Alex Pacheco (activist) facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Alex Pacheco

Born	Alexander Fernando Pacheco August 1958 (age 66–67) Joliet, Illinois, U.S.
Alma mater	Ohio State University
Known for	Animal rights advocacy Founder, 600 Million Stray Dogs Need You Co-founder, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
Awards	U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame (2001) The Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience (1995) Sea Shepherd Crew Member of the Year (1979)

Alexander Fernando Pacheco (born in August 1958) is an American animal rights activist. He started the group "600 Million Dogs." He also helped create and lead People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Alex Pacheco is also on the advisory board for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

In 1979, Pacheco worked with Captain Paul Watson on the ship Sea Shepherd. They sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to stop a whaling ship called the Sierra. Both the Sea Shepherd and the Sierra were later sunk by Portuguese authorities.

Pacheco became well-known in 1981. He worked with Ingrid Newkirk on a project called the Silver Spring monkeys case. This project aimed to help 17 monkeys that were part of experiments. Filmmaker Oliver Stone said this effort helped start the animal rights movement in the United States.

Early Life and Education
Animal Activism Work
Awards and Recognition
See Also

Early Life and Education

Alex Pacheco was born in Joliet, Illinois. When he was very young, his family moved to Mexico. He grew up near the ocean with his two siblings. His father was a doctor from Mexico, and his mother was an American nurse.

A writer named Kathy Snow Guillermo said that Alex's early life was full of animals. Bats lived in the trees, and snakes slept near rocks. Fishermen often pulled dolphins onto the beach. Instead of animals being killed in special places, pigs, oxen, chickens, and turkeys were often killed in front of him.

When Alex was in junior high, his family left Mexico. They moved between Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He continued to love animals. He bought turtles and birds from pet stores. He even had a baby crab-eating macaque monkey named Chi Chi. Chi Chi would sit on his shoulder as he walked around the house.

Pacheco went to a Catholic university in Ohio. He planned to become a priest. But during his first year, he visited a friend who worked at a meat-packing plant in Canada. He was shocked to see two men throw a newborn calf into a dumpster. The calf had been cut from its mother, who was just killed. Later that week, a friend gave him a book called Animal Liberation by Peter Singer. After reading it, he became a vegetarian. He no longer wanted to be a priest. He decided to go to Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. He wanted to help what he called "other-than-human beings."

Animal Activism Work

Helping Animals with Sea Shepherd

At university, Pacheco started a campaign against leghold traps. These traps can hurt animals badly. Because Ohio is a farming state, his activism faced strong opposition. He sometimes received phone calls threatening him.

In 1979, he heard Cleveland Amory speak in Columbus, Ohio. Amory was the founder of the Fund for Animals, which supported the anti-whaling ship Sea Shepherd. Pacheco met Amory and volunteered to help. He worked on the Sea Shepherd in 1979 and again in 2003. He worked in the bridge, engine room, and as a deckhand. This was during the Sea Shepherd's first campaign to protect whales. The campaign ended with both the Sea Shepherd and the Sierra being sunk in Portugal in 1980.

The Silver Spring Monkeys Case

The Silver Spring monkeys case started in 1981. Pacheco took a volunteer job at the Institute for Behavioral Research in Silver Spring, Maryland. A scientist named Edward Taub was doing experiments on 17 macaque monkeys. He cut nerves in their fingers, hands, arms, and legs. This meant the monkeys could not feel those parts of their bodies. Some monkeys had nerves cut from their entire spinal columns. Taub used force and electric shocks to make the monkeys use their limbs that they could not feel.

Pacheco reported Taub for breaking animal cruelty laws. He reported the poor living conditions of the animals. Police raided the lab and took the monkeys. Taub was charged with many counts of animal cruelty. This was the first time a research scientist in the U.S. faced such charges.

