THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 6, 1996 TAG: 9601060241
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DIANE TENNANT AND BARBARA KREISLER
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal-rights group known for its flamboyant tactics, will move its headquarters from suburban Washington to Norfolk if a real estate deal goes through as planned.
``We hope to move to Norfolk,'' PETA spokesman Dan Mathews said Friday. ``There are just still details to be worked out.''
Up to 90 people would be employed at an undisclosed location downtown. Negotiations for the property have been kept private, said Gerald Keller, an agent with Pembroke Commercial Realty in Virginia Beach, who has handled the deal for PETA.
The 15-year-old, nonprofit organization plans to hire about 30 people and move about 60 from its Rockville, Md., office this spring or summer, PETA spokesman Michael McGraw said. The group expects to formally announce the move later this month or in early February unless the real estate deal falls through.
Norfolk was chosen because of its affordability, proximity to airports and major highways, and central East Coast location, McGraw said. The organization, which claims a worldwide membership of 500,000, also has offices in Seattle; London; Amsterdam; and Stuttgart, Germany.
McGraw said PETA focuses on ``the simple premise that animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on or use for entertainment.''
The group claims its high-profile protests and boycotts have had a major impact on businesses worldwide. The organization says it caused cosmetics company L'Oreal to halt animal testing of its products, American Airlines to stop serving pate de foie gras (made from the fattened livers of ducks and geese), Mobil Oil Corp. to cap exhaust stacks to protect birds and bats, and Wal-Mart to stop selling all pets except fish.
PETA also says it pressured General Motors Corp. to stop using live animals in crash tests, although the company says its decision to stop ``trauma testing'' was because it no longer needed such data, not because of protests.
The animal-rights group boasts the endorsement of many celebrities, including tennis great Martina Navratilova, actress Jennie Garth of ``Beverly Hills 90210,'' former Beatle Paul McCartney, and supermodels Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford, who speak out against eating meat, using animals for product-testing and wearing fur.
Local reaction to PETA's planned move was low-key, even among some potential targets of the group. The director of the Virginia Zoological Park refused to comment; Smithfield Foods did not return a telephone call; and a spokesman for Eastern Virginia Medical School insisted that the institution, which uses monkeys, mice and other animals in laboratory tests, had no reaction to PETA taking up a Norfolk address.
But a staff member at Old Dominion University's animal lab, who requested anonymity, said researchers there are concerned about possible PETA action against them. The organization's move to Norfolk was discussed recently by the school's animal use and care committee, he said.
Members of the Norfolk Police Department's Criminal Intelligence Unit and the local FBI office, who spoke anonymously, said they were monitoring PETA because of its connection to the Animal Liberation Front, which they described as a terrorist underground group accused of raiding medical research laboratories, destroying equipment and confiscating lab animals.
``PETA is a lawful organization, but it is connected to ALF, which is a known terrorist organization,'' a Norfolk police officer said. ``Because of that connection and the animal research that is done in the Tidewater area, we will oversee its activities.''
PETA spokesman McGraw said the organization supports the Animal Liberation Front ``in spirit,'' but its own activities are nonviolent.
``Most of our campaigns are positive and have a flamboyant approach,'' McGraw said, citing the organization's recent ad campaign which had supermodels declaring they would rather go naked than wear fur.
PETA's 7-foot-tall costumed character ``Chris P. Carrot'' is sent to elementary schools to deliver the message ``Eat your veggies, not your friends.'' Carrot is not always welcomed by school officials and has been banned from several campuses, most recently in several California cities.
At high schools, PETA has distributed literature opposing animal dissection in science classes. MEMO: Diane Tennant is a staff writer. Barbara Kreisler is a correspondent. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
PETA, which uses celebrities like model Cindy Crawford in their ad
campaigns, would employ 90 people at a Norfolk site if a real estate
deal goes through.
by CNB