Forty years ago this month, two young animal rights activists formed an organization to advocate for animals.
Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco called it “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals,” often known simply as PETA.
In the years since, PETA has made a name for itself by its controversial, sometimes outrageous, tactics, aimed at protecting the rights of animals.
I’ve interviewed Ingrid Newkirk a number of times over the years, including the interview you’re about to hear, from 1991.
And speaking of controversy .. the day I talked with her,i in 1991, PETA was under fire for a newspaper ad they had just published.
The ad compared meatpackers to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed and dismembered 17 victims. Near the end of this interview, I talked with Newkirk about that ad, and the response to it.
Here now, Ingrid Newkirk, from 1991: