People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), nongovernmental organization (NGO) committed to ending abusive treatment of animals in business and society and promoting consideration of animal interests in everyday decision making and general policies and practices.

PETA was founded in 1980 by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco, who were influenced by Australian ethicist Peter Singer’s book Animal Liberation (1975). PETA’s earliest efforts included exposure of and litigation against government and private research laboratories that used animals in testing. Gradually the organization began to appeal to industries—such as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, which traditionally used animals for extensive and invasive testing of their products—to discontinue animal testing in favor of cruelty-free alternatives. Businesses responded to that appeal. Many cosmetics industry leaders, for example, discontinued the practice of testing products on animals, and more than 500 cosmetics companies signed a pledge of assurance that they would not engage in animal experimentation. PETA also condemned and helped eliminate the auto industry’s use of animals in crash tests.

PETA also targeted other areas of commerce closely associated with animal abuse. The organization’s concern over the misuse of animals for their fur in the fashion industry, for example, prompted many industry leaders, including Georgio Armani, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren, to go “fur-free.” The once-standard use of animals in entertainment, such as in the circus industry, was also reduced. Not only was there tighter legislation, but new industry standards were established by such circus alternatives as Cirque du Soleil, which did not use animal acts. Other significant changes included rising standards for the treatment of animals by suppliers for fast-food chains and increasing public awareness of the abusive practices of suppliers in countries such as China that lacked protective legislation.

PETA attempted to alter public attitudes toward animal rights by means of creative advertising campaigns that, while serious in their message, contained humorous and spooflike elements. The organization fought against “speciesism,” arguing that animals have rights in proportion to their “interests” and that those rights should be respected and protected. As PETA explained it, an animal, like a human, has an interest, for example, in not experiencing pain unnecessarily. Thus, that interest should be respected, and an animal’s right not to have unnecessary pain inflicted should be protected.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has been described as “by far the most successful radical organization in America.” The key word is radical. PETA seeks “total animal liberation,” according to its president and co-founder, Ingrid Newkirk. That means no meat or dairy, of course; but it also means no aquariums, no circuses, no hunting or fishing, no fur or leather, and no medical research using animals. PETA is even opposed to the use of seeing-eye dogs.