Monday, June 02, 2008

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are an animal rights organization. Base in the United States and with two million members and supporters there and in another place, PETA says it is the largest animal rights collection in the world.

Founded in 1980 and based in Norfolk, Virginia, the organization is a nonprofit, tax exempt 501(c) (3) corporation with 187 employees, fund nearly completely by its members. Outside the U.S., there are joined offices in Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, Republic of China (Taiwan), and the United Kingdom. There is also the peta2 Street Team for high school and college-age activists, and the Foundation to Support Animal Protection, which manages PETA's assets. Ingrid Newkirk is PETA's international president.

PETA's slogan is "animals are not ours to eat, wear experiment on, or use for entertainment." In support of that position, it focuses on four core issues: factory farming, fur farming, animal testing, and animals in entertainment. It also campaigns against fishing, the killing of animals observe as pests, abuse of chained, backyard dogs, cock fighting, bullfighting and the utilization of meat. It aims to inform the public of its position through advertisements, secretly investigations, animal rescue, and lobbying.

The organization has been criticized for some of its campaigns and for the number of animals it euthanizes. It was also criticized in 2005 by Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, who stated that PETA had acted as a "spokes group" for the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front, after activist associated with those groups had devoted what Inhofe called "acts of terrorism.

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