Annual Review
2016
Annual Review
© PETA
Dear Friends,
In 2016, PETA had many watershed moments, including these:
• We ended 30 years of maternal deprivation experiments on baby
monkeys at the National Institutes of Health.
• Following an intensive PETA campaign, SeaWorld agreed to stop
breeding orcas.
• We ripped the lid off the ostrich slaughter industry and persuaded
Global Brands Group to ban ostrich skin and feathers from its
controlled brands, including Juicy Couture, Jones New York, Frye,
Spyder, Rachel Zoe, and many others.
• It was the target of PETA protests when its dolphin exhibit opened,
but the National Aquarium will now be releasing the dolphins
held captive there into an ocean sanctuary (for which PETA has
donated $10,000).
• As a direct result of PETA’s work, the New York Times editorial board
condemned the use of animals in military trauma training and
called for the Pentagon to ban it.
• Our aggressive campaign paid off when Ringling Bros. and Barnum
& Bailey Circus gave its final
performance with elephants.
• Our lawsuit claiming that Naruto—
a free crested macaque living in
Indonesia—should be declared the
author and owner of the internationally
famous monkey selfie photographs
that he took marked the first time in
history that a U.S. court considered
that an animal could be the owner
of property, rather than a piece
of property.
• Because of relentless pressure by
PETA and our international affiliates, the global demand for animal
skins fell so far that China—the world’s largest supplier of fur and
leather—was forced to close processing plants.
• After PETA’s exposé of the Bowmanville Zoo showed a tiger being
whipped repeatedly and other abuses, the zoo’s owner was
charged with cruelty to animals and the zoo closed.
• We helped reunite families with their lost animal companions,
as well as rescuing dogs and cats from flood-ravaged Baton
Rouge, Louisiana.
PETA’s vital role in these accomplishments is rooted in our
unparalleled efforts to change minds and hearts. In 2016, our
videos received 2.75 million views a day! And every day, we hear
from people telling us that a PETA video inspired them go vegan
or make other cruelty-free choices.
PETA is also making sweeping outreach efforts among one of the
fastest-growing demographics in the U.S.—the Latino community:
In 2016, PETA Latino’s Facebook posts reached 36 million people
a month, and our Spanish-language videos netted more than
250 million views.
PETA’s achievements for animals would not have occurred without our
members and supporters. We especially thank our Vanguard Society,
Augustus Club, and Investigations & Rescue Fund members for making
the victories for animals on the following pages possible.
With kind regards,
Ingrid E. Newkirk
President
Board of Directors and Officers
Ingrid E. Newkirk, Chair
Michael P. Rodman, Treasurer • Jeanne Roush, Secretary
© Merkulovstudio/Shutterstock.com
WAY
We believe that animals have an intrinsic worth of their own, quite apart from their
utility to humans, and should not be treated as commodities. Therefore, PETA’s
motto is “Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment,
or abuse in any other way.”
The greatest cause of animal suffering is not malice. It is ignorance.
The places in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely
for the longest periods of time are inaccessible to most people: factory farms,
slaughterhouses, fur farms, laboratories, the entertainment industry, the pet
trade, and the backyards and homes of abusive animal guardians.
The ally of ignorance is silence.
Just as mold thrives in the dark, animal abuse thrives in a climate of secrecy.
Just as sunlight is the best disinfectant, public awareness is PETA’s most effective
weapon against animal abuse.
Awareness is the first step. Change is the second.
In addition to the aforementioned tactics, PETA also creates change
for animals through shareholder activism, corporate negotiations, Internet
marketing, scientific research and analysis, funding the development of
non-animal test methods, lobbying, humane education, youth involvement,
outreach to the courts and law enforcement, and rescue work.
With these tools, we’re persuading grocery and restaurant chains to require
their meat, milk, and egg suppliers to make sweeping reforms. We’re
persuading designers and retailers to stop selling fur, skins, down, and
wool. We’re getting animal tests replaced with sophisticated and humane
non-animal methods. We’re persuading the film, television, and advertising
industries to replace the use of live great apes and other wild animals with
computer-generated imagery or animatronics, and we’re turning people
away from live-animal shows and exhibits.
No one does more to raise awareness of the plight of animals than PETA.
The video footage and other findings from our eyewitness investigations of
facilities in which animals are neglected and abused draw millions of Web viewers
each year. Our media campaigns—and especially our recruitment of celebrity
spokespeople—put animal issues in the headlines of major media outlets every
single day. Our grassroots outreach is second to none, with demonstrators and
leafleters on the streets all over North America seven days a week.
We’re saving animals’ lives through hands-on rescue work. We’re
successfully urging law-enforcement authorities to take cruelty to animals
seriously. We’re persuading the courts to give animal abusers stiffer
penalties, anger-management training, and prohibitions on owning
animals. We’re engaging young people and revolutionizing the way future
generations will regard animals. And we’re inspiring countless people to
go vegan, to buy only cruelty-free products, and to make animal-friendly
choices in all aspects of life.
At a time when all but the most controversial voices are drowned out in a media
din, our willingness to be cheeky and provocative when necessary ensures that the
plight of animals is not ignored.
Ultimately, PETA strives to achieve a world in which animals are respected
and people are aware of and concerned about the ways in which their daily
decisions affect the lives of other sentient beings.
