PETA writes that it is an animal rights organization, and as such it rejects speciesism and the idea of animals as property, and opposes the use of animals in any form: as food, clothing, entertainment, or as research subjects.

PETA opposes the no kill movement, and, according to a Newsweek report, euthanizes an estimated 85 % of the animals that end up at their shelter.

" PETA also opposes the keeping of fish in aquarium tanks, suggesting that people view computer videos of fish instead.

PETA opposes animal testing — whether toxicity testing, basic or applied research, or for education and training — on both moral and practical grounds.

PETA also opposes the use of down from birds and the use of silk from silkworms or spiders.

The animal rights organisation PETA strongly opposes mulesing, says the practice is cruel and painful, and that more humane alternatives exist, and claim that sheep can be spared maggot infestation through more humane methods, including special diets and spray washing.

Animal rights groups such as PETA have called for boycotts and encourage the use of alternative materials such as synthetic leathers.

McDonald's and Wendy's introduced vegetarian options after PETA targeted them ; Petco stopped selling some exotic pets ; and Polo Ralph Lauren said it would no longer use fur.

PETA spokesperson Lindsay Rajt told the Huffington Post, “ We try to use absolutely every outlet to stick up for animals ,” adding that “ We are careful about what we do and wouldn ’ t use nudity or some of our flashier tactics if we didn't know they worked .” PETA also used nudity in its " Veggie Love " ad which it prepared for the Super Bowl only to have it banned by the network.

Gary Francione, professor of law at Rutgers School of Law-Newark, argues that PETA is not an animal rights group — and further that there is no animal rights movement in the United States — because of their willingness to work with industries that use animals to achieve incremental change.

In 2008, the animal rights group PETA initiated a campaign against Karan for her company's use of fur in products and her contracted fur farmers ' alleged inhumane treatment of animals.

However, there are some animal rights groups, such as PETA, which support animal welfare measures in the short term to alleviate animal suffering until all animal use is ended.

She allowed PETA to use her song " I Wanna Be Free " in a public service campaign encouraging people not to chain their dogs outside.

PETA cited earlier statements by Pope Benedict XVI on factory farming, in which the pontiff criticized the " industrial use of creatures, so that geese are fed in such a way as to produce as large a liver as possible, or hens live so packed together that they become just caricatures of birds " as being incompatible with Biblical teachings on animals.

Many animal welfare and animal rights organizations, such as PETA, are opposed to the use of wild animals in circuses.

Death is much slower than with the traditional type trap, which has prompted animal activists and welfare organisations such as PETA and the RSPCA to oppose the use of glue traps.

They use methods ranging from persuasion ( the PETA campaign " I would rather go naked than wear fur ") to coercion ( spraying people wearing fur clothes with paint, typically red in imitation of blood ).

Although PETA takes a gradualist approach to improving animal welfare, Newkirk remains committed to ending animal use, and the idea that, as PETA's slogan says, " animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment.

CCF called PCRM a front for PETA, arguing that when PCRM offers health advice, they " do a very slick job of obscuring their real intentions ," which is simply to oppose the use of meat, dairy products and alcohol.

In October 2004, American fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. responded to pressure from PETA to boycott Australian merino wool due in part to the use of mulesing in Australia.

Then, in December 2008, one of the world's largest retailers, Liz Claiborne, ( in which PETA is a shareholder ) banned the use of Australian Merino wool in its products in opposition to the mulesing practice, at the time an Australian Wool Innovations spokesman said " the company did not purchase any Australian wool ".

For this reason, PETA is boycotting businesses that use Tyson as a supplier, such as KFC and distribution channels such as Sunset Strips.

During a pep rally at South Park Elementary, a group of local PETA eco-terrorists protest the use of a cow as the school's mascot ( for " the 47th time ").

PETA responded that it has no involvement in ALF or ELF actions and does not support violence, though Newkirk has elsewhere made clear that she supports the removal of animals from laboratories and other facilities, including as a result of illegal direct action.

PETA lobbies governments to impose fines where animal-welfare legislation has been violated, promotes a vegan diet, tries to reform the practices in factory farms and slaughterhouses, goes undercover into animal research laboratories, farms, and circuses, initiates media campaigns against particular companies or practices, helps to find sanctuaries for former circus and zoo animals, and initiates lawsuits against companies.

