Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell has joined campaigners calling for the charitable status of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) to be revoked.
The challenge to Peta's charitable status has been made in a letter to the CEO of the Charity Commission, stating the group does not meet the requirements for a UK-based charity by not running animal shelters or rescue centres.
According to campaigners, Peta operates as a political campaign organisation and does not provide evidence of undertaking charitable activities, which could break the Charity Commission's rules.
Rosindell, who was chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Zoos and Aquariums Group for a decade, said he has "major concerns over the charitable status of Peta here in the UK".
Rosindell called for the charitable status of Peta to be revoked
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He said: "I would urge the Charity Commission to investigate them as a matter of urgency.
"It is completely wrong that an extreme organisation like Peta, which is blatantly political in its activities, is given the tax advantages afforded to a charity while failing to use the donations it receives to help animals in need.
"Worse still, Peta has gleefully attacked other genuine animal welfare charities, such as the RSPCA. Only genuine charities should have charitable status."
Campaigners claim that Peta made more than £5million in 2024 alone, despite operating no rescue centres in the UK.
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They argue that Peta has taken deeply offensive in the past, once comparing farms to the holocaust concentration camps.
The campaigners added that zoos are similar to the slave trade and describe pet ownership as an "absolutely abysmal situation brought about by human manipulation".
Peta said the organisation has produced educational materials for schools but "admitted that they do not monitor how many schools use its materials, nor does it track student response".
Peta watch advisor Brian Monteith called for parents to act if their children use Peta's educational material.
Rosindell with his dog outside Parliament
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He said: "PETA's claims that it funnels funding from donations towards education are nothing more than window dressing.
"This is an extremist political protest group masquerading as a charity.
"Its admission of failure to track the use of its materials in schools suggests its educational and charitable activity is of little importance to the organisation, and if any schools are in fact using these materials they are in flagrant disregard of the guidelines set out by the Department for Education and parents should take action."
A spokeswoman for Peta said the claims are "unsubstantiated" and "lack transparency".
They told GB News: "Peta's aim is, and always has been, to reduce animal suffering, and people are glad to receive information from our investigations and other fact-checked resources that give them the ability to make compassionate decisions.
"Today, Peta and our global entities are backed by more than nine million members and supporters.
"As a UK registered charity for nearly 30 years, we have convinced hundreds of designers and retailers to drop fur, angora, and wild-animal skins, helped stop experimentation on animals in Europe for cosmetics, seen wild-animal circus bans, and many other ground-breaking victories for animals."
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