Lion: © Sean Noronha • Other animals: © PETA
THE
The Dedication and Generosity of
Members Make Our Work Possible
5
The Hanley Family
VANGUARD SOCIETY MEMBERS
My family and I have proudly supported PETA for a quarter of a century! We will always stand behind Ingrid Newkirk and the
PETA staff and volunteers, who courageously, devoutly, and tirelessly campaign for what we believe in: peace, respect, and
freedom for all beings. PETA supports our shared goals while also supplying information on the best way to help our animal
friends and to live a healthier and more fulfilling life. PETA has been a blessing to my family, and we are all better and happier
human beings because of it.
© Erica Bragge
George and Kathleen Nemeth
VANGUARD SOCIETY MEMBERS
We’re proud to support PETA, an organization with clarity of purpose and a bias for action. We cannot claim to be of an
enlightened age and sit by silently when animals are exploited and suffer on a scale that is almost too hard to imagine.
PETA shines a light and makes it clear that this cruelty is simply not tolerable. We support PETA because we know that
our contributions go toward changing the fundamental behavior and assumptions that are the root of animal suffering:
PETA understands that animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment.
Erika and Robert Brunson
VANGUARD SOCIETY AND AUGUSTUS CLUB MEMBERS
I have been a PETA fan and supporter since the 1980s. Thankfully, PETA’s lifesaving work knows no boundaries—strategically,
geographically, or tactically. They never give up. From low-cost, high-volume spay/neuter to executive negotiations with
corporate leaders, PETA’s programs have unparalleled success. They focus on cruelty that others ignore and have made
angora, crocodile skin, ostrich leather, and so much more go from status symbol to social liability. For these reasons and
many more, I have included PETA in my estate plans in addition to my annual support.
© Alison Hoover
Photography
Vanguard Society members and Augustus Club members like those below serve as the roots of financial support that enable our vital programs to grow stronger.
© Phillip W. Kirkland/Shutterstock.com
7
ANIMALS ARE
Not Ours to Eat
cows on the planet” was a sham. On this farm, our
eyewitness and a whistleblower documented that cows
with pneumonia struggled to breathe, terribly sick calves
were so mired in their own dung that it had scalded their
skin, and calves were drowned by incompetent workers
who accidentally forced milk into their lungs while forcefeeding them.
After discussions with PETA, Ben & Jerry’s and Dippin’
Dots began offering new vegan versions of their frozen
desserts, Yard House introduced a vegan cheeseburger,
and Olive Garden veganized its marinara sauce and
minestrone soup, joining the many other food service
providers that also agreed to add more vegan choices
this year.
PETA added Dean Foods (one of the largest U.S.
dairy processors), PepsiCo, Chobani, ALDI U.S.,
Sprouts Farmers Market, and Lifeway to the list
of companies we have persuaded to pressure their
dairy suppliers to end cruel dehorning. This will
prevent countless calves from having their horn
buds painfully burned out of their skulls.
PETA’s exposé of a milk supplier to Daisy Brand sour
cream and cottage cheese revealed to millions of
consumers that its claim to have “the best cared-for
PETA’s eyewitness exposé of a massive North Carolina
hatchery that supplies chicken meat to Kroger, Sysco,
and others revealed the plight of “late hatchers”—chicks
deemed useless who were ground up alive or simply left
to die. As a result of our exposé, the company pledged
to stop leaving late hatchers—who are often too weak
to stand or lift their heads—to languish in barren
plastic crates.
PETA garnered national headlines and drew massive
public attention to the benefits of vegan eating to
animals, the environment, and our health with the
release of our list of the Top 10 Vegan-Friendly Cities.
Mayors received framed certificates from PETA, including
the mayor of Portland, Oregon, the number one most
vegan-friendly city, whose certificate was presented in
person by music legend Paul McCartney.
PETA worked with sanctuaries to secure the rescue
of a cow who had escaped from a slaughterhouse
in New York and captured the hearts of millions who
followed her story on social media. Our involvement
helped bring national news media attention to the cow’s
rescue, which helped countless people realize that every
hamburger, steak, and slice of roast beef came from
an animal like this cow,
who valued her life.
Actors Pamela Anderson,
Alan Cumming, and
Bellamy Young and
hip-hop artists Mya,
Waka Flocka Flame,
and Russell Simmons
helped PETA draw media
attention to animals
suffering in the meat
and dairy industries.
Charles Otto
VANGUARD SOCIETY MEMBER
Every year, billions of animals are imprisoned, tortured, and killed. Since its founding, PETA has worked relentlessly and successfully to advance
the argument that we have no right to use animals for selfish reasons. I give to PETA, because it’s the best hope we have.
Photo: © Brian Bowen Smith • Stylist: Mia Gyzander
By exposing what happens to animals abused for
food and debunking the “humane farming” myth,
PETA is inspiring ever more people to go vegan,
sparing countless animals a lifetime of almost
unimaginable suffering. To see more of our progress,
visit PETA.org/AnnualReview.
Photo: PETA Asia
9
ANIMALS ARE
Not Ours to Wear
The New York Times broke PETA’s investigation into
the highly secretive ostrich slaughter industry in South
Africa, which supplies ostrich skins to Hermès, Prada,
and other top accessory labels. Our exposé revealed
that birds are imprisoned in barren dirt feedlots,
where their feathers are often
yanked out. After a terrifying journey
to the slaughterhouse, they are
electrically stunned and flipped
upside down, and their throats are
slit. As a result of our exposé, Global
Brands Group banned ostrichderived products from its controlled
brands, including Juicy Couture,
Frye, Jones New York, Jennifer
Lopez, David Beckham, and many
others. PETA’s shareholder activism
and eye-catching demonstrations
have made Hermès and Prada
squirm under the heat of the international
media spotlight for supporting such cruelty.
