PETA is celebrating a milestone this month: 45 years of pushing, persuading and provoking for animal liberation. I’ve been here for 33 of those. My son, now 22, grew up vegan and is going to protests with me. We’ve made world-changing, lifesaving progress in his lifetime alone. I’m now stepping into my new role as PETA’s president, working alongside PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk. One thing is clear: This is just the beginning.

We used to have to shout to be heard, often on street corners. One of my first assignments as a campaigner was tailing the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. I spray-painted “SHAME” across that giant hot dog. Police had me in handcuffs within minutes, but after I told them how smart and social pigs are and described their abuse on factory farms, they not only let me go but also drove me back to rejoin the protest.

Today, Oscar Mayer offers vegan hot dogs. Now that’s progress!

Back then, if we called journalists about a protest, they’d say, “If you aren’t scaling something or setting something on fire, don’t bother calling.” That mentality pushed us toward more colorful actions—and they worked. Cruelty that would have remained hidden was suddenly discussed on the 6 o’clock news and around dinner tables.

When I first came to PETA, fur was considered glamorous. Today, after decades of PETA exposés, celebrity ads and behind-the-scenes negotiations, over 450 top fashion brands—from Calvin Klein to H&M—have stopped selling fur, angora, down or wild-animal skins. Fur is truly dead, but we still have a long way to go on other issues.

The real face of fashion isn’t on the runway but in the eyes of sheep punched, kicked and cut to shreds in shearing sheds and, at the end of their wool-producing days, in the slaughterhouse—and in those of gentle cows whose skin is torn from their backs. We’re pushing designers to move to alternatives to wool and leather. Animals’ lives are worth far more than a sweater or a belt.

We’re also pushing science to evolve. For over a century, experimenters have killed millions of animals in antiquated tests that rarely translate to human medicine. Now, the U.S. government is starting to do what PETA has pressed for by phasing out experiments on animals in favor of AI, organs-on-chips and other state-of-the-art, human-relevant testing methods.

Entertainment is changing, too. After relentless exposure and pressure from PETA, Ringling Bros. circus shut down its animal acts and uses only human talent. SeaWorld ended its orca-breeding program and is shifting to roller coasters and concerts. Ad agencies no longer exploit great apes. And so much more.

But we’re not done.

A defining moment for me was at a “free-range” farm where 180,000 abandoned chickens had been left to starve. I locked eyes with one lone, crippled bird. I couldn’t save her, but I resolved to stop “humane-washing,” a labeling scheme that tricks kind people into thinking it’s acceptable to buy flesh, eggs and milk stolen from animals who were treated anything but humanely. I’m determined to wake people up to that awful ruse.

It’s not only chickens who need to be liberated from human exploitation. In my neighborhood, parrots fly free and roost in trees with their lifelong partners. One day, I noticed a caged parrot on someone’s porch just as a flock of parrots flew by. How desperate that caged bird must have been to fly with others of her kind, and how lonely she must have felt. Birds are robbed of their most basic needs when kept alone and treated as ornaments. Freeing them from this life of misery is a top priority. And momentum is on our side.

More than ever, people are choosing to eat vegan and wear cruelty-free clothing. Families are favoring science museums over dolphin shows. Every day, more people are choosing compassion over cruelty. PETA and our resources are here for them—and for animals—every step of the way.

Because after 45 years, we’re just getting started.

_____

Tracy Reiman is the president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, 2624 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026; www.PETA.org.

______

©2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.