Frequently Asked Questions » Home

Can I create a charitable gift annuity with PETA?
Yes, a charitable gift annuity is a wonderful way to support PETA’s work now while securing fixed payments for yourself or a loved one for life. For more information on creating a charitable gift annuity with PETA, please click here or contact Tim Enstice at TimE@petaf.org or at 757-962-8213.

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Can I arrange to receive communications via e-mail rather than by postal mail?
Yes, you may wish to consider the following options:

A) Receive tax receipts by e-mail but still receive Ingrid Newkirk’s Vanguard Society progress reports and PETA’s Animal Times magazine by mail.
B) Receive tax receipts and Vanguard Society updates by e-mail but still receive PETA’s Animal Times magazine by mail.
C) Receive e-mail communications only. (Please note that Vanguard Society members choosing this option cannot receive free return address labels & stickers that help promote animal rights. They can, however, still receive a free PETA Rescued! calendar by special request.)

Please let us know your preference by contacting Scott VanValkenburg at ScottV@petaf.org or 757-962-0317.

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How can I update my mailing address in your records?
Please e-mail the new information to MajorGifts@petaf.org.

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There are so many animal protection groups. Can you suggest others that I should or should not support?
We appreciate the fact that you want to give to organizations that do the most good for animals. However, we prefer not to make recommendations for or against other organizations simply because this should be a personal decision based on your own concerns and convictions.

Our best advice is to ask each organization for its track record of accomplishments. Don’t donate to an organization simply because you agree with its generalized statements against cruelty to animals. If it can’t show tangible successes, just saying, “We care,” isn’t enough.

PETA supports the efforts of all organizations that help animals. However, we are providing the information below for people who may be unaware of some anti-animal policies of organizations that otherwise profess to protect animals.

• The Humane Society of the United States supports experiments on dogs and cats in laboratories. Click here for information.

• The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals supports experiments on dogs and cats in laboratories. Click here for information.

• Environmental Defense and the Natural Resources Defense Council are actively seeking implementation of new animal testing programs that would kill millions of animals in painful experiments. Click here for information.

• The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is actively seeking implementation of new animal testing programs that would kill millions of animals in painful experiments. Click here for information.

WWF also believes that culling—another way of saying “killing”—elephants is acceptable, as is the trade in ivory, because the ensuing profits supposedly spur governments to keep elephants from going extinct.

WWF refuses to condemn the massive killing of animals with steel-jaw leghold traps and does not oppose the slaughter of animals with guns and other weapons for sport, arguing that wealthy trophy hunters can bring income to poorer nations.

WWF supports the slaughter of whales by native tribes and under certain other conditions. When asked directly about its whaling policy, WWF is vague, stating, “WWF’s views on whether sustainable whaling should be permitted derive from its mission ‘to conserve nature and ecological processes and to help build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.’” In the past, WWF officials have stated clearly that “WWF International has the national WWF organisations behind it in the view that as soon as one can ensure a sustainable commercial harvest of the great whales under secure international control, then whaling will no longer be a WWF concern.”

• Groups such as the National Wildlife Federation, the National Audubon Society, the Sierra Club, the Izaak Walton League, the Wilderness Society, and many others are pro-sport-hunting, or at the very least, they do not oppose it.

• Tiger Haven calls itself a sanctuary but is not accredited by The Association of Sanctuaries (TAOS). The need for safe havens for exotic felines is a direct result of breeding, private ownership, and the subsequent discarding of these “pets,” and yet Tiger Haven does not take a strong public stance condemning the breeding and private ownership of big cats. Additionally, we have received reports about some of Tiger Haven’s animals’ being used in exhibition. No legitimate sanctuary would ever subject its animals to the stress of public display. Also, according to the Council of Better Business Bureaus, in the fiscal year ending January 31, 2003, Tiger Haven spent more than 56 percent of its income on fundraising and only 38 percent of its income on programs. These are very poor statistics for a nonprofit organization. The only acceptable place for an animal who cannot be rehabilitated into the wild is a legitimate sanctuary at which animals are never bred or subjected to the stress of public display. For sanctuary guidelines, please visit the TAOS Web site at http://www.taosanctuaries.org.

If you are not sure of an organization’s policy about a specific issue, do not hesitate to ask the organization directly. If you do not receive an answer or if you are dissatisfied with the answer, you may wish to refrain from donating to the organization.

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How can I get more involved with PETA’s work?
The most effective ways to help are by taking the following steps in your life: 1) Try a vegetarian diet; 2) go fur-free, and try leather-free shoes and accessories; 3) choose cruelty-free products; 4) do not donate to charities that fund animal testing, and choose cruelty-free charities instead; 5) do not patronize rodeos or animal “performances” or exhibits; 6) patronize only animal-free circuses such as Cirque du Soleil.

For ideas on helping animals in your community, please visit HelpingAnimals.com.

For lots of other ideas on meaningful ways to help animals, please visit AnimalActivist.com.

Thank you for supporting PETA’s work and for everything that you do to encourage compassion for animals!

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