In 2011, PETA named five orcas as plaintiffs and sued SeaWorld over the animals ' enslavement, seeking their protection under the Thirteenth Amendment.

In another case, two PETA employees were acquitted in 2007 of animal cruelty after at least 80 euthanized animals were left in dumpsters in a shopping center in Ashoskie over the course of a month in 2005 ; the two employees were seen leaving behind 18 dead animals, and 13 more were found inside their van.

During the trial, Daphna Nachminovitch, the supervisor of PETA's Community Animal Project, said PETA began euthanizing animals in some rural North Carolina shelters after it found the shelters killing animals in ways PETA considered inhumane.

She also stated that the dumping of animals did not follow PETA policy.

PETA sends its staff undercover into research laboratories, factory farms, and circuses to document the treatment of animals, requiring them to spend many months as employees of the facility, making copies of documents and wearing hidden cameras.

In 1999, a North Carolina grand jury handed down indictments against pig-farm workers on Belcross Farm in Camden County, the first indictments for animal cruelty on a factory farm in the United States, after a three-month PETA investigation produced film of the workers beating the animals.

PETA argues that it would have been better for animals had the institution of breeding them as " pets " never emerged, that the desire to own and receive love from animals is selfish, and that their breeding, sale, and purchase can cause immeasurable suffering.

PETA supports hearing dog programs where animals are taken from shelters and placed in appropriate homes, but does not endorse seeing-eye-dog programs because, according to one of their Vice Presidents, " the dogs are bred as if there are no equally intelligent dogs literally dying for homes in shelters.

PETA argues that conservation personalities, such as Steve Irwin, place animals under stress.

PETA is critical of television personalities they call self-professed wildlife warriors, arguing that while a conservationist message is getting across, some of the actions are harmful to animals, such as invading animals ' homes, netting them, subjecting them to stressful environments, and wrestling with them — often involving young animals the group says should be with their mothers.

PETA launched a boycott campaign against Benetton for buying wool from farmers who practiced mulesing.

The fast food industry is a popular target for critics, from anti-globalization activists like José Bové to vegetarian activist groups such as PETA.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ( PETA ) ( stylized PeTA ) is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president.

PETA was further criticized in 2005 by United States Senator Jim Inhofe for having given grants several years earlier to Animal Liberation Front ( ALF ) and Earth Liberation Front ( ELF ) activists, two groups that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has identified as agents of domestic terrorism.

The ten-year battle for custody of the monkeys — described by The Washington Post as a vicious mud fight, during which both sides accused the other of lies and distortion — transformed PETA into a national, then international, movement.

The organization is known for its aggressive media campaigns, combined with a solid base of celebrity support — Pamela Anderson, Drew Barrymore, Alec Baldwin, John Gielgud, Bill Maher, Stella McCartney, and Alicia Silverstone have all appeared in PETA ads.

PETA also gives a yearly prize, called the Proggy Award ( for " progress "), to individuals or organizations dedicated to animal welfare or who distinguish themselves through their efforts within the area of animal welfare.

The campaigns have delivered results for PETA.

Patricia de Leon worked with PETA in 2011 to reduce support for bullfighting among Hispanic people, and was photographed by Kike San Martín for an anti-bullfighting campaign.

PETA has been criticized for aiming its message at children.

In 2008, the Center for Consumer Freedom formally petitioned Virginia's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, requesting official reclassification of PETA as a slaughterhouse.

The CCF claimed in a press release that "( a ) n official report filed by PETA itself shows that the animal rights group put to death nearly every dog, cat, and other pet it took in for adoption in 2006.

" A spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Agriculture responded that " PETA will basically take anything that comes through the door, and other shelters won't do that ," and that it had considered changing PETA's status from " shelter " to " euthanasia clinic.

After PETA sent the video and a 253-page complaint to the United States Department of Agriculture, Covance was fined $ 8, 720 for 16 citations, three of which involved lab monkeys ; the other citations involved administrative issues and equipment.

American writer Don Liddick writes that PETA gave $ 1, 500 to the Earth Liberation Front in 2001 — Newkirk said the donation was a mistake, and that the money had been intended for public education about destruction of habitat, but Liddick writes that it went to the legal defense of Craig Rosebraugh, an ELF spokesman.

Liddick also writes that PETA gave Coronado $ 45, 000 for his legal bills and another $ 25, 000 to his father.

In 2008 PETA provided 300 dog houses and 1, 200 bales of straw for chained backyard dogs.