Retailer Brooks Brothers stopped purchasing wool
from a supplier affiliated with two Chilean sheep farms
after a PETA exposé revealed that workers on these
farms cut off lambs’ tails and punctured their ears
without any pain relief, killed fully conscious sheep
by stabbing them in the neck (causing them to kick
frantically as they slowly died), and even skinned a
sheep alive. This was PETA’s sixth video exposé in the
last two years of the wool industry on three continents,
proving that there’s no such thing as “humane” or
“responsible” wool.
This year, PETA persuaded
numerous companies to join
our list of retailers (which
now exceeds 170) that have
gone angora-free, including
Genesco (parent company to
Journeys, Dockers, and many
more), Guess, James Perse
Los Angeles, Ralph Lauren,
URBN brands (including Urban
Outfitters, Anthropologie,
and more), True Religion, and
Zumiez. This will spare countless
rabbits the terror of being tied down while their fur is
yanked out by the fistful.
PETA’s exposé of so-called “humane” down suppliers
revealed that on goose farms across China, where
80 percent of the world’s down and feathers are
produced, workers were seen stepping on geese’s
delicate wings and necks, tightly binding their feet
together, and ripping their feathers out as they bled
and screamed. After discussions with PETA, Marriott
brands Moxy and AC banned down.
Actors Joaquin Phoenix, Alicia Silverstone, and
Eva Longoria; models Joanna Krupa and David Miller;
singer/songwriter Sia; and television personalities
Sharon Osbourne and Nicole Williams helped PETA
inform millions of people about the cruelty in the wool
and skins industries. More than 190 fashion companies
have licensed our “PETA-Approved Vegan” logo.
Photo: Michael Muller • Grooming: Saisha Beecham, with
Cloutier Remix
PETA and our affiliates are the only organizations
with major campaigns against the cruelty hiding
in the wool, down, angora, leather, and exotic-skins
industries. For more news on the fashion front, please
visit PETA.org/AnnualReview.
“Jivamukti” means living liberated, and our aims are 100 percent aligned with PETA’s: We are both dedicated to working actively toward the
abolition of slavery and, with it, all forms of animal exploitation. We feel very honored and privileged to be longtime members of PETA.
© Guzman
Sharon Gannon and David Life—FOUNDERS OF JIVAMUKTI YOGA
VANGUARD SOCIETY MEMBERS AND PETA BUSINESS FRIENDS
© Preobrajenskiy/Shutterstock.com
11
ANIMALS ARE
Not Ours to Experiment On
After the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
unsuccessfully tried to charge PETA a prohibitive
$100,000 fee for public records, PETA revealed that
experimenter Stephen Suomi and his colleagues
had spent three decades drugging, isolating,
tormenting, and traumatizing baby monkeys in
maternal deprivation experiments. We then held
demonstrations; filed federal complaints; launched an
ad blitz on Washington, D.C., subway trains and buses;
disrupted the NIH director’s speaking engagements;
motivated more than a quarter-million people to e-mail
government officials; and marshalled the support
of celebrities, scientists, and members of Congress,
who contacted NIH to voice their objections to these
experiments, noting that they were not applicable
to humans and could be replaced with superior nonanimal research methods. As a result, the laboratory
closed, and Suomi will no longer be involved in any
experiments on animals.
In 2016, PETA also achieved
these stunning victories:
• Negotiated the replacement
of live pigs in obstetric and
gynecology surgery training
with a virtual reality surgical
system at Rush University
Medical Center
• Assisted with the passage
of the Frank R. Lautenberg
Chemical Safety for the 21st
Century Act, which modernizes chemical testing and
requires that non-animal methods be used before tests
on animals are considered—marking the beginning
of an end to animal use in chemical testing
• Helped reduce the number of animals required to
be used in pesticide testing by both the U.S. and
the Indian governments, sparing thousands of
animal lives
• Persuaded the Canadian government to end one-year
pesticide tests on dogs
• Helped end the Indian government requirement that
drugs approved in other countries be retested on
animals for use in India
• Helped prompt a requirement by the European
Chemicals Agency (ECHA) that companies
demonstrate that they test on animals
only as a last resort, potentially preventing
hundreds of thousands of animals from
suffering and dying in the EU’s Registration,
Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction
of Chemicals (REACH) program—the largest
animal testing program in the world—and
helped persuade ECHA to prioritize nonanimal test methods
© Mberendsen/Dreamstime.com
© iStock.com/Linda Kucklin
PETA has done more than any other organization
to replace experiments on animals with superior
non-animal test methods and to shut down animal
laboratories. See PETA.org/AnnualReview for
more achievements.
PETA is the largest member of the PETA
International Science Consortium Ltd.—
a team of scientists on three continents who are
changing the face of chemical testing. The Consortium
funded non-animal testing methods, presented on
them at international scientific conferences, published
articles in respected journals, and won the prestigious
Lush Training Prize for its broad approach to education
and training, which includes hosting workshops and
webinars on replacing animal tests, initiating in-person
training sessions for industry scientists and regulators,
and developing educational resources.
Charles Steinberg, Violetta Landek, and their cats
VANGUARD SOCIETY AND AUGUSTUS CLUB MEMBERS
At one point, we grieved alone for all animals’ torment. Then a PETA event in L.A. made it clear that we were not alone in loving and respecting
animals. Our hearts and souls are devoted to PETA to fight for the blessed animals in every way.
© Aaron007/Dreamstime.com
13
ANIMALS ARE
For years, PETA has used onsite inspections, creative
ads, lawsuits, celebrity support, pressure on sponsors,
online activism, and hundreds of demonstrations to
campaign against SeaWorld’s abuse of orcas, who are
denied everything that makes their life worth living.
