Why did PETA start?

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was co-founded in March 1980 by Ingrid E. Newkirk and Alex Pacheco in Norfolk, Virginia. PETA began with Newkirk and Pacheco distributing educational literature at Virginia Commonwealth University in Norfolk, Virginia, after realizing animals used in laboratories on campus were abused as they worked as animal control officers for Virginia Beach.