Called “such a nice zealot” by The New York Times and “the L.A. punk who turned animal rights into a celebrity craze,” Dan Mathews is the creative force behind many of PETA’s colorful crusades. He has recruited a parade of stars to speak out and even go to jail for our cause and was the first writer to interview longtime animal rights ally Paul McCartney after the death of his wife, Linda, for PETA’s Animal Times (reprinted in People).

Dan first raised his voice for animals when, as a child, he came across neighborhood bullies hurting feral cats. Now, he uses his sense of humor to increase public awareness of animal issues. Whether he is getting actor Pamela Anderson to write to KFC head honchos, demanding better treatment of chickens, or whether he is focusing global attention on PETA’s Vegetarian Campaign with an ad in Stars & Stripes featuring Kim Hefner as a sexy “Uncle Sam” declaring, “I want YOU to go vegetarian,” Dan is always in tune with what the public will respond to, and he gets results.

Says Dan, “I prefer to go to ‘meaty’ restaurants rather than vegetarian ones so I can ask what they’ll do for a vegetarian and put the idea into their heads.”