This year, in a watershed victory, SeaWorld announced
that it will stop breeding orcas. This brings us closer
to the end of orca captivity as well as our goal of having
the orcas released into ocean sanctuaries, which PETA
pushed for in a headline-grabbing news conference
with Jean-Michel Cousteau.
We released an exposé of the Bowmanville Zoo and
its owner, Michael Hackenberger, who has supplied
animals to filmmakers—including a tiger used in the
movie Life of Pi. A PETA eyewitness recorded video
of a savage training session in which Hackenberger
whipped a young tiger over and over again until he
was so terrified that he involuntarily emptied his anal
sacs, a fear response in big cats. As a result of our
exposé, the CBS television show Zoo canceled plans to
hire Hackenberger, he has been formally charged with
cruelty to animals, and his zoo has closed permanently.
In the wake of PETA’s eyewitness investigation of horse
drugging at Saratoga Race Course, the New York State
Gaming Commission fined Thoroughbred owner Steve
Asmussen $10,000 and introduced sweeping regulations
to, in its own words, “combat the entrenched drug
culture in horse racing.”
PETA made four additions to our list of advertising
agencies that have pledged not to use great apes in
advertising—numbering in the dozens, including all top
10 in the U.S.—as a result of our campaign to protect
captive chimpanzees and orangutans from beatings,
confinement, and psychological abuse.
PETA rescued three chimpanzees from lives of solitary
confinement and 17 bears who had been kept in
horrible conditions by private owners and roadside
zoos. All were placed in naturalistic sanctuaries. In just
the past four years, PETA has rescued a total of seven
formerly
solitary
chimpanzees
and 57 bears.
We also got
dozens of
exotic-animal
appearances
Photo: PETA
PETA’s vigorous campaigns to end the suffering of
animals abused for entertainment are winning landmark
victories. Check out PETA.org/AnnualReview for more.
canceled; deterred the breeding and selling of
tigers by helping to close an Endangered Species
Act loophole; helped persuade dozens of travel
agencies to stop promoting captive-elephant
attractions;
helped pass
laws banning
the use
of bullhooks in
California and
Rhode Island
and banning
exotic-animal
performances
in Cambridge,
Massachusetts;
and filed
complaints that
resulted
in heavy fines,
permit denials
or suspensions, or other penalties for numerous
exhibitors. We enlisted Lily Tomlin, Krysten Ritter,
Alec Baldwin, Casey Affleck, Jason Biggs, Gillian
Anderson, Tommy Lee, Kate del Castillo, Alfonso
Herrera, and Devo to object publicly to the
exploitation of animals for entertainment.
Joan Norris
VANGUARD SOCIETY AND AUGUSTUS CLUB MEMBER
We need people to give a voice to the voiceless. PETA is trailblazing the way to making real and lasting change. If not for PETA, there would
be so much more suffering and cruelty to animals in the world.
© PETA
Not Ours to Use for Entertainment
Photo: PETA
15
ANIMALS ARE
Not Ours to Abuse in Any Other Way
PETA’s rescue teams went to the flood-ravaged city of
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where they delivered food,
helped reunite families with lost animals, and rescued
dogs and cats stranded in floodwaters. By bringing back
dozens of animals for adoption, they freed up space in
Louisiana’s shelters for more incoming flood victims.
Animal abusers could not escape the spotlight of
PETA’s eyewitness exposés, which revealed the
plights of many animals:
• guinea pigs, gerbils, rats,
and other small animals who
screamed as they were gassed
to death at Holmes Farm, a
Pennsylvania pet store supplier
(as a result, the company
was cited for 117 violations
of federal regulations and
dropped by PetSmart, Petco,
and Pet Supplies Plus and its manager was charged
with 28 counts of cruelty to animals)
• thousands of hermit crabs who were taken from the
wild and kept in such cruel conditions that hundreds
died each day at Florida animal dealer Brelean
Corporation (revealing the cruelty of the hermitcrab trade to millions of people)
• sick and injured pigs and neglected chickens,
dogs, cats, and other animals at Darlynn’s Darlins,
Inc., a Florida animal hoarding facility (resulting in
the seizure of 197 animals, 282 cruelty-to-animals
charges, and the owners’ being banned from
animal ownership).
PETA helps in regions where animal-protection
services are scarce or non-existent. Here is a tiny
sampling of cases in which the intervention of
PETA’s fieldworkers made a world
of difference:
• We rescued Nero—a bloated but
extremely thin puggle who was
forced to spend his days confined
to a mud pit by a huge chain
wrapped around his neck—and
placed him in a loving home.
• We rescued Larry—a filthy,
matted, malnourished shih tzu
who suffered from anemia and multiple infections—
and found him a wonderful family.
• We discovered the still-chained body of Night Train—
a young pit bull who starved to death. Because of
PETA’s efforts, his owner—who otherwise would
almost certainly have escaped legal consequences—
has been charged with cruelty to animals, and
we are pushing for him to be banned from ever
owning animals again.
In the wake of PETA’s exposé of animal suffering at
Jurassic Pets, LLC—a Colorado pet store—the store’s
manager and both co-owners were convicted of cruelty
to animals and ordered to close their stores.
We enlisted Chris Harris Jr., Justin Long, and Laura
Vandervoort to champion companion-animal issues.
© E. Spek/Dreamstime.com
PETA helped alleviate the homeless-animal crisis by
continuing to expose the pet trade and sterilizing more
than 200 cats and dogs almost every week this year.
