Ingrid Newkirk | |
|---|---|
 Ingrid Newkirk with Little Man, her photographer's chihuahua, during an interview for Wikinews in 2007. | |
| Born | Ingrid Elizabeth Ward June 11, 1949 Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England |
| Citizenship | British-American |
| Occupation(s) | Founder and President of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals |
| Spouse |
Steve Newkirk
(m. 1968; div. 1980) |
| Website | Official website |
Ingrid Elizabeth Newkirk (née Ward; born June 11, 1949) is a British-American animal activist, author and the president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the world's largest animal rights organization.
Newkirk founded PETA in March 1980 with fellow animal rights activist Alex Pacheco. They came to public attention in 1981, during what became known as the Silver Spring monkeys case, when Pacheco photographed 17 macaque monkeys being experimented on inside the Institute of Behavioral Research in Silver Spring, Maryland. The case led to the first police raid in the United States on an animal research laboratory and to an amendment in 1985 to the Animal Welfare Act. Since then, Newkirk has led campaigns to stop the use of animals in crash tests, convinced companies to stop testing cosmetics on animals, organized undercover investigations that have led to government sanctions against companies, universities, and entertainers who use animals.[1]
Newkirk has been criticized for her support of actions carried out in the name of the Animal Liberation Front. Newkirk and PETA have also been criticized for euthanizing many of the animals taken into PETA's shelters,[2] including healthy pets, and opposition to the whole notion of pets, and her position that "There's no rational basis for saying that a human being has special rights. A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy," as well as seemingly seeing eradication as a goal.[3] PETA has responded to this line of criticism.[4]
- ^ For the Safeway story, see "After losing 'Shameway' label, Safeway now praised by PETA", Business Times, February 22, 2008.
- Examples of the undercover investigations:
- For University of Pennsylvania, see Carbone, Larry. What Animals Want: Expertise and Advocacy in Laboratory Animal Welfare Policy. Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 90.
- Rudacille, Deborah. The Scalpel and the Butterfly: The Conflict between Animal Research and Animal Protection. University of California Press 2000, pp. 145–147.
- For Bobby Berosini, see Hearne, Vicki. Can an ape tell a joke?, Harpers, November 1, 1993.
- "High court throws out $4.2 million judgment animal trainer won in libel, privacy suit" Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine, The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, February 22, 1994, accessed June 26, 2010, and "PETA v. Bobby Berosini" Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine, Supreme Court of Nevada, May 22, 1995, accessed June 28, 2010.
- For Belcross Farm, see "PETA probe spurs indictment of three for cruelty to pigs", Associated Press, July 9, 1999.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Saunderswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Douglas Anthony Cooper, Ingrid Newkirk's Death Wish Huffington Post
- ^ Killoran, Ellen. "PETA Responds To Animal Cruelty Charge From No-Kill Shelter Advocate, With An Expose Of Its Own [EXCLUSIVE]", International Business Times, April 5, 2013.