Ingrid Newkirk

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.

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, 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. PETA has responded to this line of criticism. Provided by Wikipedia