People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world. Founded in 1980 as a non-profit organization, it has its headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, and a claimed 800,000 members and over 100 employees worldwide. Outside the U.S., there are branch offices in the UK, http://www.peta.org.uk India, http://www.petaindia.com Germany, http://www.peta.de Asia, and the Netherlands. http://www.peta.nl Ingrid Newkirk is PETA's international president.

PETA's philosophy

PETA's motto is: "Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment." Its website states:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

::::::::PETA believes that animals deserve the most basic rights — consideration of their own best interests regardless of whether they are useful to humans. Like you, they are capable of suffering and have interests in leading their own lives; therefore, they are not ours to use — for food, clothing, entertainment, or experimentation, or for any other reason." http://www.peta.org/about/index.asp

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

PETA was founded in 1980 by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco, who were inspired by Peter Singer's book Animal Liberation. Newkirk once stated, "When it comes to feelings such as pain, fear, hunger, and thirst, a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy." In the long term, PETA advocates the abolition of animal exploitation, and espouses the philosophical position of animal rights; in the short term, it is willing to advocate animal-welfare reforms, and it has negotiated with a number of industries that use animals to obtain improvements in welfare standards. PETA strongly supports the vegan lifestyle.

Related Topics:
Alex Pacheco - Peter Singer - Animal rights - Animal-welfare - Vegan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~