Michael Vick has a question for the animal rights activists who harp on his past and might have made death threats against him: “Why would you continue to bash somebody who’s trying to help make the world a better place?”

The Eagles quarterback, who four years ago was imprisoned on federal dogfighting charges, appeared at a suburban Atlanta church for a charity event for juvenile offenders Saturday afternoon, signing autographs four days after his publisher, worried about death threats, cancelled a series of appearances by Vick to help promote his autobiography, “Finally Free.”

Animal rights activists have made Vick a longtime target for their protests, and their anger recently was stoked when Vick admitted his family had a new dog as a pet, because he wanted to learn from his past and teach his children how to care for animals. When threats were made, Vick’s tour was temporarily suspended.