The legal fight to keep the monkeys safe went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. This was the first animal rights case to reach the Supreme Court. PETA, which was newly formed, did not win the battle to free the monkeys. However, the case lasted for years and brought a lot of attention to PETA. It helped PETA grow from a small group into a national movement.

Because of this case, new laws and guidelines were created. The 1985 Animal Welfare Act was passed. Also, in 1986, new rules for animals in research were made. These rules required institutions to have a committee to oversee how lab animals are cared for.

Helping Dogs at the Pentagon Lab

In July 1983, The New York Times reported that Pacheco helped stop the Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger from allowing dogs to be shot in a "wound laboratory." This lab was at a military medical facility. Pacheco found out about the project and told Congress and The Washington Post. Weinberger had a dog himself. When he read the article, he immediately stopped the use of dogs in the experiments. He also ordered a review of using other animals like pigs and goats.

Pacheco continued to raise public awareness through protests. He also worked with Congress and the media. His goal was to make the ban permanent and include other facilities and animals. In November 1983, Congress told the Defense Department not to use dogs and cats in any wound labs. This policy started in January 1984.

Later in 1984, after more public pressure, the Army and Air Force banned the use of dogs and cats. This ban applied not just to wound labs but to all medical research they controlled.

Horse Slaughter in Texas

In late 1983, Pacheco went to Falls County, Texas. He was investigating reports of horses dying in fields. A company had gathered many horses to fatten them for slaughter. They planned to sell the meat in Europe. But 2,000 horses died from starvation. One-third of the remaining horses were very sick from not enough food.

Pacheco and others tried to help the horses. But local authorities threatened to arrest them. PETA told reporters about this. Pacheco shared his investigation and proof of cruelty with national news in early 1984. State investigators called it "one of the biggest cases of animal abuse in the state's history."

Because of his efforts, Pacheco faced criminal charges. He was represented by a famous lawyer, and the charges were dropped. The same month, the horse slaughter operation closed for good.

Baboon Experiments in Pennsylvania

In May 1984, Pacheco created a 30-minute video called Unnecessary Fuss. This video used 60 hours of tapes from a lab that studied head injuries in Pennsylvania. An underground group called the Animal Liberation Front had taken these tapes.

After trying for almost a year to stop the government from funding this lab, Pacheco took action. In July 1985, he led about 100 activists in a sit-in. They sat at the headquarters of the National Institutes of Health. This agency was funding the experiments. The sit-in lasted four days. After that, the Secretary of Health and Human Services announced that funding for the lab would stop.

Stopping Animal Testing and Fur Sales

During his 20 years as a leader at PETA, Pacheco helped bring attention to how animals are used in cosmetic tests. He urged companies to stop this practice. His campaigns led major companies like Avon, Revlon, and Benetton to stop testing products on animals in the U.S. Hundreds of other companies also promised to do the same.

He also worked to inform the public about how animals are treated for fur. The media and public believed that PETA's efforts caused a decline in fur sales.

Working with the Animal Liberation Front

Pacheco was sometimes investigated by grand juries. This was because he sometimes got information from, and spoke for, the underground Animal Liberation Front. This group would break into animal facilities. They would rescue animals, gather proof of cruelty, and sometimes damage lab equipment.

600 Million Dogs Organization

In 2010, Alex Pacheco started "600 Million Dogs." Their goal is to create safe ways to control the number of stray dogs and cats worldwide. This is the main cause of suffering and death for these animals. They are developing "Spay and Neuter Cookies." These cookies are designed to safely sterilize stray animals without surgery. The aim is to end the suffering of millions of stray cats in the U.S. and 600 million stray dogs worldwide. These dogs give birth to over a billion stray pups each year. The organization also works to help the 29 million people treated for rabies each year. They also want to prevent the 59,000 people who die from rabies each year.

Awards and Recognition

The Peace Abbey in Sherborn, Massachusetts, gave Alex Pacheco the Courage of Conscience award in 1995. In 2001, Pacheco was added to the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame.