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[Extracted
from a special interview with Ingrid Newkirk which was
part of the Environment News Service Earth Day 30th
Anniversary Newsmaker Series.]
 Ingrid
Newkirk is cofounder and president of People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the largest
animal rights organization in the world. From her early
days as a Maryland cop, Newkirk has worked to protect
animals and to save the Earth for all its living creatures.
Before
joining PETA, Newkirk served as a deputy sheriff.
Newkirk was a Maryland state law enforcement officer
for 25 years with the highest success rate in the state
in convicting animal abusers. She was director of cruelty
investigations for the second oldest humane society
in the U.S., and Chief of Animal Disease Control
for the Commission on Public Health in the District
of Columbia.
Since then, Newkirk's campaigns
to save animals have made the front pages of the "Washington
Post" and other national newspapers. She has
appeared on the "Today Show," the "Oprah
Winfrey Show," "West 57th," "Nightline"
and "20/20," among other top network
news programs.
As
the leader of PETA, Newkirk helps guide the group and
its 600,000 plus members in its mission of protecting
the rights of all animals. PETA operates under the simple
principle that animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment
on or use for entertainment.
Founded
in 1980, PETA focuses its attention on the four areas
in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most
intensely for the longest periods of time: on factory
farms, in laboratories, in the fur trade, and in the
entertainment industry.
The
group also works on a variety of other issues, including
the abuse of backyard dogs and the killing of beavers,
birds and other animals considered to be pests.
Newkirk
has spoken internationally on animal protection issues,
from the steps of the Canadian Parliament to the streets
of New Delhi, India where she spent her childhood. She
is the author of numerous books about how individuals
can protect wildlife and domestic animals. Among her
titles: "Save the Animals!
101 Easy Things You Can Do;" "Kids Can Save
the Animals! 101 Easy Things to Do;" "The
Compassionate Cook;" "250 Ways to Make Your
Cat Adore You;" and "You Can Save the Animals:
251 Simple Ways to Stop Thoughtless Cruelty."
She
has also written numerous articles on the social implications
of our treatment of animals in our homes, slaughterhouses,
circuses and laboratories.
Newkirk
achieved the passage of legislation to create a spay/neuter
clinic in Washington, D.C. and coordinated the first
arrest in U.S. history of a laboratory animal scientist
on animal cruelty charges. She spearheaded the closure
of a  Department
of Defense underground "wound laboratory,"
and has initiated many other campaigns against animal
abuse, including ending General Motors' crash tests
on animals.
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