People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; stylized PeTA) is an American animal rights organization, founded on 22 March 1980 by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco.

Quotes

• Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way.
  • PETA's motto. Quoted in “PETA's Vital Work,” in PETA.org (2017).

Quotes about PETA

• PETA has a proven track record of success. Each victory PETA wins for the animals is a stepping stone upon which we build a more compassionate world for all beings — and we will never give up our fight until all animals are treated with respect and kindness.
  • Beatrice Arthur, “A Message From The Late Bea Arthur,” in PETA.org.

• When an organization has been as effective as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, it's hard to believe they've been around for only 35 years. It all started when some forward-thinking people launched a group that would rip the lid off corporate and government wrongdoing to animals, get behind the scenes in everything from fur ranching to chicken farming and demand that we replace cruel choices with kind ones. Where would we be today without PETA? Before PETA was around, you could pretty much do anything you wanted to animals, anytime, anyhow. And now you can't — think about that.
  • Bill Maher, “Unlike Lion Killers, PETA Only Goes After Fair Game,” in The Hollywood Reporter (20 August 2015).

• When we first started, we were able to take our undercover video to 60 Minutes or 20/20, and they would fight over it and do these thought-provoking exposés. Now that society has become less interested in these programs and more interested in sensationalism and the tabloids, we have to reinvent ourselves to keep our issues on the front burner; we have had to do a lot of theatrical things. … Much of what we do is geared toward kids, who have a great sense of justice. This is the first generation in which kids have grown up with this issue. Twenty-five years ago, parents were petrified when their kids went vegetarian — some still are.
  • Dan Mathews, “Sir Paul McCartney and PETA VP Dan Mathews Reflect on Two Decades of Activism” (April 2005), in PETA.org.