I had the honor of interviewing Ms. Ingrid Newkirk. Here you can read further on PETA's accomplishments and Ms. Newkirk's responses to questions on moral and ethical issues regarding animal rights.

Shakira: How did you get involved in the animal rights movement (what inspired and motivated you), and how did you become a vegetarian (was there a significant event or person who provided the catalyst for change)?

Ingrid: During my work as an animal control officer, I learned about the enormous amount of animal abuse that was taking place behind closed doors in laboratories, on factory farms, etc. I met Alex Pacheco (PETA's co-founder) when he volunteered at the shelter where I worked, and he gave me a copy of Animal Liberation by Peter Singer. It inspired me to form PETA to investigate, publicize, and end animal cruelty. For more information on PETA's history, your readers are welcome to visit PETA's Web site and read our factsheet.

Could you list some of PETA's major accomplishments to enlighten students who may think that making big changes to help the animals is just wishful thinking, and what do you hope to add to PETA's activities?

PETA has exposed horrific cruelty in animal laboratories, leading to canceled funding, closed facilities, and hundreds of charges filed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture; closed the largest horse-slaughtering operation in North America; convinced dozens of designers to stop using fur; cleaned up substandard animal shelters; helped schools find alternatives to dissection; provided information on vegetarianism, companion animal care, and countless other issues to millions of people; and we are responsible for the first successful prosecution of an animal experimenter under anti-cruelty laws. Every single day, thousands of people visit PETA's Web site www.GoVeg.com to request free vegetarian starter kits filled with tasty recipes and tips on making the switch.

A few years ago, in a precedent-setting case, a PETA investigator filmed workers at a pig farm bludgeoning sows with iron gate posts and skinning them while they were conscious. The workers were indicted on the first-ever felony charges for abuse on a factory farm and were convicted. PETA has convinced McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's to improve the treatment of animals killed for their restaurants, including auditing slaughterhouses where many pigs and cows were not being stunned before they were dismembered. These companies also increased the tiny living spaces for laying hens, and they are introducing incentives to stop workers from handling hens so roughly that their wings get broken. We have also successfully campaigned to improve the treatment of animals used for food at Safeway, Albertson's, and Kroger.

We have received more than 10,000 donated fur coats from consumers who have had a change of heart about fur. We use them in educational exhibits and give them to the homeless who cannot afford to buy warmer, lighter synthetics. PETA's video footage, narrated by designer Stella McCartney, from our undercover investigation on a fur farm, which shows foxes with exposed bones and animals gone mad from confinement, resulted in a successful prosecution of the fur farmer. More information is available at www.FurIsDead.com.

Today, more than 550 cosmetics companies, including Avon, Revlon, and Gillette, are listed in PETA's free guide to companies that have vowed not to test their products on animals. PETA also offers a free list of health charities that fund animal experiments, like the March of Dimes, and those that don't, like Easter Seals. Both lists can be found at www.StopAnimalTests.com. PETA has rescued many animals, including elephants Bunny, Sissy, and Helen, from miserable conditions in the entertainment industry and retired them to sanctuaries to live their final years in peace. PETA has also rescued wolves, a bear, a lion, and a coyote from a decrepit roadside exhibit, and we stopped the construction of a dolphin tank in which intelligent marine mammals would have been confined to a virtual fishbowl for life. We operate a spay/neuter clinic and have sterilized thousands of animals belonging to low-income families. We work with sheriff's offices and prosecutors to stop the abuse of domestic animals, and we have appeared on national television shows like Dateline to let consumers know where pet shop puppies come from and why they aren't a good buy. See a complete list of PETA's milestones.

It must have been very difficult to be the cofounder of PETA, now the largest animal rights organization in the world. I have had so much trouble and experienced so much opposition forming the first animal rights club at my high school, which is only a mini version of what you must have gone through. How did you create such a large following; what is your number one priority in the animal rights movement, and what would you tell us high school students who are trying to develop a large and productive animal rights group at their school?

Perseverance, tenacity, and determination are a must! PETA uses colorful tactics to get the word out, even if it means embarrassing ourselves or annoying others. For better or worse, the media pays more attention to such actions, and we consider the attention to be vital to the animal rights movement. PETA is not interested in winning a popularity contest; we will do whatever it takes to end animal suffering. We focus primarily on the four main areas where the largest number of animals suffer the greatest: in the food, clothing, entertainment, and experimentation industries. Young people can make a world of difference for animals. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. Remember, you are right-animals are important and they deserve to live free from suffering. PETA's Education Department is always available to help students start an animal rights group, organize a protest, object to dissection, and more. We have a new Web site specifically for teenagers. We also maintain a College Activist Network and travel to campuses to educate students about animal rights. Please see www.CollegeActivist.com for more information. And PETA's "Guide to Becoming an Activist" is helpful for all ages.