We also handled nearly 300 cruelty reports each week,
working to get abused animals seized and their
abusers prosecuted. See more rescue stories at
PETA.org/AnnualReview.
Paul Fortin
VANGUARD SOCIETY AND AUGUSTUS CLUB MEMBER
Most people are oblivious to the hell on Earth that we have created for so many of our fellow animals. PETA works hard to fix this, in so many ways.
My estate donation will continue my long-term support for our fellow living beings.
© Infjustice/Shutterstock.com
17
ANIMAL RIGHTS:
With more than 1.6 million “likes” on Facebook and
more than 150,000 members of our Street Team,
our youth outreach division—peta2—is extremely
successful at galvanizing young people to support
animal rights in exciting ways. To learn more, please
visit PETA.org/AnnualReview.
peta2 toured with rapper Waka Flocka Flame and
hit the road with the massively popular annual Vans
Warped Tour, during which hundreds of thousands of
concertgoers took free peta2 guides to going vegan
and other items to learn how animals are exploited
for food and clothing, pledged not to wear animal
skins, and joined peta2’s mobile action network.
peta2 excels in changing the hearts and minds
of young people with effective outreach on
university campuses across the country. Here are a
few examples from this year’s efforts:
• We sparked enormous student interest when
our interactive exhibits rolled onto more than
50 college campuses, including Yale, Princeton,
Columbia, and UCLA. Our “Arc of Justice” exhibit
illustrated the history and progress of the animal
rights movement. And our “Right Side of History”
display painted a vivid picture of the environmental
impact of eating animals.
• Our network of campus reps—student leaders
who push for pro-animal changes at their schools—
expanded to more than 100 colleges in the U.S.
and Canada. This year’s first-ever, four-day, intensive
Campus Rep Summit helped ensure that these
students are the vanguard of the animal rights
movement in North America.
• We’re also prompting college cafeterias to
accommodate vegans—including at Texas
A&M University, where agriculture students even
participated in a week-long
vegan challenge—resulting
in a 63 percent increase
in the number of colleges
to offer vegan options
since 2013.
• We released our updated
version of PETA’s Vegan
College Cookbook to
rave reviews.
Our new and improved
Share the World curriculum
pack was sent for free to
nearly 30,000 elementary
schools to help teachers instill the importance of the
Golden Rule, empathy, and kindness in all their students.
Other exciting achievements include partnering with
the social justice organization Big Citizen HUB to host
teens at our Los Angeles headquarters—the Bob Barker
Building—for animal rights activities and workshops;
launching our Asian-American outreach initiative;
delighting more than 30,000 elementary-school
students with classroom presentations by Ellie,
our life-size
animatronic
elephant;
and garnering
more than
3.5 million page
views on our
website for kids
12 and younger,
PETAKids.com.
Many stars who
are popular
with young
people—including
musicians Davey Havok and Matt & Kim, social media
sensations Kalel and Hayes Grier, and actors Mckenna
Grace, August Maturo, and Corey Fogelmanis—spoke
out for animals through their participation in peta2
and PETA Kids campaigns.
Bob Tuschman
VANGUARD SOCIETY AND AUGUSTUS CLUB MEMBER
I am in awe of the courage, tenacity, and heroism of PETA staffers. Their commitment to ending cruelty to animals in all its forms is exemplary,
but it is their strength and effectiveness that inspires me daily. It is a deep honor to support their work.
Hair and makeup: Alisa Chompupong
The Next Generation
© Satori13/Dreamstime.com
19
The Year in Numbers
• Our websites received more than 115 million page views,
and our videos, which include hard-hitting investigations
and celebrity ads, received more than 1 billion views.
• Our Facebook posts were seen an average of 625 million
times each month.
• PETA sent e-newsletters to more than 2.5 million subscribers.
• Our blog received more than 9 million page views, and the
PETA Living blog received more than 19 million page views.
• PETA Latino’s Facebook posts reached about 36 million people
a month, and its videos netted more than 250 million views.
• We sent out more than 15 million letters through our online
advocacy campaigns, urging companies and individuals to
make changes that would help animals.
• We added 450 new names to our list of companies that don’t
test on animals—bringing the total to more than 2,365.
• We secured free advertising space worth more than $1 million.
• Our Communications Department handled more than 2,500
interviews and correspondence with media.
• Our International Grassroots Campaign Department helped
organize more than 1,300 demonstrations.
• Our youth division, peta2, reached more than 400,000 young
people at colleges, music festivals, and other events, and our
Street Team grew to more than 150,000 members.
• We filled requests for nearly 600,000 free copies of our vegan
starter kit.
• We handled more than 15,000 calls and e-mails regarding
cruelty to animals.
• Our Mobile Clinic Division sterilized more than 15,000 cats and
dogs, including more than 570 feral cats and more than 1,300
pit bulls at low to no cost. We’ve now spayed or neutered more
than 136,000 companion animals.
• We built and delivered more than 300 free sturdy doghouses
and bagged 1,600 bales of straw, providing dogs who are forced
to live outdoors with some comfort and protection. We’ve now
delivered a total of more than 6,600 free doghouses.
• Our online catalog sent out more than 45,600 pieces of animal
rights merchandise, including T-shirts, mugs, tote bags, books,
stickers, buttons, and items for companion animals, which raised
funds for PETA campaigns and promoted cruelty-free living.
• We had more than 565 letters to the editor and 400 opinion
pieces posted on websites and printed in various newspapers
and magazines.
