Alex Pacheco with
wife Laurie

Alex Pacheco, a national leader in the movement for animal rights, is the chairperson and co-founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) . With over half a million members and offices in three countries, it is the largest and most influential animal rights organization, described by the New York Times as the "mover and shaker" of the movement. PETA is known for fighting multi-billion dollar corporations, such as General Motors, and winning.

While still in his teens, Pacheco became involved in animal rights after a trip to a slaughterhouse. At the time, he was studying for the priesthood. Before that, the FBI had accepted him to work towards becoming an agent.

Shortly afterward this trip, he served as a crewmember aboard the Sea Shepherd, sailing across the Atlantic on a voyage that ended in the ramming of the notorious pirate whaling ship, the Sierra. In preparation for the ramming, the ship's bow had been filled with more than ten tons of concrete. That year, Pacheco was voted "Crew Member of the Year."

He then worked with the Hunt Saboteurs Association in England, taking direct action by sabotaging fox hunts and other organized blood sports. After this he worked in Alaska to protect endangered Humpback whales and went to study wildlife for the Washington, DC Commission on Public Health.

Later, he worked undercover in a laboratory, leading Maryland law enforcement agents on an historic police raid of the laboratory. The raid was the first of its kind, resulting in:

• the very first criminal conviction of an animal experimenter in the U.S. on cruelty charges
• the first laboratory shut down because of cruelty
• the first termination of a federal research grant on charges of cruelty
• the first confiscation of animals from a laboratory
• landmark litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking protective custody of the animals.

Pacheco was the driving force behind U.S. Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger's order to close a Defense Department wound laboratory and Weinberger's directive that no dogs or cats ever be used again in military ballistics training or research. This was the second animal testing laboratory ever closed in the U.S.

Pacheco orchestrated a four-day occupation of fifteen offices at the headquarters of the National Institutes of Health by over 100 activists, compelling the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to order the termination of a $14 million dollar experiment in which the brains of conscious primates were crushed. This was the third animal testing laboratory ever closed in the U.S.

Pacheco's investigative work also resulted in the closing of the largest horse slaughter operation in the U.S., involving over 30,000 horses.

Pacheco has come to live with threats against his life by the abusers he exposes. He has been arrested for civil disobedience, shot at by ranchers and subpoenaed by grand juries investigating the disappearance of animals from laboratories. While his picture is plastered up on laboratory walls with an accompanying warning sign, he frequently receives awards for his work on behalf of animals.

On Capitol Hill, Pacheco directs a small team of lobbyists, testifies before Congressional hearings and works on Congressional and state election campaigns.

PETA campaigns have been covered on the front pages of The Washington Post and The New York Times; by, Time, Science, U. S. News and World Report, Town and Country; by Oprah Winfrey and Phil Donahue; in columns from Dear Abby and Paul Harvey to Russia's Tass News Agency.

PETA sponsors cutting edge and unique events such as the first animal rights rock concert, two animal rights record albums, and animal rights galas. PETA has produced award-winning public service announcements and heartbreaking documentaries, parts of which have been shown on programs such as Nightline, 20/20 and National Geographic.

When Harvard University commissioned a critical study of the animal rights movement, the report described Alex Pacheco as the movement's "folk hero". From debating doctors at MIT to his undercover work, his work and passionate outlook on life are compelling.