interview (available below or here, Tankian stresses the importance of taking responsibility for caring for our planet and the animals who live here—and those animals, Tankian notes, include humans. "I think that's something that we always forget with our self-differentiation and egos—that we think that we're different," Tankian says, "but we are animals."

Tankian goes on to discuss the importance of adopting animals from shelters—where more than half are killed because of a lack of good homes—and the horrors of the Canadian seal slaughter. "It's shocking that something like this could still be happening today."

Tankian, who previously released five studio albums with System of a Down, is currently on a world tour. He will wrap up his shows in the United States on September 28 and begin his international run in October. Tankian is the cofounder of the political activist organization Axis of Justice and founder of the music label Serjical Strike Records.

Serj Tankian is part of a long list of musicians—including Dave Navarro, Tim McIlrath of Rise Against, OTEP, Dillinger Escape Plan, Mike Ness, and Ted Leo, among many others—who have teamed up with peta2 to challenge archaic, cruel attitudes about animals.

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Tags:  Serj Tankian, Peta2, system of a down, peta 

Jason Fisher    September 27, 2012