• PETA was mentioned by many major print media outlets,
including Agence France-Presse; AOL; the Associated Press;
The Blaze; Bloomberg News; Business Insider; Bustle; BuzzFeed;
Canadian Press; the Chicago Tribune; The Christian-Science
Monitor; the Daily Mail; Deutsche Presse Agentur; Forbes; Fortune;
Fusion; The Guardian; Harper’s Magazine; Hollywood Life;
The Huffington Post; Inquisitr; InStyle; International Business
Times; the Los Angeles Times; Mashable; Mic; MSN; Newsmax;
Newsweek; The New York Daily News; New York magazine; the
New York Observer; the New York Post; The New York Times;
O, The Oprah Magazine; People; Perez Hilton; Politico; Quartz;
Reader’s Digest; Reuters; Rolling Stone; RT; Salon; Slate;
TIME; USA Today; Us Weekly; Vice; The Wall Street Journal;
The Washington Post; The Washingtonian; The Week;
Women’s Wear Daily; and Yahoo! News.
• PETA’s work received television and radio news coverage from
many media outlets, including ABC News, ABC News Radio,
Access Hollywood, Al Jazeera, BBC News, CBS This Morning,
CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, CBS News,
CBS Radio News, CNN, CNN en Español, The Doctors, E! News,
Entertainment Tonight, ESPN, Fox News, Inside Edition, NBC News,
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Nightline, NPR, Real Sports
with Bryant Gumbel, Telemundo, TMZ, TODAY, and Univision.
• PETA has, as of this year, given a total of $4.6 million (including
the value of in-kind donations) toward the development of
non-animal testing methods and simulators to replace animals
in science education and medical training as well as toward
training scientists in their use.
Financial Statement
REVENUES
Contributions
Gross Merchandise Sales
Interest, Dividends, Royalties,
and Other Income
Total Revenues
$ 65,740,009
$
543,889
$
751,020
$ 67,034,918
OPERATING EXPENSES
Programs
International Grassroots Campaigns
Public Outreach and Education
Research, Investigations, and Rescue
Cruelty-Free Merchandise Program
Supporting Services
Membership Development
Management and General Expenses
Total Operating Expenses
$ 7,684,178
$
634,492
$ 50,577,357
CHANGE IN NET ASSETS
Net Assets Beginning of Year
Net Assets End of Year
Donor Restricted (Permanently)
Donor Restricted (Temporarily)
Board-Designated Legal Matters
Undesignated
$ 16,457,561
$ 16,482,262
$ 32,939,823
$ 3,179,328
$ 1,311,990
$ 1,000,000
$ 27,448,505
OPERATING EXPENSE ALLOCATION
Direct Program Support
Membership Development
Management and General Operations
$ 9,885,130
$ 16,079,120
$ 15,578,094
$
716,343
83.56%
15.19%
1.25%
PETA is a nonprofit, tax exempt 501(c)(3) corporation
funded almost exclusively by the contributions of our
members. We strive to use our funds in the most costeffective and efficient manner possible, a commitment
illustrated by the fact that 83.56 percent of our operating
expenses went directly to our programs fighting
animal exploitation. We expended only 15.19 percent
on fundraising efforts that drive our operations and
1.25 percent on management and general operations.
Seven percent of PETA’s dedicated staff earn only
$16,000 to $29,999, 37 percent earn $30,000 to $44,999,
and the remaining 56 percent make more than $45,000.
Our president, Ingrid Newkirk, earned $31,285 during
fiscal year ending July 31, 2016.
The financial statement shown here is for the fiscal year
ending July 31, 2016, and is based on our independently
audited financial statements.
© Stubblefieldphoto/Dreamstime.com
Animal-Friendly Businesses
PETA would like to thank the following compassionate companies, which are members of our
PETA Business Friends program. These companies are generous PETA and animal rights supporters.
To learn more about this program, please visit PETABusinessFriends.com.
• 1944 Skin Care
• Glamping Hub for Pets
• Oligalma
• 3rd Rock Essentials
• Hampton Domestics
• Pangea Organics
• ahimsa Essentials
• Harbor Candy Shop
• Pet Playgrounds
• Alfa Travelgear
• Harvey Prince Organics
• Pixie Mood
• April Grace Baker
• HOBI
• PupSaver
• Aveda
• Home For Dancers
• Pura Botanica
• Bead & Reel
• Humane Travel
• Qualerex Beauty
• Beauty Without Cruelty
• Jaan J.
• Sammi & Andrea
• Biocoiff’
• James&Co.
• Shaboo Prints
• Bone Rebellion
• jeane & jax
• SKIN&CO Roma
• Clear Conscience
• Jill Milan
• Sole & Stone Vegan Footwear
• ColorProof
• Jivamukti Yoga Centers
• Sommers Plastic Products
• Colors of Nature
• Jordan Design Crew
• St. Tropica
• Corkiza
• Kirei Cosmetics
• Treadlight Ventures
• Couch Guitar Straps
• Kosmatology
• Urban Expressions
• Custom Photo Props
• LINCHINN
• V-DOG
• Cykochik Custom Handbags
• Luca Chiara
• Veestro
• DiMare Design
• Luxe Pets
• The Vegetarian Site
• Dive the World
• Main Street Vegan
• Vegetaryn
• Dr. Jacobs Naturals
• Marie Hell
• Vegvisits
• Ethique212
• Mary Point Handbags
• VegVoyages
• Eve Cork
• Maureen Mahon Interiors
• Wharton Insurance & Financial
• Fairy Girl Cosmetics
• Max Green Alchemy
• Fake Meats
• Memorials.com
• Xtend-Life
• The Friendly Vegan Cookbook
• Nomadic State of Mind
• Xyrena
• FURious Fur
• Number 4 High Performance Hair Care
• Y3K Tutor in Your Home
Services
PETA’s Tree of Life is on permanent display in
our headquarters. Each golden leaf on the tree
can be inscribed with a special message to honor
someone whose commitment to animals is
exemplary. Leaves can also be engraved to pay
tribute to the memory of a loved one.