In your book, Kids Can Save the Animals, you write, "In order to be kind, one must do." Because many of us concerned and compassionate teens are not taken seriously due to our age and the cause we are fighting for, what active roles can students assume to further the cause of animal rights?

Lead by example. Let others see you eating a variety of healthy, humane, and delicious vegetarian foods at lunch and wearing stylish cruelty-free clothes. Volunteer at the local animal shelter or organize a car wash or other event and donate the proceeds. If you have to choose a research topic and/or give a speech, write about animal testing, circuses, fur, or other animal issues. Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper on current animal rights topics. Organize literature tables at your school or a nearby library. Know your facts, always be polite and courteous, and never give up.

I've written at least 10 letters to the editor in our local newspaper dealing with issues such as the fur trade, hunting, circuses, the poultry industry, and animal experimentation. I have gotten two positive responses and about 20 negative reactions. Nothing seems to be changing. Besides writing letters to the editor, are there any better approaches that will have a positive impact on society at large?

Change doesn't always happen quickly. With animal exploitation so widespread in our society, I can understand how easy it is to get discouraged, but please don't give up! Two positive responses are better than none at all-and you can't begin to count the number of people who agreed with you, but simply didn't respond. Even though it may seem like progress is being made slowly, that doesn't mean it isn't being made. Every penny you spend on cruelty-free products is money that is being kept from cruel companies. And writing letters of complaint to the companies and organizations that perpetuate animal abuse also makes a difference. Never underestimate the power of the consumer! As Edmund Burke once said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." This battle is not going to be won overnight-it is going to take years of hard work and perseverance-but it will be won.

One of your "10 Things to do to Help the Animals" is to "respect all species," but how can you expect humans to respect other species when humans do not even respect their own, as evidenced by man's inhumanity to his fellow man.

That is why humane education is so important. Cruelty to animals is known by FBI profilers and psychologists to be a precursor of violence towards humans. Many of the deadly school shootings in this country have had one thing in common-the young shooters first "practiced" on animals. For information on the link between violence to humans and violence to animals, please read PETA's factsheet "Animal Abuse and Human Abuse: Partners in Crime".

You write, "Animal slavery will end, just as surely as women got the vote and human slavery was abolished. The only question is when." How do you envision we will ever arrive in a future where animals are not abused or exploited, when since the beginning of time humans have always killed animals for survival and now (with the so-called sport of hunting) which feeds the human blood lust?"

Just because humans have been eating animals for a long time does not mean that eating meat is right or necessary. Tradition is never a justification for cruelty. Nowadays, there are countless alternatives to using animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Education is vital. We must all spread the word about alternatives to animal cruelty.

We live in a violent and gun-oriented society. I personally am against guns, and I think only the military should have the authority to use them. Does the right to bear arms relate to the lack of respect for animals? Also, you describe hunters and fishermen who dismiss their acts as "just part of our culture." Do you believe that people will ever abandon cruelty towards animals when they have so many "good" excuses to bear arms and are raised to believe that these twisted values and traditions are noble rights of a society?

Although PETA is strongly opposed to hunting, we have no official position on gun ownership. Less than 7 percent of the population hunts, and that number is declining rapidly. Hunters are desperately trying to entice kids to hunt to revive their dying "sport." Again, education is the key. We must teach young people compassion. Culture is no excuse for cruelty.

Finally, another idea you present to help the animals is to "become a vegan, avoiding all animal products." I agree with this, but I know many people, like my friend's mom who is a veterinarian and cares for injured and abandoned animals in her own backyard, but also eats meat. She seems to do more for animals than most vegans do. Does one have to be a vegan to truly love and respect animals?

PETA praises anything that anyone does for animals-no matter how big or how small. Every little bit helps. But the best thing that anyone can do to help the greatest number of animals is to go vegetarian. During his or her lifetime, the average American meat-eater is responsible for the abuse and deaths of more than 2,400 animals, including approximately 2,287 chickens, 92 turkeys, 31 pigs, and 12 steers and calves. And this number, high as it is, doesn't even include fish. Simply by going vegetarian, you can save thousands of animals during your lifetime!

--Shakira was featured in Peta's "Grrr" magazine as the "Rebel With a Cause." She has written many articles and is known locally for writing animal rights letters to the editor of the city newspaper. In fact, she started the first ever animal rights club at her high school.

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