In many people’s minds the name Ingrid Newkirk is synonymous with controversy. The organization she cofounded in 1980, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), has built a reputation for its attention-getting stunts, advertisements, and protests in the name of abolishing cruelty to animals. In fulfilling its simple motto, “Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment,” PETA has done everything from sneaking a dead raccoon onto the plate of a famous fur-wearing fashion-magazine editor at a high-end restaurant to staging (every year since 2002) a “running of the nudes” in Pamplona, Spain, as a humane counterpoint to that city’s annual “running of the bulls.” Frequently using sex, celebrities, and shock value to make its points, PETA has many times garnered disapproval, from both those outside and those within the animal rights movement. The organization and Newkirk have been accused at various times of tastelessness, of misanthropy, and of hurting the movement. But despite the perceived extremity of its tactics over its 27-year history, PETA, through the unrelenting spotlight it has placed on the many instances of institutionalized animal cruelty, has achieved successes that have undeniably improved conditions for animals. […]

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Dr. Rosalía Arteaga is secretary-general of ACTO (Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization), or OTCA (Organización del Tratado de Cooperación Amazónica). She is an attorney, an author, and since 2004 a member of Encyclopaedia Britannica’s Editorial Board of Advisors. In 1996–97 Dr. Arteaga served as vice president and, briefly, as president of Ecuador.

The basin of the Amazon River encompasses 2.3 million square miles (6.1 million square kilometers), or about 34% of South America’s land area. It represents 60% of the Earth’s remaining tropical forests and about one-third of all forests in the world. According to ACTO, almost half of all species in existence live in the Amazonian biome. There are 45,000 plant species, 1,300 species of freshwater fish, 1,000 species of birds, 150 species of bats, 1,800 species of butterflies, 163 species of amphibians, 305 species of snakes, and 311 species of mammals.

Recently Britannica’s Advocacy for Animals spoke with Dr. Arteaga about ACTO, the challenges facing the Amazon River and basin, and her own views on the most diverse biological reservoir in the world. […]

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WWF, with its familiar panda logo, is known worldwide for its wide-ranging conservation efforts. Generally known simply by its initials, the Switzerland-based organization is called the World Wide Fund for Nature in some countries and the World Wildlife Fund in North America. Its mission statement signals the scope of its commitment: […]

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