For additional information about the Tree of Life
as well as other ways to make “in honor of”
and memorial gifts, please contact Cindy Kent
at 757-962-8368. For specific information about
making memorial gifts, you can also visit our
True Friends® Memorial Program website at
TFMemorial.org.
A special note of thanks
to the following important
groups of PETA members:
• Our monthly pledge donors, who support
PETA’s Investigations & Rescue Fund
• Our Sarah’s Circle members, for their generosity
and dedication
• Our Vanguard Society members, for their
generosity and leadership
• Our Vanguard Society President’s Circle
members, for their outstanding commitment
• Our Augustus Club members, for giving animals
a future through a gift to PETA in their wills and
estate plans
21
© Kencredible
’s True Friends Memorial Program
PETA’s True Friends® Memorial Program honors and preserves the memory of people who were true friends to animals as well as the memory of
animals who were true friends to their guardians. For more information about this program, please visit TFMemorial.org.
In loving memory of the following true friends:
• Addie, from Mary Susan Chalke
• All Animals, from Laurie Dahlstrom-Dey
• All Animals Killed in Laboratories, from
Karen Karvelis
• Allen Serody, from Dr. Regina Bannan
• Amy Armstrong, from Carol L. Armstrong, Ph.D.
• Anastasia Kondrasheva, from Dima’s Soccer
Team
• Arevig, from Daniel Kashikchian
• Ashley and Pee Wee, from Karen Roff
• Bailey the Cat, from Joy Schultz
• Barbara Lengel, from Stephen Gabriel
• Barney Stolbun, from David Kanin
• Bella Baglyos, from Edward Stephens
• Bella, from your PETA family
• Betty Curchin Memorial Fund, from
Anonymous
• Bill Shoss, from David and Jennifer Austin
• Bobby, Nicky, and Sweet Pea, from Angela
Rubis St. Pierre
• Bonnie, from Marie Galoney
• Brian Fowler, from James P. Avgeris
• Bunny, from Phyllis Gannon
• Camille Pappone, from Terry Koehn
• Cappy, Ch. Capture the Magic, from Dr. and
Ms. Martin Stolbun
• Cappy Stolbun, from Donna Kanin
• Carol Salata, from Jane Basillico
• Catherine Winfield, Jan and Dan Colucci
• Cecil, from Adelle More
• Cesar and Marie, from Barbara Lafaver Gleason
• Checkers, from Elisabeth Gunderson
• Chris Durfee, from Buelah Durfee
• CK Fields-Burgess, from Chelsea Foot and
Ankle, P.C.
• Dave, from Holly Pearson
• David Tenberg, from Marvin Tenberg
• David Welch, from Trevor Paulson
• Dexter, Druzhok, Koro, Shandy, Rogan, Darby,
Rowdy, and Sophia, from Karen Porreca
• Diane Pechnick, from Palos 118 Educational
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Foundation and Michael Sirota and Bobbie
Levinson-Sirota
Dolores Pasquariello, from Campbell Foundry
Company
Doris and Loury Creig, from Debbie Ann Wilkins
Double Trouble, from Eugenia Allen
Dr. Jules Oaklander, from your PETA family
Duncan, Maggie, and Daisy, from
Linda Hawkins
Elaine Panebianco, from your NBA family
Eric Stein, from Nancy Loewen
Evelina Vautier, from Dr. Aimee Lubell
Fifi and Minnie, from Lillian Harding
Fox Tia Wallman, from Joan Blake
Frank, from Paul Hanna
A Friend, from Hazel Myers
Gail Mullikin, from Maureen Roeber
Giraffe Killed by 12-Year-Old, from Mayumi
Kosugi and Joel Steinberg
Greg Reiter, from Alysoun Mahoney, Valerie
Abrahams, Randy and Jessica Ahlgren, the
Amherst Foundation, Isabelle Anderson,
Scott Anderson, Alaric Bien, Jennifer Bosworth,
Donna Corley, Sean Dobson, Roy Eappen,
Daniel Gallegos, Matthew Giammarinaro,
Elizabeth Gibbons, Laurie Goodman, Nicole
Hamilton, Mark D. Hanson, the Harding family,
Jeffrey Ho, Song Jo and Yolita Tjoeng, Susan
Johnson, Ilona Lantos, Brian and Megan
Maddox, Maria Maschia, Linda and Jeff
Millington, Greta N. Morris, George Perez,
Sara Pitman, Donna Quinn, Dipa Sharif,
Sally Snidow, David and Teresa Tom, Claudia
Vivanco, Wilfred Wong, and David Yuen
Harriet Menon, from Robert Gordon
Harry Phillip Sacks, from Tracy Ballas
Harry Sacks, from Sue-Dee Stephens and
Diane and Bob Moss
Heidi, from Adele Rosenstock
Herman Dombeck, from Sylvia Dombeck
Highway, from William and Jacqueline Plemmons
• Hilo Becker, from Nathalie Parenteau
• Ida Percoco, from Gertrude Gregory
• Irene Macaluso, from Salvatore Candela and
the Metro New York Porsche Club of America
• Jane Martin Monfils, from Jamie Hendrix
• Janet L. Baker, from Charu and Kurt Krukenberg;
David, Renee, Sam, and Libby Sperling; and the
Winfield family
• Janet Zimmerman, from Mary Zimmerman
• Janice Gayle Schneier, from Fay and Ed Schneier
• Jan’s Dog Dodger, from Andy Schulgasser
• Jasmine Giacalone, Molly Giacalone, and
River “Pookie” Clevenger, from Deborah
Giacalone
• Jaymie B. Creitz, from Eileen Creitz
• Jeanelle Robinson, from James and
