People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA or PeTA) is a Virginia-based animal rights organization founded in 1980 by activist Ingrid Newkirk. The group's core functions are opposition to the use of animals for food, clothing, entertainment, and research; and the promotion of a vegan lifestyle. PETA's sister organization, geared toward young people, is peta2.

Activism
PETA's tactics range from consumer activism such as boycotts,  to lawsuits attempting to gain Thirteenth Amendment rights for orcas. They also produce artistic PSA campaigns, such as ads and art demonstrations.

These tactics have drawn controversy to the group. For example, an exhibit comparing animals slaughtered for food to victims of the Holocaust was condemned by the Anti-Defamation League and banned in Germany as an offense against human dignity. On the other end, some within the animal rights movement, such as Gary Francione, have criticized the group for not being radical enough.

The use of real fur
In March 2009, PETA sent a letter to Anthrocon to ascertain that fursuits are not made of real fur. They received a brief response from Anthrocon chair Uncle Kage, which read, "Real fur is frowned upon at all furry conventions, in the same sense that leaping in front of speeding locomotives is frowned upon at comic book conventions."

By September the same year, PETA learned that Further Confusion was set to allow the sale of real fur, and wrote a letter to that convention as well, urging them to disallow it.

Califur 2017
In 2017, PETA staged a convention near the venue of Califur. The same year, the convention received a large amount of threats to its venue. Though originally reported by Califur staff as being partially due to PETA, the convention was unrelated to PETA's protest. PETA was cited as a contributing factor to Califur's increased security costs and police presence that year.