Founding of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, usually known as PETA, is an American animal rights organization founded by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco, and based in Norfolk, Virginia. It first drew attention in the early 1980s with its campaign over the treatment of monkeys in a research laboratory in Silver Spring, Maryland. The organization campaigns against factory farming, the fur trade, animal testing and the use of animals in entertainment, often using provocative publicity and celebrity support. Its supporters credit it with changing practices in industry and public attitudes, while critics object to its tactics, its advertising campaigns and some of its policies, including its euthanasia of animals at its own shelter.

Open on the timeline