Brooksie Reynolds
• Jim Morris, from Heather Daly
• Joan Rita Schultz, from Steve Schultz
• Joe, from Brooke Hill
• Joe, from Robert Goldman
• Jordan’s Sweet 16, from Corey Fogelmanis
• Joseph Butta, from Joann Prata
• Laureen D’Alessandro from Pat D’Alessandro
and Melissa D’Alessandro
• Leona, Seymour, Robert, Sadie, and Louis Post,
from Judith Post
• Libby, from Scott VanValkenburg
• Lorraine Skelding, from Michael Lieberman
• Louis DiCecca, from Brown Brothers Harriman
& Co. and Cosmo, Michelle, Ray, Ray Jr., and
Jess Jacques
• Louis J. Sarrica, from Elenia and Roland Bulow
• Lucky LuLu Belle, from James Spates
• Lucky the Cat, from Andrew Mearns
• Maggie, from Joyce Rivera
• Marcella Shanks, from Barry Shanks
• Mary Tobin, from Eileen Morneau
• Milton Moore, from Julia Moore
• Morris Mirels, from Laurie Dahlstrom-Dey
• Mrs. Franca Orlando, from Sheila Harden
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Murphy, from Ian J. Hirsch
My Cat, from Ray Anita Hemphill
My Father, from Julia L. Evans
My Grandmother, from Tyrann Mathieu
Nancy Miller, from Dr. Robert Stanley
Newts, Beloved Friend of Chris and Helena,
from Alysoun Mahoney
Our Pets, Past and Present, from Mr. and
Mrs. David Inverso
Pancho, from Maria Halmai
Patrick L. Green, from Linda Edelstein
Paul Meadors, from Barbara Fulp
Paul Meadows, from Foy J. Shaw Jr.
Paul Schrank, from Linda and Phil Schrank
Pawket the Mouse, from Greg Suess
Pinot, from Bob and Judy Clark
Poppy, from Elizabeth Abbott
Pota, from Mr. Howard L. Schlesinger
Princess, from Patty Shields
Raggy Rabbit, from Emily Stuparyk
Robert Riggs, from U.S. Youth Soccer
Region II
Rudy Cho, from Michelle Cho
Ruth B. Brown, from Kevin Vollmer
Ruthe Maslin, from Dr. Samuel L. Jacobs
Sam Simon, from Anonymous
Sarge, from your PETA family
Shadow, from Elaine Sloan
Sharon Leong, from Susan Dembowski
Shirley Wylly, from Phillips A. Wylly
Smuckers, from Mack and Kim Kondracki
Susanne Amann, from Christine Amann
Tia Wallman, from Elizabeth Wallman
Tybie Moshinsky, from Jordan Schildcrout
Valerie, from Warren and Sondra Smith
Vicki De Goff, from your PETA family
Warren, Ernie, and Doodle, from Rebecca Rigert
Will Seagraves, from Donna Seagraves, the
Hardigrees, Lauren O’Grady, and Steve and
Denise Rosier
Ziggy Stardust, from Binell Martino
PETA’s fieldworkers like to say that there are no “wrong turns.” That’s
because many of the animals they rescue are ones they come upon when
Siri gives them directions that take them down a different driveway or
while heading to another call or when someone spots a PETA vehicle
and flags it down.
Something like that led them to Loretta. PETA’s fieldworkers were helping
a family’s chained dogs, providing them with food, fresh water, flea and
heartworm treatment, toys, treats, and other services that such neglected
“backyard dogs” depend on, and Loretta was an unexpected “bonus”:
Her owner asked if we could find her a new home, as she didn’t have
time to take care of a chicken.
There, Loretta immediately bonded with Dorothy, a hen PETA had rescued
earlier. We had found Dorothy at a rural county fair, her wing so severely
broken that the bone was protruding. Dorothy received veterinary care
to mend her wing and spent three weeks recovering. With plenty of the
care that she had previously been denied, she was soon a new chicken.
Loretta and Dorothy:
Rescued Chicken BFFs
Today, Loretta and Dorothy are fine feathered BFFs who listen to music,
snack on berries (their favorite treat), flirt with the resident peacocks,
chat with the goats and donkeys, and, in Dorothy’s case, take so many
dust baths that she sometimes looks like a beige bird instead of a white
one. They are so devoted to each other that they prefer to snuggle up
together at night instead of sleeping in separate nest boxes (birds of a
feather really do flock together). Each evening, they wait expectantly for
their guardian to come and “tuck them in” and “kiss them goodnight.”
Rescue, medical treatment, and other care of animal ambassadors
like Loretta and Dorothy are made possible only thanks to generous
contributions to PETA’s Investigations & Rescue Fund. Thank you for
your support!
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510 • 757-622-PETA • PETA.org
Cover photo: © AsyaPozniak/Shutterstock.com • Loretta and Dorothy: © Keli Keach – soul conversations photography
At the Sam Simon Center, PETA’s headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, Loretta
rested up in a spacious guest room, scratching around in straw, perching
on a repurposed cat (chicken) tree, and dining on—sometimes playing
with—cantaloupe balls. Next stop: Bleatniks Barnyard, a vegan sanctuary
in North Carolina.